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May 05, 2024 |
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General News: Storm King Adventure Tours Opens for Business
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Bikers gather round the old oak tree |
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Getting ready to ride |
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Kayaking on the river |
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Storm King Adventure Tours on Hudson Street |
May 04, 2007
Do you like to kayak, hike or go mountain biking? If so, you will have to check out the newest business in Cornwall-on-Hudson, Storm King Adventure Tours on Hudson Street.
Storm King Adventure Tours, also known as SKAT, will outfit people with mountain bicycles, permits, guides and transportation to bike on the wide trails in Black Rock Forest. They also offer unique hiking tours of Black Rock that will unlock some of the secrets of the forest.
More than a dozen local residents have signed on to lead hikes, including outdoorsman/author David Noland and Bill Schuster, the executive director of the Black Rock Forest Consortium. Imagine taking a hike with Carol Ward, a yoga instructor who will explore walking meditation, or a ‘dendrology” hike where you will learn to identify a tree’s leaves and bark.
Or, if you prefer to get out onto the waters of the Hudson, two experienced guides will provide the gear – life vests and kayaks – and the safety instruction to take you on a variety of tours that depart from Cornwall landing.
Bill Garrison and Paul Desiroth have been taking kayakers out from Plum Point for a couple of years under the name of Mountain Valley Guides. The fully-licensed pair run an outdoors program for troubled youth at Children’s Village in Dobbs Ferry when not operating tours.
Garrison and Desiroth will take kayakers on three-hour tours of Bannerman’s Island and Moodna marsh, as well as four-hour excursions to Fishkill Creek and Little Stony Point Beach. Sunset tours and full moon tours are also available.
Local businessman Deke Hazirjian came up with the idea of opening an adventure tour company in the village. He points to the underutilization of natural resources like the Hudson, Black Rock, Storm King and Schunnemunk. "Our outings," he said, "are a great way to get our kids, our citizenry, out in a healthy way." The company will be offering kids' programs and senior citizens' programs through the Cornwall recreational department this summer.
The business occupies an old home that Hazirjian renovated, creating the storefront with apartments on the second floor. He installed solar panels on the building’s rooftop that will provide radiant heat to the structure. (Click here to read about a unique discovery that revealed the house’s history.)
Hazirjian has been joined in the venture by Kris Seiz, who is a co-owner and director of the company. Kris says that as a former marine biologist who loves the outdoors, she may have found her perfect match. You can find Kris at the tour office most days, juggling phone calls, tours, and walk-ins. She and Hazirjian are focusing now on local residents who want to become members and explore places they may have heard of yet not explored, like the ruined houses of Black Rock or the old Pagenstecher estate.
SKAT will celebrate its grand opening on June 2, but tours are already going out and can be booked today at 534-7800.
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