In 1925, an entomologist from the American Museum of Natural History set up a camp at the western edge of Harriman State Park and began putting labels along a footpath. His name was Frank E. Lutz, the museum's curator of entomology, and the spot is now the intersection of Routes 17 and 17A. The Photo News reported that the path he marked was the first marked nature trail in the nation.
A century later, the same corner is about to have its busiest winter in years. The Tuxedo Historical Society has given its entire season to Harriman, and its talks run monthly into February. Across Route 17, the 1880s train station serves espresso for the first time in its history. The trails Lutz's successors would recognize still start right there. From now until early March, Tuxedo's most rewarding Sunday happens within walking distance of the place where interpreted trails began.
A Footpath Written Like a Conversation
Lutz believed wildlife should be studied where it lived. That conviction shaped the "museum camp," which the American Museum of Natural History ran jointly with the Palisades Interstate Park Commission from 1925 to 1928. The museum's own archive lists him as director of the Station for the Study of Insects at Harriman State Park for those same years. It also records that he lectured on the "nature trails" program at Bear Mountain State Park.
What set the trail apart was the tone of its labels. The Photo News quoted the guiding philosophy:
"A friend somewhat versed in natural history is taking a walk with you and calling your attention to interesting things."
Today's interpretive signs in parks across the country follow the model of a knowledgeable companion pointing at a lichen or a beetle. In Tuxedo, that model began roughly where drivers now wait at the light.
The Exhibition That Gives Lutz His Context
The Tuxedo Historical Society's new exhibition, Beaches, Camps and Trails: Harriman, the Peoples' Park, was scheduled to open on Sunday, October 25. It traces the park's beaches, lakes, forests, trails and rustic camps through vintage photographs and artifacts. The Society planned its opening reception around s'mores and bug juice, a nod to summer camp, with remarks by Matt Shook of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.
Sue Scher curated the show, and she brings a personal history to it. In 2014, The Photo News described her as a hamlet of Tuxedo resident and a former camper, counselor and camp administrator who understood how much Harriman's group camps have meant to children from New York and New Jersey. That same year she gave a program on the Lutz trail. This December she returns to the subject with more of the park's story displayed around her.
The Society is at 241 NY-17 and is open Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. or by appointment, phone (845) 351-2926. Guided walk-throughs of the exhibition begin at 2 p.m. each Sunday it is open, and the show runs through March 7, 2027.
The talk series builds outward from the corner, one Sunday a month:
| Date | Talk | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, November 15, 2 p.m. | Great Hikes from Tuxedo: Hidden Gems, Historic Trails & Scenic Adventures | Don Weise, NY-NJ Trail Conference |
| Sunday, December 6, 2 p.m. | The Birthplace of America's First Marked Nature Trail: Tuxedo, New York | Sue Scher, exhibition curator |
| Sunday, January 10, 2027, 2 p.m. | Parks & Recreation: The History of Bear Mountain and the Harriman State Parks | Ronnie Coffey, Historian of Highland Falls |
| Sunday, February 14, 2027, 2 p.m. | The Harriman Family: 140 Years of History in Orange County | Alex Prizgintas, Town Historian of Tuxedo and Woodbury |
The series starts with trails you can walk from Tuxedo today, goes back in December to the first one, and by February reaches the family whose name the park carries.
Espresso Under a Tin Ceiling
Across Route 17 is the other half of the corner's new life. The Station: An Espresso Café by Tin Can opened on February 22, 2026, inside the historic Tuxedo Train Station. Tuxedo Park FYI reported that it is the first permanent commercial tenant in the building since the station was restored and reopened in 2009. Christie Ross, founder of Tin Can Confections + Cocktails, runs it. Her work was already familiar to anyone who shopped the Tuxedo Park farmer's market.
The café describes the building as the only stop on the Port Jervis Line that still has its original 1880s station. Bruce Price designed it in the Swiss Chalet style, with stained glass, tin ceilings and platform benches still stamped "Erie," and a $1 million restoration returned it to its 1886 appearance. Price was Emily Post's father, so a building by the man whose daughter wrote the etiquette book now serves an Apple Pie Latte.
The fall menu includes that latte, a Caramel Apple Cider and a Cookie Butter Latte. Food is made from scratch: a soup of the day, a half sandwich and soup combination, and a Maple Pecan French Toast Bake. Hours are Tuesday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is closed Mondays.
Those Sunday hours matter for planning. The café closes at 3 p.m., and the Historical Society opens at 1 p.m., which leaves a two-hour overlap. Anyone heading to a 2 p.m. talk should pick up a coffee first.
The station also hosts small-group workshops through Tin Can. Two are scheduled for early November:
- Create Your Own Perfume Rollerball, Sunday, November 1, 1 to 3 p.m.
- Henna Party, Sunday, November 8, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Where the Trails Leave the Corner
The station has always been a trailhead as well as a train stop. The NY-NJ Trail Conference's transit guide lists Tuxedo as an access point for the Kakiat, Ramapo-Dunderberg and Triangle trails, with connections to the Blue Disc and Tuxedo–Mount Ivy trails. The Ramapo-Dunderberg is the long one. It runs 23 miles from the village of Tuxedo Park to the Hudson River.
Its first stretch from the station passes through a residential neighborhood before it reaches the forest. The Trail Conference added signage in 2020 to cut down on wrong turns, keep walkers off private property and stop parking where it is prohibited. In practice, follow the signs closely and park only in designated areas. That is the courteous way to start a walk from a corner where people live.
These are the trails Don Weise of the Trail Conference will discuss on November 15. Walking one of them that morning gives his talk a starting point you have already covered on foot.
A Sunday on the Corner, Through March
The pieces fit together easily on any open Sunday this winter:
- Morning, from 8 a.m. Coffee and something warm at The Station, inside the 1880s depot.
- Late morning. A walk out from the station on the signed route toward Harriman. Go as far as the day and the light allow.
- 1 p.m. The Historical Society opens at 241 NY-17, across the road.
- 2 p.m. The guided walk-through of Beaches, Camps and Trails. On November 15, December 6, January 10 and February 14, the scheduled talk takes this slot.
- Before 3 p.m. One more stop at the café before it closes for the day.
December 6 fits the corner best. That afternoon, Sue Scher will talk about the Lutz trail a short walk from where it was laid out in 1925, with the exhibition about the park it opened up hanging on the walls behind her.
Two November Dates Nearby
The rest of the Tuxedo calendar adds two dates before the December talk. The Town of Tuxedo's Turkey Trot 5K & Fun Run starts at 8:15 a.m. on Thanksgiving, November 26, at Quarry Field. The Tuxedo Park Library's seventh annual Great Give Back continues through November 20. It includes a food drive for the Community Food Pantry serving Suffern, Hillburn, Sloatsburg and Tuxedo, a diaper drive for the Diaper Bank of Orange Ulster Sullivan, and Thanksgiving placemats made for the Promenade Senior Center.
At Elizabeth Broderick, we care about the history of the places we represent, and the corner of Routes 17 and 17A carries a long one. If you'd like to talk about Tuxedo's landmarks, its trails or the houses near them, we're glad to start that conversation over coffee at the station. Explore curated Hudson Valley estates.
