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.
It’s been a really hot summer, but we didn’t want to allow that to keep us from what we love the most; traipsing through green lush forests. So, we took advantage of the long summer days and waited until the evening before heading to the lovely Fox Preserve in upstate New York. It recharged our batteries and gave us new strength to face the weekday routine.
When one thinks of Ikaria, the lovely and remote Greek island, one thinks of pebble beaches, craggy mountainsides, and meandering roads. Tucked away, however, in the middle of the island lies a rare gem; the old, rare, and protected Randi Forest that visitors can hike to.
About an hour south of Albany is a wonderful Preserve tucked away in the back corner of Albany County, New York. The Huyck Preserve offers its visitors hiking, swimming, picnicking, and just respite from the daily grind. This preserve is quite large and, as such, visitors can find themselves some privacy and really feel connected to their natural world.
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.
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.
