Base Camp Tuxedo’s Very First “Speakers and Suds” Night
#1: NYNJTC’s West Hudson Program Coordinator Sona Mason, “Wild Trails”

Tuxedo Train Station
Saturday, May 9, 2015.
6:45-9pm; Free and Open to All.

Tuxedo to me has always been this adorable little town in the heart of the parks.  One look at the map, and it’s obvious what a great “Trail Town” Tuxedo could be: all that green of Harriman to the east, Sterling Forest to the west, surrounding the pointy little houses and civic buildings that seem like they fell out of a Grimm’s fairy tale.  Deep in the valley under Dater Mountain, a train track from New York City stops at a train station that could be the envy of any town, anywhere.  A river rushes by.

OpenStreet map shows the location of the little town of Tuxedo, New York. Harriman State Park lies mostly to the east, with Sterling Forest to the west. There are close to 300 miles of hiking trails within both parks.

MyHarriman and the Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce has launched something we’re calling “Base Camp Tuxedo”, a thus-far loose idea of programs or events designed to enhance the trail-town experience.

“Speakers and Suds” is the first of those programs, a series of fun evening presentations that showcase some local craft brew and spirits, while dishing out some useful information from expert speakers about different ways to use and protect the park.

Our very first S&S event is Saturday, May 9, at 6:45-9pm at the Tuxedo Train Station, and features the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s West Hudson Program Co-ordinator, Sona Mason.

Sona will be speaking about trails that start near Tuxedo and run deep into the heart of the parks.  She’ll tell you some places to go and what you’ll see there, with plenty of surprises for those just learning about the two parks’ nearly 300 miles of trails.

We’ll have free tastes of local craft beer, wine and coffee handy, as well as (I hear) some baked goods and cheese to pair with your tasting.  Maps, merch and more will be all around you.

To see who’s going, check the Facebook Event page, here.  You can also indicate if you’re planning to come, too (but you don’t have to).

Just show up at 7 pm on Saturday, May 9, to the magical, romantic, fully-restored Tuxedo Train Station.  Try some new beer, meet some people, find new friends to hike with.  See what the Instagram community is putting out to show off the incredible natural beauty of Harriman and Sterling Forest State Parks (we’ll be hanging their 4×4 pictures all around the place).  Learn what’s up there in the mountains — there is so much — and hang out for a few hours with people who really know the depths of the park.

Sona, our first speaker, told me the other day: “You get people to take care of the parks by getting them to first fall in love with the parks.”  Simple, surprising, wise.

Instagramers with pictures of Harriman, Sterling Forest or Tuxedo: Tag your ‘grams  #BASECAMPTUXEDO and we’ll print them and hang them in the station.  We’re attempting to encircle the station with a line of 4×4 pictures.  See the collection hanging on May 9.  (Thanks to AroundtheBenzAdventures and Sasha Knittel Photography for these tagged pics!)

We can use all the help we can get: planning our speakers, driving over the mountain to pick up the beer growlers, curating the photo collection, designing posters and banners, washing up dishes afterwards or just brainstorming what the perfect little trail town looks like.  While we’re at it, we’d like to figure out who’s using the parks, and what they need to make it better.

Contact Suzy@suzyallman.com if you’d like to help!  No offer will go unused, and we’ll have a good time.