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.
Located in the hamlet of Delmar just south of Albany is the wonderful and discreet Van Dyke Spinney Preserve. This lovely preserve offers a much needed place of respite from daily life. It gives you a chance to get into the woods and hear the babbling waters from a creek.
With the end of fall approaching, we took what might have been the last beautiful, sunny, and warm day and headed out west to hike the Vroman’s Nose Loop Trail just west of Middleburgh in upstate New York. The leaves brightly displayed the glorious fall colors only seen in this part of the country at this time of year, and the sun warmed us up to allow us to focus on the beauty that was all around.
We wandered up to the Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve in Clifton Park, NY, to see what kind of wildlife we could spot. We really hit the jackpot! From birds to turtles to flowers, there is so much to see in this nature preserve that hugs the Mohawk River and Old Erie Canal.
We’ve been having some really beautiful and warm fall days this year here in Upstate New York. As a person who tends to hibernate all winter, this extension of summer, as my husband calls it, is allowing us a bit more time to wear shorts and tromp through the woods. We spent a beautiful morning hiking along the Vlomankill Trail at Five Rivers and have some pictures to prove it!
My recent exploration of the Plotter Kill Preserve and Indian Kill Nature Preserve in Schenectady, New York led me to the small, quiet, and very peaceful Great Flats Nature Trail. Walking paths and boardwalks loop visitors throughout a protected wetland habitat, providing close access to flaura and fauna usually reserved for those lucky enough to be venturing in rain or “muck” boots.
Nestled just a short drive outside of the city limits of Schenectady, New York, is the lovely Indian Kill Nature Preserve. We got the chance to explore around on a beautiful sunny day. There was a wonderful feeling to the place. Especially walking down around the creek edge, it felt simply… magical.
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.
It was a lovely spring day and we decided to celebrate it with a visit to the Hollyhock Hollow Sanctuary in upstate New York. This nature preserve has over 140 acres with plenty of trails for hiking, a babbling creek to calm the soul, a little pond to sit beside, and a diverse mixture of woods that attracts a variety of wildlife. I even saw my first spring flowers popping up.
We visited Cupsogue Beach on the west end of Westhampton Island on a warm day in February for a lovely afternoon of ocean, sand, and seals. I’ve lived in New York State my entire life and when I want to go to the beach, I never think of Long Island. That was a mistake I will not be repeating.