Project Background

The ART was planned and constructed by Ulster County through a historic partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”), which owns and operates the Ashokan Reservoir. The project was funded by Ulster County with significant grant assistance from DEP, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Environmental Protection Fund), New York State Parks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Catskill Watershed Corporation. The ART was designed by engineering consultant, Barton & Loguidice, DPC, and was constructed from January 2018 through December 2019 (with a partial trail opening in October 2019).

The ART has provided public access to the County’s scenic former Ulster & Delaware Railroad right-of-way along Ashokan Reservoir without a DEP Access Permit for the first time since the Reservoir was constructed in the early 1900s. The ART is operated by Ulster County with support from DEP, which maintains the public trailheads, and in cooperation with volunteer Trail Stewards organized by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and the Woodstock Land Conservancy.