Originally, like many post-glacial forests, it consisted of evergreen conifers such as spruce and fir, but as the climate warmed they gave way to the deciduous species of oak and maple that now predominate.

Spy Rock got its name from its use by Continental soldiers as a lookout point where they could monitor Newburgh Bay for any signs of British activity on the strategically important Hudson River.

[4] Throughout the 19th century, Black Rock Forest saw extensive logging and mining, with some homesteads and farms established in its lower-lying portions.

[3] As the forest land began to decline in value with the depletion of its productive resources, various tracts were bought by the Stillman family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1928, enough land had been acquired for James Stillman's son Ernest, to officially create Black Rock Forest for research and demonstration purposes.

He hoped to restore it to productive use again through newly developed practical forestry techniques, as well as leaving plenty of undisturbed land available for use in silvicultural research.

[3] To this end he hired a forester, Hal Tryon, and a small crew to cull unwanted species and poorly growing trees from wanted ones.

During the late 1960s and 1970s the Forest faced its biggest threat, as a massive power plant proposed for nearby Storm King Mountain by Consolidated Edison would have flooded most of it to build a large reservoir.

[5] Since Harvard also owns the eponymous forest closer to campus in Petersham, Massachusetts, in 1981 it asked another alumnus, William T. Golden, what he thought should be done with Black Rock.

[7] Most public access comes from Route 9W, near the lowest portions of the land, and many of the research and educational facilities are located in that north central area.

They are closed to all motor-vehicle use save that authorized by the Consortium for its members;[9] they are open to bicycles and foot traffic and marked as part of the forest's trail system.

[13] Botanists working in the forest have identified several distinct plant communities, including 60 species of tree,[14] within it, spread among six different regions.

Pitch pine cannot flourish anywhere else in the forest except in the thin soils found here, and on the bare rocks sensitive lichens, mosses and grasses take hold where they can.

[18] Woodland birds like ruffed grouse and wild turkey are dominant among avian species, with Canada geese and mallard ducks conspicuous in and near the ponds.

It was chaired by Sibyl R. Golden, who also edited Black Rock Forest News, the Consortium's quarterly newsletter, until her death in 2017.

[25] The forest is free and open to the public daily for hiking and mountain biking, but within strict rules in order to preserve its value as a research and educational facility.

The forest closes at dusk daily; no camping is permitted except for authorized research or Consortium education light-impact stays.

[15] During the Stillman and Harvard eras, the forest administration worked out of what is now known as the Old Headquarters, on Continental Avenue, just across Route 9W from one of the main access points.

It has a wet and dry laboratory, plus 1,150 square feet (104 m²) of classrooms (with labs of their own) designed for levels from kindergarten through undergraduate.

It has 32 solar panels on its sloping, south-facing roof, which, when combined with 48 more on the Center for Science and Education, provided 26,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in their first 11 months of operation (about half the building's total demand).

[32] Underneath the roof are two large picnic tables and real-time monitors for the solar power system to allow the Pavilion's use as an outdoor classroom.

The 1834 Chatfield Stone House, located along the Continental Road between Arthur's and Tamarack ponds, the only remaining structure from the area's past uses, was rebuilt after a 1912 fire and is now a museum.

[35] The weekend of April 29, 2011, the Marine Biology Research Program of the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School headed to Black Rock Forest to take part in ecosystem ecology projects.

[36] In the mid-1990s, Jean Gardner, a consortium consultant, began putting together a Virtual Forest Initiative, a new concept designed to take advantage of the possibilities of the then-emerging World Wide Web.

[39] The first "Green Ride", a three-day, 260-mile (418 km) bicycling trip from Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan to the forest and back, was held in October 2007.

The main entrance and parking lot is on Reservoir Road near Storm King School and Cornwall-on-Hudson's Deer Hill section.