On the day Governor Kathy Hochul previewed a year-long celebration of the centennial anniversary of the founding of New York’s statewide park and historic site system to take place in 2024, Commissioner of New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Erik Kulleseid visited Walkway Over the Hudson as part of a two-day tour of parks and historic sites across the state, meeting with key partners and highlighting unique activities.

Commissioner Kulleseid was joined by Walkway’s in-park leadership team, the staff and board of the Friends of the Walkway nonprofit organization, Walkway’s volunteer Ambassadors, colleagues from the New York State Bridge Authority, local elected officials, and others. Following remarks about the upcoming centennial, he enjoyed a scenic bike ride across the World’s Longest Elevated Pedestrian Bridge, taking in views of the Hudson River not found anywhere else.

Across the state through 2024, New York will commemorate the state park centennial with hundreds of community celebrations, performances and special events led by the state park and historic site staff, the State Council of Parks and Park and Historic Site Friends Groups. There will be a new Centennial Challenge to encourage visitors to try a variety of new activities as they enjoy the parks and historic sites, special discounts on park admission fees and new opportunities to volunteer and promote park stewardship. A traveling exhibit on the history of New York State Parks will go on display at parks and historic sites throughout the state. State Parks will collect and share stories and photographs from the public to celebrate the memories made during the last century, as well as a new line of Centennial-themed New York State Parks merchandise from the parks store. New Yorkers can visit parks.ny.gov/100 to learn more about the Centennial.