The first section of the Appalachian Trail, taking hikers from Bear Mountain south to the Delaware Water Gap, opened on October 7, 1923 and served as a pattern for the other sections of the trail developed independently by local and regional organizations and later by the federal government. The Bear Mountain Zoo, through which the Appalachian Trail passes, is the lowest elevation on the trail. There are of the AT located in the park. In 2010, sections of the AT within the park were rebuilt by the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference, with stone steps to handle the 500,000 annual hikers. The Manhattan skyline can be seen from the top of Bear Mountain from about away.