I’m always amazed to find such wonderful and vast areas for hiking within a short drive of the Capital District.  The Plotter Kill Preserve in Rotterdam in upstate New York is a wonderful place that provides miles and miles of trails in addition to scenic waterfalls and is great for those who want to get out into nature but who don’t have a lot of time.

Plotter Kill Preserve

The Almy D. Coggleshall Plotter Kill Preserve, more commonly known as the Plotter Kill, is a 632 acre Schenectady County nature and historic preserve that is centered around the Plotter Kill, a tributary of the Mohawk River, and the gorge that it has created since the retreat of the glaciers over the last 10,000 years.  

This area has been admired by humans for at least the last several hundred years (though likely much, much longer).  It is believed that the name, Plotter Kill, is a derivation of the dutch phrase, Platte Kill, meaning flat creek.

In 1990, the preserve was renamed in honor of Almy Coggleshall who was instrumental in preserving this place.

The gorge can be quite steep at times, and does have an elevation change of approximately 900 feet.  Do be careful here, as people have fallen from the gorge in the past.  Three waterfalls are located along the Plotter Kill within the preserve; the Upper Falls, Lower Falls, and Rynex Creek Falls.  These are all located in the western part of the preserve and can be accessed from the red trail as it nears the creek.

Hiking

There is a nice network of trails that allows visitors to hike for as long or as short as they would like.  Generally, the blue trails are the easier, shorter hikes.  The yellow trails are the small little side adventure trails, or more commonly, spurs.  The red trails are the ones that take you around the entire gorge area and are generally higher up in elevation.

Where is it Located?

The Plotter Kill Preserve is located just off of Mariaville Road (Route 159) not too far from I890.  There is a second parking area on Coplon Road just off of Mariaville Road (Route 159).

Maps

There is a map at the trailhead kiosk off of Mariaville Road.  However, you can find a wonderful version of it online here.