Sampson State Park encompasses 2,000 acres and offers opportunities to swim, boat, camp, hike, bicycle, picnic, sun bathe, hunt, cross-country ski, and snowmobile. Before New York State acquired the area in 1960 for a state park, the property had served as a naval training station during World War II from 1942 to 1946, Sampson State College from 1946 to 1949, and an Air Force base during the Korean War from 1950 to 1956.