Riverside Recreation Area Plagued by Floods

Chemung Basin River Trail
The Chemung Basin River Trail
encompasses the Chemung, Tioga,
Cohocton and Canisteo rivers. It provides
a gateway to the Chesapeake Bay.
That means you can paddle all the way
to the Atlantic Ocean from here! If you
did, you’d be exploring the Chesapeake
Bay Watershed, a 64,000-square-mile
ecosystem that’s home to more than
15 million people, and has supported
human life for 13,000 years.
Dunn Field Access Site
Cohoc
7 Grove Street
8 Dunn Field
Riverside Recreation
Area Plagued by Floods
9 Toll Bridge Park
River Access Site
P Parking
R Restroom
CT Car Top (No Trailer Access)
RA Ramp (Trailer Access)
S Services : Food, Water, Telephone,
D Distance to Next
Boat Access Site
✩ Points of Interest
Restroom within one mile of launch site
Chemung Basin River Trail
7
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8
9
Boating Regulations
• One Coast Guard approved personal
flotation device (PFD) required per
person.
• A device capable of making a sound
that’s audible for a half-mile (such as an
athletic whistle) required per boat.
• Operating watercraft under the influence
of alcohol or drugs is illegal.
Walkisupthe
This
thehistorical
ramp road
vignette
over the
copy
levee,
about
howyou’ll
and
the Bay’s
see Dunn
resources
Field.and
Named
geography
the
influencedFairgrounds
Interstate
development
in of
1889,
the Chemung
the park
region, e.g.,
contained
a half-mile
principal circular
transportation
track route
both baseball
with
from andand
to the
football
Bay area,
fieldsincluding
laid
the in
out
use
the
ofinfield.
river arks to transport goods
downstream to the Bay, the utilization of
Years later, the park passed into the
the Chemung River trail for transport of
hands of Elmira Water, Light and Railroad
Civil War prisoners from the Bay area to
Company and was renamed Recreation
the Civil War prison camp in Elmira, and
Park. In 1921, Edward J. Dunn, an Elmira
the River’s importance as a trade route
businessman, purchased the property.
for Native Americans throughout the Bay
region.
During the height of the Great
Depression (1933-1937), the Works
Progress Administration and the Public
Works Administration funded the
construction of a new stadium to be
named Dunn Field. In the years that
followed, it was used almost exclusively
Aerial view of the flooded baseball stadium at
Dunn Field in 1946.
Courtesy of the Chemung County Historical Society.
as
a baseball
forbe
Elmira’s
minor
Other
themesstadium
may also
included,
league
such asteams.
People (the migration to the area
by the Delaware Indians) and Recreation
Unfortunately, the area is also flood
(the widespread use of the River for
prone. In the 1940s, the US Army Corps
of Engineers built the levee system
as a first line of defense against flooding.
Dams added to the Tioga River
Watershed in Pennsylvania in the
1970s offered additional protection.
Enjoy the River, Leave No Trace
• Use only official river access sites to
enter the river.
• Few river access sites have restrooms;
plan ahead to use nearby facilities. Do
not dispose of human waste on site.
• Leave rocks, plants, trees and artifacts
as you find them.
• Be courteous and respect the privacy
of others.
Help keep our river clean. Use the
bags located on this kiosk to carry
out all of your waste.