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Get to know Clarkstown

While its whole is lesser-known than its parts, Clarkstown is a principal town in Rockland that fills its geographic core, enveloping the more name-brand locales of Spring Valley, Nanuet, portions of Nyack, and New City—the latter of which serves as the county seat. It’s also the county’s most densely-populated municipality, with some 85,000 residents and more defined business districts than any of its peers. It borders Haverstraw to the north, Orangetown to the south, Ramapo to the west, and the mighty Hudson to the east. Almost the entirety of the town’s extensive riverfront is composed of Hook Mountain, Rockland Lake, and Nyack Beach State Parks, which conspire for a rare slice of unspoiled scenic wonder that’s home to the Rockland Lake Championship Golf Course, top-flight bird watching, and more than a dozen miles of trails.

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Living in Rockland County

Set along the west shore of the Hudson above Bergen County, New Jersey, and across the Tappan Zee from Westchester, suburban Rockland accounts for the smallest county in New York State and its third most densely-populated within the NYC metro—the straight line distance from its southernmost tip to city limits is just six miles. True to its name, the area boasts a rugged landscape framed by the Ramapo Mountains and the Palisades, shared by five towns, 19 villages, and countless hamlets. They’re well-connected by the New York State Thruway, Palisades Parkway, and Metro-North’s Port Jervis and Pascack Valley lines, which operate over NJ Transit to Hoboken (or Penn Station, with transfer) rather than Grand Central. Unlike the east shore, Rockland’s tracks primarily run inland, blessing its riverfront homes with unobstructed water access. Thanks to railroad baron E.H. Harriman, the county’s northernmost reaches are preserved as Bear Mountain/Harriman State Park, a natural wonder drawing countless visitors year-round.