SALAMANCA — Allegany State Park is gearing up for Memorial Day Weekend.
The park’s $7 vehicle use fee will be in effect weekends starting Saturday. On June 28, when swimming opens at Red House and Quaker lakes, the fee will be collected daily.
Ready for tens of thousands of visitors this season, there’s plenty of events scheduled for this summer.
New this summer will be Wednesday night concerts at the Quaker Amphitheater in July and August. July concerts will run from 7:30-9 p.m. and in August the concerts will be from 6:30-8 p.m.
A new concessionaire took over at Allegany State Park in January this year. Allegany Hospitality Company is part of a larger organization called ExplorUS which has park concessions all across the United States, according to Christopher R. Tripoli, park manager.
The concessionaire runs the Red House Restaurant and the gift shop at the Red House Administration Building, bike and boat rental at Red House Lake and the stores at the Red House and Quaker areas.
There are currently two construction projects underway this year in the Quaker Run Area. Three new bathhouses are being constructed on the Kaiser, Creekside and Circle cabin trails and Phase 2 of the Quaker Multi-Use Trail from the Quaker General Store to Quaker Lake Beach.
The Wilson Foundation is providing a $1.22 million grant toward a $6.5 million project to construct a 3.6-mile extension of the Quaker Area Multi-Use Trail in Allegany State Park.
The first 1.6-mile section of the trail opened in Fall 2020 and provides an alternative for pedestrian and bike travel along the busy ASP Route 3 highway.
The asphalt-paved trail connects destinations across the Quaker Area, including camping areas, hiking trails and recreational areas, extending from the Taft Cabin Trail to the Quaker General Store/Rental office.
Phase 2 of the Quaker Area Multi-Use Trail will extend the trail another 3.6 miles westward, from the Quaker General Store to the Quaker Lake Beach. This 10-foot-wide trail will include eight pedestrian bridges and an elevated boardwalk crossing a wetland.
As with the first section of the trail, it will traverse through woodlands, across streams and other natural features, connecting with trailheads and park amenities along the way to the swimming beach.
The project is also supported by $2 million in State Parks capital funds as well as the federal Transportation Alternative Program and the Land & Water Conservation Fund. Construction started in March.
