Sterling Forest State Park is a 19132acre state park located in the Ramapo Mountains in Orange County, New York. Established in 1998, it is among the larger additions to the New York state park system in the last 50 years.HistoryThe parkland was originally owned by the Sterling Iron Works, which mined and shipped iron ore from a number of sites within the park. The last of the mines were closed in the 1920s.The park was established in 1998 after New York State paid $55 million for 15280acre of land using a combination of public and private funds. In 2000, the park was expanded after a 575acre tract in the center of the forest came on the market. Although a developer had planned to construct luxury homes and an 18-hole golf course on the tract, local residents and concerned environmentalists rallied and were able to procure the tract for the state park. The final $13.5 million sale price was negotiated by The Trust for Public Land, and paid out of the state's Environmental Protection Fund.Park description and facilitiesThe park's forest habitat is important for the survival of several species, including timber rattlesnakes, black bear, fox, various raptors and songbirds, and many rare invertebrates and plants. Hunting, fishing, ice fishing, hiking and snowshoeing opportunities are available. The forest is embedded in a larger area of over 100000acre of largely uninterrupted woodland that serves both as a wildlife corridor and as a watershed for nearby urban areas.
