Croton Landing Park

The park today

Croton Landing stretches more than a mile along the Hudson north of Senasqua Park, beyond the Croton Yacht Club, at the north end of Elliott Way. Its paved walkway is a segment of the Westchester RiverWalk, with benches, a footbridge, informational signage, and a boardwalk section; the out-and-back walk runs about two miles. The park also has an athletic field, a restroom, and a Bluebird Trail of nest boxes. The Recreation Department rents seasonal kayak/canoe storage racks at the park (residents register first). There are no residency restrictions — unusual among village parks — and it is one of only two village parks that admit dogs (leashed, on the paved path only). To the south, a 351-foot elevated boardwalk built along Elliott Way in 2017 gives pedestrians and cyclists an uninterrupted off-road link to Senasqua Park and the Half Moon Bay esplanade.

History

The land that became Croton Landing Park is a roughly 30-acre strip between the Hudson River and the Metro-North/Amtrak tracks with a long industrial past: it held brick works, served as a dumping ground for fill from New York City construction projects, and later hosted an asphalt batching plant. The Ottaviano family owned it as the "Seprieo" property — a name formed from the initials of the Ottaviano children. Construction of Route 9 cut off the old street connections to the river, the site grew derelict, and a late-1980s proposal for a ten-story residential development called Mariner's Cove failed over access problems.

In 1995 the property was subdivided: one lot (about 16.6 acres, much of it underwater) went to the Beaverkill Conservancy, a land-acquisition affiliate of the Open Space Institute, and the other (about 13.4 acres) to the Village of Croton-on-Hudson. In 2002 the village officially named the site Croton Landing, drawing on historic maps that show that name for the area as far back as 1865. In early 2003 the Open Space Institute transferred its northern section — now called North Cove — to the village.

In 2006 Westchester County and the village agreed to pool funds for park improvements, including a roughly 2,300-foot addition of the county's RiverWalk trail through the northern portion. The park officially opened in 2008, thirteen years after the initial acquisition, and the Croton Landing/RiverWalk project received a planning achievement award in 2009.

Two memorials stand in the park. "Reaching Through the Shadow," the tri-municipal September 11 memorial for Croton-on-Hudson, Cortlandt and Buchanan, was dedicated on September 11, 2014. Designed by Croton architect James W. Rhodes, FAIA, with sculptor Lauren Davis, it uses a twisted steel beam from the World Trade Center's North Tower as the gnomon of a functional sundial, with bronze markers tracing the events of the day and a life-size bronze figure reaching skyward. The COVID-19 Memorial Grove — three dogwood trees around an inscribed rock, conceived by the Rotary Club of Croton-on-Hudson — was dedicated in spring 2021.

RiverWalk connections

The park's path is part of Westchester County's planned 51.5-mile RiverWalk along the Hudson. Southbound, the 2017 Elliott Way boardwalk connects Croton Landing to Senasqua Park and onward past Half Moon Bay toward Croton Point Avenue and the Croton-Harmon station. Northbound, the trail continues along the shoreline toward the Village of Buchanan/Town of Cortlandt line.

Memorials

"Reaching Through the Shadow" (dedicated September 11, 2014) is the shared 9/11 memorial of Croton-on-Hudson, Cortlandt and Buchanan: a World Trade Center North Tower beam set as a sundial gnomon, brick hour lines with bronze medallions marking the morning's events, and a bronze statue of a woman reaching through the beam's shadow. The COVID-19 Memorial Grove (dedicated spring 2021) honors residents, essential workers and health care providers affected by the pandemic.

Visiting

Hours

Open daily year-round. Village code requires use only during hours posted at the park; no published year-round schedule was found.

Fees

Free; no resident permit or Recreation Photo ID required. Seasonal kayak/canoe rack rentals at the park are paid permits through the Recreation Department (village and school-district residents register before non-residents).

Parking

Parking is at the park off the north end of Elliott Way.

Getting there

From Route 9/9A, exit at Croton Point Avenue, head toward the river, then turn north on Elliott Way past Senasqua Park and the Croton Yacht Club to the road's end. Walkable from Croton-Harmon station via Elliott Way and the RiverWalk boardwalk.

Rules

Dogs allowed on leash (6-foot maximum) on the Riverwalk Trail only, during posted park hours; elsewhere in the park dogs may go only where necessary to reach the trail from the parking lot (Village Code chs. 108 and 168). It is one of three village parks open to dogs, with Black Rock Park and — since a 2024 code amendment — Gouveia Park. Consuming alcohol in public places is prohibited by village code except at times and places allowed under Village Manager rules.

Accessibility

In this park

Links

• Village Parks, Trails & Open Space (Recreation & Parks)
• Village Memorials & Monuments (9/11 memorial, COVID grove)
• Boat Basin / Kayak & Canoe Racks (Recreation Dept.)
• Village Code Ch. 168, Parks and Recreation Areas (eCode360)