Wonder Lake State Park is one of the Town of Kent’s hidden gems. About half of its 973 acres lie in the town; the other half are in our neighbor to the east, Patterson. The park’s original 867 acres were acquired by the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation in 1998. In 2006, an additional purchase of 106 acres expanded Wonder Lake State Park to its present size.
In addition to the large lake that gives the park its name, there is a good-sized pond called Laurel Pond. Since becoming a state park, the property has had a network of trails suitable for hiking and horseback riding, but few people used them because the park is almost entirely surrounded by private property. The 2006 expansion allowed the State to build a parking area on Ludingtonville Road, and in the spring of 2009 the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, working with the State, constructed a new trail – the Highland Trail – specifically for hiking. The park currently contains about 5.5 miles of marked and maintained trails. Additionally, there are many unmarked trails. All hikes in Wonder Lake State Park begin either at the Ludingtonville Road parking area or at the trailhead on Mooney Hill Road.
As you can see from the map, many different routes are possible in Wonder Lake. The trail marked in turquoise is the Highland Trail. The trails marked in yellow, red, blue and white are the park’s original trails. They are shared bridle and hiking trails. The trails shown in gray have no trail markers and are not actively maintained. Dogs are allowed in the park so long as they are kept on a leash. Bikes and motorized vehicles, such as ATVs, are not.