Groundbreaking at Baker Outdoor Center
L-R: Doug Dick, LDa Architects; Nicole Zussman, Appalachian Mountain Club; Sean Ragan, Halvorson; Jon Matz, Halvorson; Brandee Nelson, Tighe & Bond
On Friday, May 12th, Tighe & Bond and Halvorson | Tighe & Bond Studio celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for the Baker Outdoor Center in New York’s Harriman State Park. In collaboration with LDa Architects, Tighe & Bond and Halvorson are supporting the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) in renovating and upgrading the historic century-old camp into a regional destination for individuals, families, and groups to connect with the outdoors.
Harriman Park is New York’s second-largest state park, located 30 miles from Manhattan. The park features eighteen miles of the Appalachian Trail and abundant opportunities for hiking, fishing, and kayaking, making Harriman an attractive regional destination for lovers of the outdoors. The Baker Outdoor Center on Lake Sebago will accommodate overnight guests in its 36 cabins and lodges, provide waterfront recreation opportunities, and serve as a base to explore Harriman State Park’s beautiful trail network.
Tighe & Bond has supported AMC on this project since 2021, providing landscape architecture and civil engineering services. The collaboration has resulted in the proposed vision for a strengthened and reconfigured camp arrival, the development of an outdoor community “hub”, waterfront recreation improvements, and significant site accessibility upgrades to lower barrier access throughout the camp. Tighe & Bond’s design carefully crafted the site improvements to preserve the natural and cultural features of the camp while accommodating 21st-century uses.
All photography by Jonica Moore; photos courtesy of Appalachian Mountain Club.