Stony Brook State Park

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For other uses of Stony Brook, see Stony Brook.

Stony Brook State Park is a state park located in the Town of Dansville in Steuben County, New York, USA.

The park is south of the Village of Dansville on New York State Route 36. Route 36 also connects the park to Stony Brook State Park Beach a short distance away.

The signature attraction of the park is the eponymous brook, which is a fine example of small post-glacial streams in the Finger Lakes area. The small creeks and brooks in this area cut through the Great Lakes-area escarpments following retreat of the Ice Age glaciers, creating deep, narrow gorges, with many waterfalls, which are uncommonly accessible and beautiful.

As do some other parks in the region, such as Fillmore Glen State Park, Robert H. Treman State Park, and Buttermilk Falls State Park, the park features a semi-natural swimming pool, created by a small dam constructed in the lower reaches of the stream.

Stony Brook became a summer tourist spot in the late nineteenth century, following the construction of a railroad in 1883. The resort fell into decline by the 1920's. New York state resurrected the area by buying the land and establishing the state park in 1928.

Like many state parks in the area, Stony Brook was enhanced in the 1930's by improvements constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration. The footprint of these government programs is evident throughout the park in the form of hiking paths, bridges, picnic areas, and buildings.

Initially 250 acres, the park is now 577 acres.

Open year-round, the park offers a beach, two stream-fed swimming pools, picnic tables and pavilions, a playground, a nature trail, hiking, fishing and bow-hunting (deer), a campground with tent and trailer sites, and cross-country skiing.