There’s nothing like the height of summer. Long hours of sunshine paired with lush greenery is what I look forward to all year and is what I got to enjoy at the Normans Kill Preserve West. Add golden hour to the mix, that special time just before sunset where the angle of the sun casts a warm glow on everything it touches, with stark shadows on everything else, and you have a pretty perfect setting.
Normans Kill Preserve
We took an evening stroll through the Normans Kill Preserve West and I found myself in that perfect life moment that you just want to last forever. The Normans Kill Preserve was created by the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy back in 2005 and consists of over 40 acres of land. The Normans Kill East, the shorter of the two, winds down to the creek edge giving direct access to the water. The Normans Kill West hiking trail is just over a mile loop and winds through forests, fields, on bridges over ravines, and overlooking the Normans Kill.
We love the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy and have visited many of their preserves including Wolf Creek Falls, Keleher, Winn Preserve, Bennett Hill Preserve, the Holt Preserve, and Normans Kill West.
We decided to take our walk later in the day, after the heat of the day had passed. Late evening walks that still offer plenty of sunshine is another wonderful thing about summer. On this glorious day, the flowers were blooming and there was a slight breeze. Everything was strikingly green and lush. You could feel the moisture in the air as life was pulsing all around us.
Be Careful
Like any other trail in upstate New York, be careful of poison ivy and ticks. We spotted several poison ivy plants wound around trees directly next to the trail. So, be careful when brushing vegetation out of your way when walking as it could be poison ivy! We did not find any ticks on us this time, but the trail has an abundance of tall grass that kisses your legs as you walk by. We were lucky!
Where is it located?
Access to the Normans Kill Preserve is located at the end of Normanskill Boulevard. This road is just off of Delaware Avenue in the town of Bethlehem, New York. There is a small parking area near the trail head, and an information plaque to give a bit of history about the area, how the land came into public hands, and some of the local nature.
Map
A great map of the trail at Normans Kill West can be found here.