I Love My Park Day

What is I Love My Park Day?

I Love My Park Day, held the first Saturday in May, attracts thousands of volunteers from across the state to participate in cleanup, improvement, and beautification events at New York State parks and historic sites. Join us to celebrate New York's park system by cleaning up park lands and beaches, planting trees and gardens, restoring trail and wildlife habitat, removing invasive species, and working on various site improvement projects

I Love My Park Day 2021

I Love My Park Day—the largest single-day volunteer event in NYS—will be celebrating its 10^th anniversary in 2021 and whether this is your first or your tenth I Love My Park Day—welcome. With the ongoing pandemic, spring is going to look a little different, but we are excited to be hosting a safe, in-person I Love My Park Day event. This year, in partnership with NY State Parks and DEC, PTNY will be hosting a more contained, two-day event on Saturday & Sunday, May 1st-2nd.

Volunteer registration is now open! See below for map and list of events as well as links to registration.

Volunteer Registration

Use the map and click on a pin for more information and link to registration.

Select a region below to see all participating sites and registration information.

Adirondack Park

Lake George Battlefield Park (Sat)
North Star Underground RR Museum (Sat)

Allegany/Genesee

Allegany State Park (Sat and Sun)
Boutwell Hill State Forest (Sat and Sun)
Genesee Valley Greenway State Park - Canawaugus Park (Sat)
Genesee Valley Greenway State Park - Cuba (Sat)
Genesee Valley Greenway State Park - Hinsdale (Sat)
Genesee Valley Greenway State Park - Mount Morris (Sat)
Hamlin Beach State Park (Sat) - FULL
Letchworth State Park- Highbanks Camping Area (Sat)
Letchworth State Park- Upper Falls (Sat)
Long Point State Park at Lake Chautauqua (Sat)
Phillips Creek and Palmer's Pond State Forests (Sat)

Capital/Saratoga

Five Rivers Environmental Education Center (Sat)

Grafton Lakes State Park (Sat) - Separate registration required. Email graftonlakesadmin@parks.ny.gov to register by Monday, April 26th.
John Boyd Thacher State Park (Sat) - FULL
John Brown Farm (Sat)
John Burroughs State Memorial Field State Historic Site (Sat)
Max V. Shaul State Park (Sat)
Mine Kill State Park (Sat)
Moreau Lake State Park (Sat) - FULL
Peebles Island State Park (Sat)
Saratoga Spa State Park (Sat-FULL and Sun)
Schodack Island State Park (Sat)
Schoharie Crossing (Sat)

Catskills

Catskills Visitor Center (Sat)
Colgate Lake Wild Forest (Sat)
North South Lake (Sat)

Central New York

Charles E. Baker State Forest (Sat)
Chittenango Falls State Park (Sat)
Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum (Sat)
Delta Lake State Park (Sat)
Fort Ontario State Historic Site (Sat)
Gilbert Lake State Park (Saturday) Please contact the park directly to register for this event (607) 432-2114 or GilbertLakeSP@parks.ny.gov
Glimmerglass State Park (Sun)
Green Lakes State Park (Sat)
Old Erie Canal State Historic Park (Sat)
Pixley Falls State Park (Sat)
Rogers Environmental Education Center (Sat)
Selkirk Shores State Park (Sat)
Verona Beach State Park (Sat)

Finger Lakes

Catharine Valley Trail (Sat)
Cayuga Lake State Park (Sat)
Chimney Bluffs State Park (Saturday and Sunday)
Fair Haven Beach State Park (Saturday and Sunday)
Fillmore Glen State Park (Saturday and Sunday)
Ganondagan State Historic Site (Sat)- FULL
Robert H Treman State Park (Saturday and Sunday)
Sampson State Park (Sat)
Seneca Lake State Park (Sat)
Sonennberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park (Sat)
Stewart Park (Sat)
Stony Brook State Park (Sat) - FULL
Taughannock Falls State Park (Saturday and Sunday)
Tompkins County Dog Park (Sat)
Two Rivers State Park Recreation Area (Sat)

Long Island

Bayard Cutting Arboretum (Sat)
Belmont Lake State Park (Sat)
Bethpage State Park (Saturday and Sunday)
Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve (Sat)- FULL
Connetquot River State Park Preserve (Saturday and Sunday)
Hallock State Park Preserve (Sat)
Heckscher State Park (Sat)
Hempstead Lake State Park (Sat)
JONES BEACH STATE PARK (Sat)
Montauk Point State Park (Sat)
Orient Beach State Park (Saturday and Sunday)
Planting Fields Arboretum (Sun)
Robert Moses State Park (Sat)
Sunken Meadow State Park (Saturday and Sunday) -
Upper Twin Pond (Sat)- FULL
Walt Whitman Birthplace Association (Sat)
Wildwood State Park (Sat)

Niagara

Artpark (Sat)
Golden Hill / 30 Mile Point Lighthouse (Sat)
Knox Farm State Park (Saturday and Sunday)
Reinstein Woods (Sat) - Separate registration required here.

