Congers Lake Memorial Park: Your Fall 2026 Visit Guide

"I'm happy to have my job back," Christopher Nicolaides told the Rockland Times in June. He was standing in a building at Congers Lake Memorial Park where he had worked before, back when it was the Independence Cafe through Bridges. The building had been used for storage since then. On June 5 it reopened as the Congers Community Cafe, and Nicolaides was one of eight staff members who got certificates from the Town at the ribbon cutting.

That café has done more to change the park this year than anything else. The other big change is a closed section of the lake trailway. Together they shape what a visit looks like this fall. The 2.6-mile loop around the lake has had a gap on its west side since March. Meanwhile, the newest reason to come is a converted shed by the lake that now stays open into the early evening. The Town's Halloween Festival on October 17 will bring the most people of the season to the same few spots.

How a Storage Shed Became a Workplace

The café grew out of years of work by Donna Ehrenberg. She is executive director of Rockland Community Services, a nonprofit that helps students with special needs in North Rockland and Clarkstown schools move into life after high school. When she asked Supervisor Hoehmann about ways to employ people with disabilities, he suggested turning the shed back into a café. The Town paid for signs and donated a TV.

Rockland Community Services now leases the building from the Town. Staff earn a paycheck while training in customer service, food and drink prep, running a register, and handling money. YAI, an agency serving children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, pays the staff. The Rockland Times reported that for some of them, it would be their first paycheck ever. The paper also cited Bureau of Labor Statistics figures: about 23 percent of adults with disabilities are employed, compared with more than 65 percent of adults without disabilities. Every shift behind the counter is meant to help close that gap.

Corporate donors helped with startup costs. Nestle gave $1,000 worth of coffee, Coke donated cases of soda, and the Leaderman Foundation advanced money for rent. The café doesn't accept tips. Ehrenberg said any donations go back into building up the café.

The Hours Moved Into the Afternoon

The café's schedule is the clearest sign of how it has grown. In June it was open mornings on weekdays. By August it had added a late-afternoon shift and was open both weekend days.

Ehrenberg saw this coming in June. "On the first day, the staff was really nervous. But now, they're like, 'Donna, I think we should stay open longer!'" she told the Rockland Times. The August column said the hours could expand again as more participants join.

The 3:30 to 6:30 weekday window covers the after-school and after-work hours on a fall afternoon. The menu includes coffee, other drinks, and snacks. Shelves also hold artwork, jewelry, pottery, journals, and crayons made by people with disabilities. One of those makers is Kyle. He melts broken crayons into molds and sells them across the country. The June article said the building will stay open all year. No separate fall or winter schedule had been posted as of this writing, so the August hours are the most recent ones available.

The Loop Has Had a Gap Since March

The café opened into a park that was already working around a problem. On March 5, Rockland Daily reported that part of the west side of the Congers Lake Trailway had been closed indefinitely between location markers 47 and 54. Signs went up at the trailway entrance near the dam and on the north side of the lake near Beckerle Lumber. The Town's trail map puts the full trailway at 2.6 miles.

The problem is underneath the boardwalk. Several older support pilings have shifted over time and pulled away from parts of the structure. At its March 24 meeting, the Clarkstown Town Board approved $250,000 from money-in-lieu-of-land funds for emergency boardwalk repairs. Money alone doesn't start the work, though. The repairs affect the lake and its surroundings, so they need permits from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation first. In a May 11 update, Town officials said they were weighing temporary fixes while planning a longer-term solution. They had no reopening date.

That May update is the latest public report we could find. We haven't seen a later one confirming the section reopened. It's best to assume the gap may still be there and check the posted signs or the Town of Clarkstown before planning a full loop. Until the boardwalk is confirmed open, the 2.6-mile figure describes the trail as designed, not necessarily the walk you can take today.

Dog owners should check the signs too. The Town's general rule allows only service animals in Town parks. But the 2025 recreation guide lists a dog park among the Congers Lake amenities, along with pickleball, a playground, walking paths, and fishing. The signs at the park are the best guide to which areas allow what.

October 17 Brings the Whole Park Together

The busiest single day on the park's fall calendar is the Town's Halloween Festival and Trunk or Treat. It runs Saturday, October 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 8 Gilchrest Road. The listing includes a hayride, a costume contest and parade, pumpkin decorating, games, refreshments, and a haunted house. You can register for the costume contest on site. The event is open to Clarkstown residents, and the rain date is Saturday, October 24.

If you'd like to decorate a car for Trunk or Treat, contact the Recreation department directly. The 2026 registration steps hadn't been posted when we checked. Last year's rules shouldn't be assumed to carry over.

The festival hours overlap with the café's Saturday hours, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., from start to finish. The Rockland Times reported that the park gets more than half a million visitors a year. A festival Saturday may be the biggest crowd the café's staff have served since opening day.

Other spending from the March 24 meeting will show up later in the year. The Board also approved $22,500 for new tennis court lighting at Congers Park. Before that, a Town column in July 2024 reported that the renovated basketball courts at Congers Lake were open. Lighting matters most once evenings get shorter.

Down Lake Road After the Café Closes

The café is also looking past its own shelves. Rockland Community Services wants to partner with local businesses and stock more locally made products next to its snacks and drinks. For now, two spots on Lake Road cover the hours the café doesn't.

• Bella Vita Deli, 69 Lake Road. Open Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with online ordering. On weekdays it opens two hours before the café's morning shift, which makes it an early stop before heading to the lake.
• Four Star Cafe, 31 Lake Road. The kitchen is open Tuesday to Saturday 5 to 10 p.m. and Sunday 4 to 8 p.m. Dinner service starts while the Community Cafe's afternoon shift is still going, so you can walk at the lake and eat dinner on Lake Road the same evening.

Take those three places together and a fall weekday at the park can run from a 7 a.m. deli order to a 6:30 p.m. coffee at the lake, with dinner after. All three stay open whether or not the boardwalk has reopened.

To keep up with what's changing in the area, Catherine Hotaling collects local updates on the Congers neighborhood page. If you spent September at Rockland Lake, the late-summer Congers guide covers that side of the hamlet. If you have a question about how Congers Lake fits into daily life here, or want to talk about what is changing nearby, Catherine is happy to talk it through with you. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.