Henry Gourdine Park

Ossining’s Henry Gourdine Park (open in Google Maps) is a riverfront park in the Old Village with beautiful views of the Hudson River, paved paths for walking, benches for watching the sunset, and a neat playground.

Located in front of the Ossining Train Station, the park is adjacent to the 3 Westerly Bar & Grill, the Harbor Square apartments, the Ossining Boat and Canoe Club, and the Louis Engel Waterfront Park. Since the park is so close to Louis Engel next door, you can easily visit both at once, so check out that page as well.

Henry Gourdine’s playground has some unique elements in it that kids love. It isn’t a playground where you can leave very small children to explore on their own; you’ll need to be keeping an eye on them. If you’d prefer to be more hands off, the playground at the other side of the Louis Engel Park is a better bet.

Parking is available in front of the park and along the front of the Louis Engel Park. There is metered parking and limited free street parking. Spots are sometimes hard to come by.

Who was Henry Gourdine? Henry was a legendary Hudson River fisherman, storyteller and Ossining resident who died in 1997 at age 94. A fisherman from age 17, he also made and repaired his own nets, built boats, worked as a carpenter between fishing seasons, and relished passing on stories and wisdom to others.  

For more on Henry Gourdine and his life, check out this amazing 21-part Q&A between Marguerite Holloway and Henry on the New York Heritage digital collections website, and this New York Times article.