NYC

Battery Park City Authority (Sat) - No registration required. The BPC Wildlife Observation Survey is available here and can be done in ANY quiet spot in the park that is a safe distance from others (at least 6 feet away) ANYTIME you visit BPC.
Claypit Ponds State Park Preserve- Nature Interpretive Center (Sat)
Claypit Ponds State Park Preserve- Park Headquarters (Sat)
Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park (Sat)
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State park (Sun)
Gantry Plaza State Park (Sat)
Hudson River Park (Sat) - You must register directly with Hudson River Park. Email tkent@hudsonriverpark.org to register. All volunteers need to fill out a 2021 HRPK waiver before participating. Temperatures will be checked as well as a daily health survey.
Marsha P Johnson State Park (Saturday and Sunday)
Roberto Clemente State Park (Sat)
Shirley Chisholm State Park (Saturday and Sunday) You must register directly with Shirley Chisholm State Park if you wish to participate. Saturday May 1^st, 2021- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/149199542849 Sunday, May 2^nd, 2021- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/149211518669

Palisades

Beaver Pond Campground - Harriman State Park (Sat)
Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site (Sat)
Minnewaska State Park Preserve (Sun)
Sam's Point Area of Minnewaska State Park Preserve (Sat and Sun)
Sterling Forest State Park (Sat)

Taconic

College Hill Park, Poughkeepsie (Sat)
FDR State Park (Sat)
Jay Heritage Center (Sat)
Little Stony Point State Park (Sat)
Olana State Historic Site (Sun) - Separate registration is required. Email education@olana.org to register.
Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park - Gerlach Park (Sat)
Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park - Wicker St. (Sat)
Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park - Quaker Bridge Rd. (Sat)
Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park - Tibbetts Brook Park (Sat)
Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park - Croton Dam (Sat)
Rockefeller State Park Preserve (Sun)
Stony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center (Sun)
Taconic State Park -Copake Falls (Sat)
The Point in Mills-Norrie State Park (Sat)
Walkway Over the Hudson (Sat and Sun)
William R Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail (Sat)

Thousand Islands

Black River Trail (Sat)- In addition to registering, you will need to call the park office ahead of time and schedule a time slot to pick up tools, receive instruction and be assigned a section of trail for social distancing. To reserve a time slot please call 315-938-5083.
Higley Flow State Park (Sat and Sun)
Minna Anthony Common Nature Center, Wellesley Island State Park (Sat and Sun)
Point Au Roche State Park (Sat)
Upper Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area (WMA) (Sat)

Information for Event Hosts

If you are planning on hosting an event this year for I Love My Park Day, please join us for our second organizer planning webinar on Tuesday, April 13th. If you have organized an ILMPD event before, some of it will be repetitive but, we encourage all organizers to participate.

Guidelines

*I Love My Park Day will look different this year. Please make sure you read all information before registering your event.*

Monitor the state guidelines for your region. No more than 50 people will be able to participate in I Love My Park Day at your site per day. Please consider your projects with this number in mind. Also, please check the guidelines for your region, in case that number changes. Hosts will be responsible for informing volunteers in the case of cancellation.
Hold back on the picnic. No communal food or drink should be provided this year due to social distancing requirements.
Count your tools. Volunteers should not be sharing tools. If you do not have enough tools to accommodate each volunteer, make sure that you are requiring volunteers to bring their own.
Spread out your projects. Consider hosting projects at different times throughout the weekend to minimize contact between volunteers. If you choose to hold both Saturday and Sunday events, please make sure to fill out both the Saturday registration form AND the Sunday registration form.
Mask up. All volunteers will be required to wear masks to participate. If possible, consider providing hand sanitizer, wipes, and masks for volunteers who arrive unprepared.

Register an Event

Event registration is now closed.

Resources for Organizers

ILMPD Planning Organizer Webinar

We hosted an ILMPD organizer planning webinar on Wednesday, March 17. If you have organized an ILMPD event before, some of it will be repetitive but, we encourage all organizers to participate. The next organizer webinar will be on Tuesday, April 13 12-1pm with more tips for planning, running and following up after the event. Register here.