How to Find New York Parks With Room to Run

Know what's worse than loading the kids into the car and packing all the necessities for a trip to a New York State Park park? Doing all that and arriving to a closed park. (Please hold all "moose out front should have told ya" jokes.) The NY Parks Department has a solution to solve the problem.

The scenario happens more often than you think with COVID-19 limiting park capacity and above average warm summer. In fact, a friend recently shared their story of riding a motorcycle more than 200 miles only to find their destination park closed.

There are several ways to avoid the headache. The New York Sate Parks' website keeps an updated list of parks and beaches that have reached capacity.

Unfortunately, reaching capacity can happen suddenly. For quicker information you can follow the New York State Parks on Twitter. And just in time for summer 2020, the agency introduced a new mobile app, Parks Explorer App. It's free and has several features associated with the state's parks and historic places.

• plan outdoor adventures at your favorite parks and sites
• discover new locations with detailed content
• access park information, including directions, hours, fees and rates, and trail maps
• use your Empire Pass for digital payment and entry into many parks
• has links to online camping reservations to book a stay
• receive important updates and alerts.

The app is a free download for Apple or Andriod users. Learn more about the app at the New York State Park's website.