Sojourner Truth/Ulster Landing Park & Saugerties Beach
Just north of Kingston in Saugerties are two more sand beaches worth visiting: Sojourner Truth/Ulster Landing Park and Saugerties Beach. Sojourner Truth/Ulster Landing Park is beautiful and well-cared-for, with a gorgeous view of the river. It has easy parking, close access to the sand beach and well-placed restrooms, and the playground adds one more element of fun! Saugerties Village Beach is a delightful small sand beach. It has an adjoining playground, but according to what I read in the Saugerties Times, it will be undergoing some renovations, replacing its slide, jungle gym, swing set and monkey bars, so stay tuned! Maybe you’ll have more time for visits to Krause’s Chocolates, just a short walk away.
Sojourner Truth/Ulster Landing Park is located at 916 Ulster Landing Road in Saugerties. For more information, call (845) 336-8484 or visit https://co.ulster.ny.us/downloads/ulsterlandingpark.pdf. Saugerties Village Beach is located at the end of Partition Street in Saugerties. For more information, call (845) 246-2919 or visit https://village.saugerties.ny.us.
State Parks: Lake Taghkanic, Minnewaska, Belleayre Beach
As I mentioned earlier, Janet and Steve Fitzgerald of Pine Plains love summer swimming: “One of the treasures we have rediscovered is Lake Taghkanic State Park, right off the Taconic State Parkway. Different spelling, sounds the same! We’re not exactly too close to the beach here in northern Dutchess County, but this is a wonderful alternative that we’ve taken our grandchildren to, no matter what the season. We’ve found that there’s a fantastic sandy beach, and whether it’s spring or fall, we can always walk barefoot in the sand and try to dip our toes in the water looking at all the minnows swimming about. Bring out those sand toys, and we get to see castles or roadways being built, with us older folks keeping watch and relaxing in beach chairs. If it gets too windy, we’ve walked over to enjoy the playground or to hike on the trails around the lake. Summertime is water time: bobbing around in the water or renting a kayak, which we have yet to do. But get there early to set up your chair in the shade or sun. We pack our own picnic lunch, or there’s a food stand at the Park building. It all makes you feel like you’re ‘at the shore’ without the traffic, and it’s wonderfully close to home.” And because Lake Taghkanic is a State Park, you can use your Empire Passport car sticker to gain free entry instead of paying the $8 carload admission.
