Foundry Dock Park

A small park with big views.

47 Market Street, Cold Spring, NY

It’s hard to believe this riverfront oasis was once the busy loading dock of the West Point Foundry, an important 19th-century ironworks (located nearby in what’s now our West Point Foundry Preserve). In addition to offering magnificent views of the Hudson Highlands, the park is a great place to begin excursions into Foundry Cove and Audubon New York’s Constitution Marsh Sanctuary, havens for waterfowl and migratory birds. (Kayak and canoe rentals are available through Hudson River Expeditions.)

Foundry Dock Park commemorates the 600 foot dock where steamboats arrived and disembarked to load and transport key metalworks and projectile weapons during the West Point Foundry’s operating days. It is here where visitors can imagine dock workers feverishly loading Parrott guns onto steamboats in an effort to supply the Union Army during the Civil War. Located on the riverbank, the park is perfect for a picnic or a quick stroll, and offers a launch spot for kayakers who wish to explore Foundry Cove or Audubon New York’s Constitution Marsh Sanctuary. In the summertime, you may be lucky enough to spot a heron or other migratory birds that frequent the nearby marsh.

Both Foundry Dock Park, the adjacent Chapel of Our Lady (built for foundry workers and their families) and West Point Foundry Preserve are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Free and open year-round, sunrise to sunset.

Photos and text provided by Scenic Hudson and Putnam History Museum.