The Lake Welch Parkway, sometimes labeled Lake Welch Drive, is a limited-access parkway located within Harriman State Park in southern New York in the United States. It extends for 5.60 miles (9.01 km) on a southwest–northeast alignment from an intersection with Seven Lakes Drive to a partial interchange with the Palisades Interstate Parkway. The highway is located entirely in Rockland County, although it runs close to the border with Orange County. It is inventoried by the New York State Department of Transportation as New York State Route 987A, an unsigned reference route; however, it is owned by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The portion of the Lake Welch Parkway that lies south of Tiorati Brook Road is closed during the winter. The parkway is the main route to access all beaches in Harriman State Park: Lake Welch, Lake Tiorati, and Lake Sebago.
The Lake Welch Parkway approaching the access to Lake Welch Beach
The majority of parkways in the US state of New York are part of a statewide parkway system owned by several public and private agencies but mostly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). A handful of other roads in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island are also known as parkways but are not part of the state system. The roads of the state parkway system were among the first expressways to be constructed. These highways were not divided and allowed no driveway cuts, but did have intersections for some of the streets they crossed. A small section of the privately financed Long Island Motor Parkway was the first expressway to begin operation as a toll road and the first highway to use bridges and overpasses to eliminate intersections.
Sign informing truckers it is illegal to use a parkway in New York City.