Beaver Island State Park is a New York state park located on Grand Island in northwestern Erie County, New York in the United States. It is situated at the southern end of the island on the bank of the Niagara River and served by the Beaver Island Parkway, a highway linking the park to Interstate 190. Included within the park is the Beaver Island State Park Golf Course, a USGA-recognized championship 18-hole, par-72 public golf course.
History
The present-day Beaver Island State Park opened in 1935 and consists of several historic Grand Island estates of Buffalo's elite that were donated to New York State for all Western New Yorkers to enjoy. These grand estates included:
River Lawn - summer home and estate of Elbridge G. Spaulding, Franklin Sidway, and later Frank St. John Sidway
River Lea - summer home of Lewis F. Allen, the uncle of US President Grover Cleveland, is located within the park.
In 2015, it was announced that a new $2 million pro shop with a bar and restaurant and a large, outdoor seating area was coming to Beaver Island Golf Course. It will replace the one destroyed by fire in 2012.
Recreation
The park offers a beach, picnic tables with pavilions, recreation programs, a nature trail, birdwatching, seasonal waterfowl hunting, fishing and ice-fishing, sledding, cross-country skiing, cross country running, snowshoeing, sledding and snowmobiling, a boat launch with marina and dockage, and a food concession. The park's nature center is open from noon to 4 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Attendance at Beaver Island rose to about 279,000 in 2014, up from 269,000 in 2013. Beaver Island State Park is home to the Blue Heron Disc golf course, an 18-hole, disc course completed in 1999.
Golf course
The Beaver Island State Park Golf Course is a par 72, yard USGA-recognized championship course with a slope of 108 and a rating of 70.2. Additionally the forward course is a par 74, yard course with a slope of 110 and a rating of 70.1. The latter course is open from April 20 through November 8, weather permitting. The course was designed by William Harries and Russ Tryon and opened in 1963.
Beaver Island Parkway
The Beaver Island Parkway, also known as South Parkway, is a parkway connecting its namesake park to I-190 and New York State Route 324 near the South Grand Island Bridge. This roadway is a four-lane divided expressway, and there are no driveways leading to and from the roadway. However, there are at-grade intersections along the route. The parkway is within the jurisdiction of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation but is maintained and inventoried by the New York State Department of Transportation as NY 957B, an unsigned reference route. All junctions on the route, excluding those with West River Parkway and I-190, are at-grade intersections. At the northern end of the parkway near East River Road, an additional ramp connects to I-190 northbound via NY 324 westbound and Staley Road. ;Route description Beaver Island Parkway begins at a traffic circle with West River Parkway and Park Road at the entrance to Beaver Island State Park. It heads north as a four-lane divided highway, initially passing through wooded areas on the northern edge of the park. As it leaves the vicinity of the park, the woods around the highway gradually give way to residential neighborhoods. The parkway intersects a few local roads as it turns northeast and comes to its terminus at an interchange with I-190 and NY 324. ;Major intersections
