Harriman State Park

One of the jewels of the New York park system, Harriman State Park is an amazing destination for hikers, with over 200 miles of trails - including nearly 19 miles of the Appalachian Trail. And it's all thanks to a proposed prison. In 1909, a year after the death of her railroad magnate husband, Mary Averell Harriman offered to give the state 10,000 acres and $1 million to create a park. Only condition: they'd have to scrap plans to build a prison at Bear Mountain. Today, Harriman State Park boasts over 47,000 acres and is a great escape for fishing, camping and boating.