News

The original exit road is being rebuilt at Knox Farm State Park. For the near future, all vehicles will exit the park using the main Iron Gate drive. Just follow the posted detour signs. Please drive slowly to respect pedestrians on the walkways.

Park personnel are doing the preparation work which requires removal of the old blacktop and installation of a new stone bed. A contractor will then haul and lay down the new blacktop.

The Friends would like to thank the state for this endeavor. Weather permitting, the road should be complete by the end of November.

Katharine "Katy" (Clarke) passed away on November 11, 2011, age 89 years, of East Aurora, New York, wife of 62 years to the late Roy L. Wheeler; mother of Lisa (Martin Baxter) Iselin of Fairfield, CT and the late Penelope "Penny" Clarke Wheeler; sister of the late Emma Louise Magee; also survived by her feline companion, Charles. Katy was a long time enthusiast of Knox Farm State Park. She attended the Friends of Knox Farm State Park, Inc. Annual Meeting on October 4 of this year. Her late daughter, Penny, was a Friends board member for several years. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.

Susan Lynn has been walking almost 5 miles in California's Benicia State Recreation Area every day for 25 years.

"It's an amazing place to be when the sun comes up over the water," Lynn says of her hike along Southhampton Bay. "It's such a good way to start your day."

Thank you to all of our existing members, members who have renewed their membership in the Friends of Knox Farm State Park, Inc. There are currently 160 member of our group. We welcome feedback from all of you regarding ideas for park usage. You may contact us via our contact link on this website. Also, thank you to all of you who joined us at our annual meeting.

The Friends of Knox Farm State Park hosted new York State Commission of Parks, rose H. Harvey at its annual meeting last week, where members heard the commissioner speak about the general outlook of New York State's public park system. Read more.

Wild winds as high as 83 mph have whipped up problems across the Buffalo Niagara region today, downing power lines and trees, leaving thousands of residents without power and closing the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.

At Knox Farm State Park the door blew off of the large barn. Park authorities are aware of the situation. Below is a picture of two geese helping their young to navigate across the wind blown waters of the pond in the park.

Knox Farm State Park. In February, OPRHP signed an agreement with the Town of Aurora authorizing the Town to plow roads and parking lots and take other steps to provide public access to the park for winter activities such as cross-countryskiing, snowshoeing, and walking (the agreement runs through April). Looking forward to the summer season, the park's parking lots and roads will be open, we will continue to mow the grounds (at a lesser level), and the public will be able to enter and use the park for passive recreation. We plan to continue an existing agreement with the Town of Aurora under which the town will operate the soccer fields located in the park, and discussions are underway to evaluate whether the town can also operate the park's equestrian and polo area. Finally, we have told the Friends of Knox Farm State Park Inc. that we are open to considering any proposals they may have for the Friends to contribute to the park's management. In sum, while Knox Farm State Park's buildings will be closed and service levels reduced, the park's grounds will be available to the public under a more passive management approach. Rose Harvey letter