Sam's Point Preserve

Sam's Point Preserve occupies the highest point of New York's Shawangunk Ridge in Ulster County and is valued for its unusual ridgetop habitat, including dwarf pitch pine, Lake Maratanza, and the Ellenville Fault Ice Caves. Named for a local folktale about Samuel Gunsalus, the land later included watershed holdings, tourist attractions, and fire roads built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s before being protected through major conservation efforts. The ice caves, a National Natural Landmark since 1967, support a cool microclimate and northern plant life. A 2016 wildfire burned more than 2,000 acres, highlighting both the preserve's vulnerability and its fire-adapted ecology.

Ellenville, New York · United States