The Albany Pine Bush Preserve is one of Upstate New York and the Capital District’s most well-known and loved preservation areas. With sections of it dotted across the landscape between the cities of Albany and Schenectady, you can always be sure to find fellow nature lovers out there taking advantage of the hiking, bicycling, and educational resources available to all. We come to the Pine Bush very often, and this visit, we found ourselves along the Karner Barrens East Trail.

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve protects an inland pine barren that has formed on the sand of the bottom of what once was Lake Albany. There are only 20 pine barrens still in existence in the entire world and the Pine Bush Preserve in Albany, New York, is one of the largest.

Lake Albany was a glacial lake formed from meltwater after the last ice age. It’s waters drained around 10,500 years ago into the Hudson River which is still very much around today. The sands at the bottom of the lake formed the soils of the Pine Bush.

Over the years, portions of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve were sold off and developed for malls, highways, landfills, housing developments, and other short-sighted constructions. Today, what remains of the land of this fragile ecosystem is protected by New York State in a preserve with 3,200 acres. It’s home to a diverse set of plants and animals, including the endangered Karner Blue butterfly which is only found in small pockets in here, in New Jersey, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan

Hiking

The trails were recently modified to make them more ecologically friendly, following the perimeters of the preserve to minimize the fragmented pockets of animal life that were present from the old trail system.

Karner Barrens East

There are several trails accessible from the Karner Barrens. The Karner Barrens East has a variety of looped trails that allow visitors to hike for as long or as short as they want to. The lengths of trails range from 0.2-2.6 miles. Signage along the trails provide information about unique aspects of the landscape, such as vernal ponds and the destruction from the Albany landfill. The West allows those interested to pass under New Karner Road/Route 155 to two smaller hiking loops on the west side of the road.

Where is it Located

The Karner Barrens East Pine Bush section can be accessed from 195 New Karner Road/Route 155 in Albany New York. The Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center is located at the parking area for the Karner Barrens

Maps

There is a great map available of the Karner Barrens East and West for those interested at the Albany Pine Bush right here.