Pinnacle State Park Lodge and other buildings to be razed this fall in Addison
State officials plan to tear down buildings associated with the old golf course at Pinnacle State Park this fall, as part of efforts to restore the area to a wild habitat.
Addison resident Gene Wade is one of many who would have preferred to see the unique, hillside 9-hole course be revitalized after eight years of neglect — particularly since he helped build it. But he said if that's not going to happen, demolition is the right move.
“I have to agree with tearing the buildings down at this point,” Wade said, who drove a concrete mixer to Pinnacle State Park and Golf Course when it was built in the late 1960s. “It’s just a sad situation what has happened. It’s irreplaceable, but too much damage has been done.”
Wade said the abandoned structures are likely unsafe, and pose too much temptation for curious youths.
Dave Keefe, a state parks spokesman, said crews will begin this fall removing unnecessary and obsolete structures, including the Pinnacle State Park Lodge, storage buildings and infrastructure, to restore the habitat at the 719-acre state park.
State Parks is working with the State Department of Environmental Conservation to transfer jurisdiction of the 719-acre Pinnacle property to the adjacent McCarthy Hill State Forest, according to a statement from State Parks and the DEC.
Keefe said the transfer would effectively double the current 794-acre McCarthy Hill State Forest, expanding opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, primitive camping, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, hunting and trapping, and wildlife observation.
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Pinnacle State Park and McCarthy Hill are already linked by a trail network, including the Finger Lakes Trail/Great Eastern Trail.
The Clubhouse has been unoccupied since 2016 and is in deteriorating condition, Keefe said.
Since 2017, he said parks officials have made three attempts to secure another operator to run the course, without success.
Keefe said State Parks offers public golf options and a restaurant at the nearby 18-hole Indian Hills State Park course, six miles from Pinnacle.
Addison Village Mayor Ray Walch said he's had multiple conversations with parks officials in an attempt to save the golf course, or at least retain some facilities at the site, possibly for camping, but talks haven't been productive.
“I don’t think anyone around here is happy with the decision,” Walch said.
This article originally appeared on The Leader: Pinnacle Lodge and other buildings in Addison to be razed
