Thacher Park awarded $1.9 million in grant money
Enterprise file photo
Hikers on the Indian Ladder Trail are dwarfed by the steep cliffs of the Helderberg escarpment as they pass under Minelot Falls.
ALBANY COUNTY — Thacher Park will receive nearly $1.9 million in grant money from the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund, it was announced this week.
The park’s Thompsons Lake Campground will receive $1,150,000 for wastewater improvements while the park proper will receive $736,565 to install new electric lines.
New York State Parks Public Information Officer Dan Keefe told The Enterprise that the electrical work will replace infrastructure dating back to the 1950s.
“The new electrical infrastructure will improve the safety and reliability of the aging system,” he said. “Work will take place between the Paint Mine Picnic Area and the Hop Field Picnic Area starting this fall and will be complete this coming spring.”
Meanwhile, he said, “The Thompsons Lake Campground project includes constructing a new onsite wastewater disposal system to serve the campground. Previously, wastewater was pumped from the campground to the sewage treatment plant at Thacher. Work should begin later this year and be complete by summer 2023.”
