Continuing our day trip hiking adventures, we visited the Bennett Hill Preserve in upstate New York on a gorgeous crisp fall day.  The leaves were just starting to change for autumn, gently padding the path, and the sun was shining brightly. It was a perfect day.

Bennett Hill Preserve

Bennett Hill Preserve is a nature conservancy managed by the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy since 1998.  This is just a portion of what was known as the Bennett Hill Farm, settled since the late 1700s and farmed since 1834 by the Bennetts themselves.  This area was still farmed until just recently, so a lot of the trees represent new growth.  The preserve is just one large hill, with trails leading up to the top.  The top is a plateau and pleasantly level which makes hiking with the little ones at the top nice and easy.

Hiking

Bennett Hill Preserve has three trails that link together.  The trails add up to about three miles and are blazed with red, yellow, and green signage.  The green trail is steep and takes you up to the top of the hill.  

About halfway up, you can take the red trail to finish the hike to the top on the opposite side of the hill.  The yellow trail is a loop around the plateau at the top, and gives you a nice view overlooking the land below.  

We chose our hiking path based on the position of the sun as we wanted to get as much sunshine in as we could.  At the top, we let our little hiker down along the yellow trail to mosey at his own pace.

Bathtub Spring

Near the top of the green trail, you will find Bathtub Spring, which is exactly what it sounds like.  There is a small natural spring that trickles out of the hillside.  A bathtub was put down for a place to let the spring water build up.

Where is it Located?

Bennett Hill Preserve is located on Bennett Hill Road in the the Town of New Scotland in upstate New York.

Map

There is a wonderful pdf map from the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy available online.

For other great Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy Preserves, check out my posts on Normans Kill West, Wolf Creek Falls, Keleher Preserve, and Winn Preserve.