Outdoor Promise Outdoor Promise is a Newburgh-based grassroots organization dedicated to offering programs to families and youth that have been historically underrepresented in outdoor recreation. From educational projects and leadership training to community-building and outdoor exploration, Outdoor Promise has been serving as champions for environmental justice and cultivating the next generation of leaders to become informed advocates for the natural world since 2013. In summer 2025, HHFT was pleased to collaborate with Outdoor Promise on a hike at Little Stony Point for families from the greater Newburgh area as part of their Free Community Adventures program. Outdoor Promise is a natural partner for HHFT because their mission aligns with HHFT’s vision for the Fjord Trail. Not only will the Fjord Trail make accessing nature safer and more convenient for all, but HHFT also aims to ensure that all Hudson Valley residents and visitors feel welcome and empowered to enjoy time in Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve. Collaboration with community and stakeholder groups like Outdoor Promise will bring this vision to life. To find out more about Outdoor Promise and their work to create a more inclusive and sustainable outdoor experience for all, visit outdoorpromise.org. Guardian Revival / Another Summit Aaron Leonard, CEO at Guardian Revival, describes the organization’s Another Summit program for veterans, first responders, and their families, as “a bridge to wellness, connection, and life-long exploration.” The impact of Another Summit’s no-cost day trips, backpacking, canoe camping, and hiking activi- ties is transforma- tional, as they help veterans and first responders and their families foster resilience, reduce loneliness, and build skills to combat the elevated levels of isolation and stress many experience. Through their programs, Another Summit helps those who have served our commu- nities and country improve their quality of life. Last November, more than twenty program participants and their family members ventured up Mount Beacon with HHFT staff to reconnect with nature, each other, and themselves. The outing included lunch with a view from the summit. We look forward to the day when the Fjord Trail can serve as an accessible, immersive, and safe-for-all-ages-and-abilities location for Another Summit outings, where Guardians can regularly enjoy the restorative power of the Hudson Highlands and river. In the meantime, we are excited to amplify and support the work of this important program. If you’re interested in becoming involved with Another Summit, visit guardianrevival.org/ programs/another-summit New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) The public-private partnership between OPRHP— the owner of most of the lands that will comprise the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail —and HHFT is essential. Under agreements with OPRHP, HHFT will improve, operate, maintain, and steward the approximately 353 acres within the Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve that will make up the Fjord Trail management area. All the assets built as part of the Fjord Trail within NYS parkland will be permanently owned by New York State. OPRHP will be an active and necessary partner to HHFT in all aspects of the park’s development and operation. This partnership is making crucial improvements to habitat and infrastructure within Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve that would not otherwise be possible. We are enormously grateful to our partners at NYS Parks for their expertise, coordination, and vision as we move forward together in creating an incredible asset for the public’s benefit. H U D SO N H IG H L A N D S FJ O R D T R A IL A N N UA L R EP O RT 2025 13 HHFT, NYS Parks, Little Stony Point Citizens Association, and Parks & Trails NY staff and board members at ribbon-cutting for accessibility improve- ments at Little Stony Point, July 2025
