Croton Point Park on the Hudson

Two hours and 45 minutes to drive 92 miles west on Highway 95 through New Haven, Bridgeport and Stamford, Connecticut before heading northwest towards White Plains, New York. Because many of the parkways have a ten foot high vehicle limit we had to navigate through narrow, two lane streets to get here; but we did it!

Croton Point Park is a gem of a facility and worth the trouble getting here. We are staying here for a week for $270 ($38.57/day). Our site #9 is in partial shade and near the restrooms. It includes 30 amp service and full hookups. The sites are large and spacious for a RV park. We we arrived at around 12;30 PM during the week when the park was quiet. The first evening we rode the E-bikes around the park to get our bearings. What a beautiful setting! We hope to take the MTA Hudson Line train into NYC during the week. The train station is 5 minutes from the park; simple and safe. An express train can take us to Grand Central Station in about 52 minutes.

Cornelius Van Bursum was the first to purchase Croton Point from the Indians in 1682. A few years later William and Sara Teller were given permission to live on the point and operate an Indian trading post. In the 18th century the area came to be known as Teller’s Point.

It is not surprising that this prominent site played a role in the American War for Independence. Although several military actions took place here, many involving invasions by the British, the most notorious was connected with the attempted betrayal of West Point, just up the river, by Benedict Arnold and the capture of his British confederate, Major John Andre. Andre had conspired to meet with Arnold on board the British frigate, Vulture, which had anchored off the western end of Teller’s Point in September of 1780. Fearing for his safety, Arnold sent word for Andre to meet him on the western shore of the Hudson River at Haverstraw. While they were meeting on the opposite side of the river, American militiamen on Verplanck’s Point fired upon the Vulture with a small cannon, forcing her to move downstream. Major Andre, separated from his means of escape, crossed the river at King’s Crossing. Andre was clad in an American uniform and carrying a pass stating he was on official business for General Arnold. He was captured in Tarrytown and subsequently hung as a spy.

On Saturday, August 12 we went into town to replenish one of our two 30 pound propane tanks, checked out the train station and purchased some groceries in Croton on Hudson. The weather was stormy and unpredictable so we stayed in camp relaxing the rest of the day.

On Sunday we attended service at the Calvary Chapel of Westchester and drove up to Pleasant Valley to spend the day with our nephew Brendan Sheehan's family. We got to meet for the first time our great-nephews Patrick, Ryan and Scott. We have never been to their home until now and the visit was great! We hung out and had dinner together; it was really great to see them and get to know this part of my family better. We hated leaving but it was getting late and the boys had camp the next day. I hope we can visit again the next time we're in this part of New York.