Bristol Beach State Park is an undeveloped 242-acre state park located on the Hudson River in the town of Saugerties, New York. The property includes Hudson River shoreline, marshes and tidal flats, woodlands and meadows. The northern section of the park is known as Eve’s Point, which is a narrow spit of land that juts out into the Hudson River.

Malden-on-Hudson, commonly known as Malden, was founded as Bristol in 1812 by Asa Bigelow (1779-1850), a merchant and the first postmaster at Saugerties. The only house in Bristol when Bigelow arrived was an old fish-house. Bigelow proceeded to build the first dock, the first road, the first church, the first hotel and the first school there. The settlement provided a deepwater port for Bigelow’s merchant fleet, with the port becoming the center of the bluestone trade in Saugerties. For many years, the Bigelow Bluestone Company was one of the largest bluestone companies in the Hudson Valley.

The lands of the park were the former home of the Staples Brickyard, which closed for business in 1958. In 1964, Terry Staples offered to sell the 53 acres of the land to the state of New York for $120,000. The state said no, so Staples gave it to the state for free. His one irrevocable condition on the donation was that the property could only be used for a recreational park.

In 1967, the 53-acre state park was transferred from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC). With surrounding development pressures in the 1990s, the PIPC expanded the park through the purchase of adjacent parcels.

The park remains undeveloped, but provides excellent access to the Hudson River. Despite its name, the park does not include a developed beach and swimming is not permitted. It is however a popular location for fishing, birding, putting in a kayak or canoe and for viewing the Hudson River.

There have been many discussions over the years as to whether the park should be developed, with possible ideas including constructing additional vehicle access roads, building woodland hiking trails or ATV trails, installing educational displays about the brick industry or creating a sandy beach along the shoreline.

To get to Bristol Beach State Park, take Route 9W north from the village of Saugerties. Drive for about 2 1/2 miles to Emerick Road, turn right and follow Emerick Road to the end, where there is a small dirt parking area. This is the Eve’s Point section of the park.

Overlooking the Hudson

Overlooking the HudsonBristol Beach State Park is an undeveloped 242-acre state park located on the Hudson River in the town of Saugerties, New York. The property includes Hudson River shoreline, marshes and tidal flats, woodlands and meadows. The northern section of the park is known as Eve’s Point, which is a narrow spit of land that juts out into the Hudson River.

Along the Hudson, from Bristol Beach State Park

Along the Hudson, from Bristol Beach State ParkBristol Beach State Park is an undeveloped 242-acre state park located on the Hudson River in the town of Saugerties, New York. The property includes Hudson River shoreline, marshes and tidal flats, woodlands and meadows. The northern section of the park is known as Eve’s Point, which is a narrow spit of land that juts out into the Hudson River.