Site #16 Hudson River from Croton Point Park

Introduction

The Hudson River School painter Sanford Robinson Gifford probably painted more actual views of the Hudson River than any of his colleagues. Among his favorite sketching haunts on the estuary were both the east and the west banks of the adjacent Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay, separated by Hook Mountain, where the river is widest. His elegant, tapering view of Hook Mountain and the distant Palisades of Sparkill, New York beyond was sketched in 1865 from the sandy south shore of Croton Point in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, now a park.

Plan Your Trip

Contact
Visit their Website
914-862-5290

Admissions
Free 

Parking
Paid Lot 
$10 non-resident, $5 resident

Restroom
Yes

Accessibility
Generally Accessible 
Meets most ADA standards and has few barriers. Some visitors with disabilities may need some assistance

Hours
Open all seasons 
8am to dusk

Difficulty: A, solid pavement, sidewalk 
Distance: 0.5 miles


 

Map & Directions

Driving Directions: We recommend Google Map . Site coordinates: 41.181519 Lat., -73.893356 Long.

Location Notes: To reach the park, enter Croton Point Avenue from route 9A. There will be a fee at the gate to the park. From there drive west toward the large parking lot. Instead of entering the parking lot, bear left and continue south on the park drive to the RV and campground, where there is another parking lot. Leave your car there and walk south about 300 feet to a gate with signs reading, "Authorized Vehicles Only" and "No Swimming Area." Proceed past the gate and walk on a dirt road (becoming a wooded path) about 600 feet to the sandy beach of the south shore of Croton Point. Walk short distances either up or down this beach and look southwest for views of Hook Mountain with the curving shore of Croton Point in the foreground that approximate the features of Gifford's painting.


Photography / Painting Credits

Sanford Robinson Gifford, Hook Mountain Near Nyack, 1866, oil on canvas, 8 1/8 x 19 in. Yale University Art Gallery. Given by Miss Annette I. Young in memory of Professor D. Cady Eaton, B.A. 1860, and Mr. Innis Young 1969, 9291.

Kevin Avery, View of the Hudson from Croton Point, April 3, 2011, photograph, courtesy of Kevin Avery.

Julie Hart Beers, Hudson Valley at Croton Point, 1869, oil on canvas, 12 x 20 in., Collection of Nicholas V. Bulzacchelli.