A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government .
22-591: Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve is a state park on Lloyd Neck, a peninsula extending into the Long Island Sound , in the Village of Lloyd Harbor , New York , United States. It is operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . The 1,520-acre (6.2 km) park covers the former Marshall Field III estate that was developed in the 1920s, and
44-526: A land lease from the U.S. government , while Mackinac National Park was handed down to become the first of the Michigan state parks . As with national parks, facilities at state parks are often leased to concessionaires to operate. Breaks Interstate Park is operated under an interstate compact by Virginia state parks , although it is also one of the Kentucky state parks , straddling both sides of
66-883: A government unit like a U.S. state. Distinguished from National Parks in the Republic of Ireland , which are owned and run centrally by the state's National Parks and Wildlife Service , Ireland's regional parks are managed and operated by individual local authorities in Ireland . Examples include Ballincollig Regional Park (managed by Cork City Council ), Millennium Regional Park ( Fingal County Council ), and Malahide Demesne Regional Park (also Fingal County Council). A law to establish regional parks in Lithuania took effect in 1992. As of 2022, there were 30 such regional parks ( regioniniai parkai ). In New Zealand , regional parks are administered by regional councils rather than
88-707: A location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential. There are state parks under the administration of the government of each U.S. state , some of the Mexican states , and in Brazil . The term is also used in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales . The equivalent term used in Canada, Argentina, South Africa, and Belgium, is provincial park . Similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but
110-699: A restaurant) for lodging at some parks. These typically use "Resort" in the name, such as "_____ Resort State Park" in West Virginia state parks and "_____ State Resort Park" in neighboring Kentucky state parks , which has 17 such resort parks, the most of any state. Other states use the Resort name inconsistently (like DeGray Lake Resort State Park , the only one out of three resorts in Arkansas state parks ), or have only one such park ( South Carolina state parks ' Hickory Knob State Resort Park ), or do not use
132-638: The Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration . Regional park A regional park can be a special park district covering a region crossing several jurisdiction boundaries, or a park system of a single jurisdiction, such as a province, county, or city. There are 101 regional parks in Saskatchewan. All parks are operated by volunteer boards. Regional parks in Italy are administered by each region in Italy ,
154-577: The Department of Conservation or territorial authorities . In the United States, a regional park is sometimes referred to as a 'Metropolitan Park (Metropark)' or as an open space reserve . The terms region and metropolitan can have different meanings in U.S. local government agencies. Regional parks can be administered by a regional park board, a state , county or other units of local government . A special authority can be set up, under
176-760: The Three Rivers Park District in Minnesota . In Ohio, under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1545, metroparks such as the Cleveland Metroparks Park District, Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks have their own Police Departments with sworn police officers . The Toledo Metroparks , and Dayton Five Rivers Metroparks are also in the state. The East Bay Regional Park District and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District have extensive parklands in
198-837: The Lloyd Harbor Historical Society. Much of the remainder of the park is maintained as a nature preserve , with a focus on conservation of bird habitat. The "Caumsett Bird Conservation Area" was established in 2006 and comprises approximately 1,255 acres (5.08 km) of the state park, two-thirds of which is forested. The remainder includes a variety of habitats, such as salt marsh and maritime beach. The designated area protects high-quality habitat that supports breeding populations of several species listed as threatened or endangered in New York State, including piping plovers , common terns , and least terns ; many additional migratory species also make use of
220-470: The United States is Alaska State Parks , with over 100 sites encompassing 3.3 million acres. Many states include designations beyond "state park" in their state parks systems. Other designations might be state recreation areas , state beaches, and state nature reserves . Some state park systems include long-distance trails and historic sites . To encourage tourism in rural areas, several states have simple lodges, inns, hotels, or motels (usually with
242-478: The designation at all (such as the lodges of Georgia state parks ). The term "lodge" may also refer to a hiking lodge , essentially a large cabin for hikers rather than a large facility with private rooms and a restaurant. Other lodging may include yurts and tipis . Not all parks owned by a state are necessarily part of its state-park system, such as Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta. Some Texas state parks are
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#1732801120364264-677: The joint jurisdiction of two or more government bodies or as an independent park district to administer parks. Individual parks may or may not cross governmental boundaries. The park district holds the authority, similar to fire protection districts, to manage and raise taxes to cover park acquisition and management costs. Examples of large regional park systems are the Cleveland Metroparks in Northeast Ohio, Huron-Clinton Metroparks in Southeast Michigan ; and
286-486: The largest state park in the United States . In addition to preserving natural landscapes and providing recreational opportunities, many state parks also serve as important educational resources . They often offer guided tours, interpretive programs, and exhibits that help visitors learn about the local flora , fauna , geology , and cultural history of the area. These programs are designed not only to enhance
308-518: The park. Although right-of-way was acquired, the parkway was never built. A portion of this land was later used to create Cold Spring Harbor State Park and Trail View State Park . The historic buildings within Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve are used for a variety of activities; former polo barns are used for equestrian education and services, while other buildings host environmental education programs and
330-486: The peninsula meaning "place by a sharp rock". The 1,426-acre (5.77 km) Marshall Field III estate was purchased by New York State for $ 4 million on February 3, 1961, and became a state park. The former estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In May 1961, plans were made to create Caumsett State Parkway , a northern extension of Bethpage State Parkway , to provide access to
352-417: The protected landscape. The park allows for recreation such as horse-riding, fishing, jogging, hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. Scuba diving is also allowed by permit. State park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve
374-474: The state line. Other multi-state parks are legally two separate parks with the same name and more informal cooperation between them. The title of oldest state park in the United States is claimed by Niagara Falls State Park in New York , established in 1885. Several public parks previously or currently maintained at the state level pre-date it. Indian Springs State Park has been operated continuously by
396-454: The state of Georgia as a public park since 1825, although it did not gain the title "State Park" until 1931. In 1864 Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove were ceded by the federal government to California until Yosemite National Park was proclaimed in 1890. In 1878 Wisconsin set aside a vast swath of its northern forests as "The State Park" but, needing money, sold most of it to lumber companies within 20 years. Mackinac National Park
418-534: The terminology varies. State parks are thus similar to national parks , but under state rather than federal administration. Similarly, local government entities below state level may maintain parks, e.g., regional parks or county parks . In general, state parks are smaller than national parks, with a few exceptions such as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California, and Wood-Tikchik State Park in Alaska,
440-575: The visitor experience but also to promote conservation awareness and encourage responsible enjoyment of natural resources. There are 6,792 state park units in the United States, according to the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD). There are some 813 million annual visits to the country's state parks. The NASPD further counts over 43,000 miles (69,000 km) of trail, 217,367 campsites, and 8,277 cabins and lodges across U.S. state parks. The largest state park system in
462-417: Was established in 1875 as the second U.S. national park before being converted to a state park in 1895. The first state park with the designation of "state park" was Itasca State Park in Minnesota , established in 1891. Many state park systems date to the 1930s, when around 800 state parks (and several national ones) across the country were developed with assistance from federal job-creation programs like
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#1732801120364484-526: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Much of the park is today managed as a nature preserve , with a focus on protecting high-quality bird habitat. Marshall Field III bought the property in 1921 and had an estate house built in 1925, one of the largest estates of the Gold Coast mansions. Field named the property "Caumsett", after the Matinecock tribe 's original name for
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