Easy trails. Well circulated with other people. Relaxing views. A great place to paint outdoors, have lunch under the pavilion or/and explore. read more

Doing some research online, I came across this park. It's nice to see what the Hudson Valley offers for its park! Parking can be limited at times, so the best time to go is early in the day. There are multiple paths that anyone can take, but for our convenience, we did the red and yellow path (those are the main ones). Other paths are found along the trails. Some of the markings can be unclear along the way, so keep an eye out on that. It's best to follow the dirt path at all times. Be aware, most of it is windy. The fire tower wasn't what we expected. As we approached near the top, there were a lot of bees on the railing. The view is excellent from where we stopped, but not enough to fulfill a hiker. Another thing is to watch out for is bugs. There is a lot of shady spots on each path, therefore, I strongly recommend bringing bug spy. Something I learned too. As long as you look at the map, there won't be any problems. read more

Ferncliff Forest - Parks Near Me - Rhinebeck, New York

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Ample parking. Moderately busy on a lovely fall weekday. No bugs or mud noted, but lots of leaves, rocks, and tree roots on sometimes steep trails. There is a porta potty but it's on unlevel ground. Firetower views are amazing. read more

Fun day hike. Cozy upscale center of town with great restaurants and shops. Fun romantic overnight getaway for us combined with seeing a concert at Levon Helm studio in nearby Woodstock. read more

Easy trails,short walk to the fire tower. This is definitely the place for people who want to take in the forest & not work too hard or bring the dog & the kids. Small but a satisfying atmosphere. Parking lot will fill quickly so one early read more

Ferncliff Forest - Parks Near Me - Rhinebeck, New York

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Beautiful trails... the views of the river& mountains are stunning! It's also a great spot for overnight camping... Clean & quiet... parking is save .... read more

Nice free park with beautiful tree canopy along the trails. The prize of this park is the fire tower which can be climbed for a 360 degrees stunning view of the Hudson River and surrounding countryside. The trail to the fire tower was easy and short. Make sure to bring bug spray. Parking spaces were limited. A great place to spend couple of hours. read more

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Easy hike. Fire Tower is nice but was covered in bee hives when we went Summer 2020.

1.67 miles total for the yellow trail, and a fire tower at the top. It was an absolutely stunning view and a delightful hike. There's a picnic table near the summit and a lake near the parking lot. read more

Ferncliff Forest - Parks Near Me - Rhinebeck, New York

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Excellent park. 1) We came here to hike to the fire tower. 2) The views from the fire tower was excellent. 3) The park provides maps. Which is awesome. read more

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Views Spectacular from fire tower !!!!! Trails are good BUT, SOME IDIOT mismarked and left gaps in The trail markings Idiot=Ferncliff Forest Inc Some good biking trails as long as you don't get lost VERY easy to get lost on any but the carriage trail Its like 7 separate trails with crazy over lapping and gaps read more

Ferncliff Forest is a 200 acre wooded old growth forest. It has an 80ft fire tower, a new pavilion, a meadow and several camping shelters. Your walk or ride will be under tall trees. So the only vista view you will get is from the top of the fire tower. There are many trails and in some areas it can get confusing. All the intersections are marked . Once on a trail its marked every 100 steps or so. Some trail markers have been stolen, we do our best to replace them as they disappear. Download the map to your phone. ferncliffforest.org/trailmap/ The land is private property owned and managed by a not for profit LLC. All maintenance and funds come from private sources. There are ticks, bugs, mud, etc, just like in all other wooded areas. I hope you enjoy your visit. read more

Great place for a walk. The trails are clearly marked. Unlike the person that did a review that is scared nature may touch them I did not get any ticks. read more

Still not completely satisfied, because I'm still being told there's an over-abundance of ticks inside Ferncliff Forest. But trying to become oblivious to this knowledge and get around it by wearing sweatpants and taking some precautions, near nightfall yesterday (the sun was just at the horizon when I got far enough up the trail), I came into this park in an attempt to "find the Fire Tower". I liked that this place now gives out maps, but didn't like their trail-marking system. I mean, I liked that the trails had color codings on some of the trees, but if you don't look close enough, they are easy to miss. And on-top of that, the route the map takes you to the Fire Tower is all dirt and muddy and something rather unsightly and unappealing to me. I still want to get to the Fire Tower. I guess I'm going to have to put it off a little more. When I realized just after the first major turn just how cool the late 30s are in this park with only a lightweight fleece sweatshirt and a lined spring jacket on (only considering the top part of my body), I knew I had to turn back and put this attempt off for another time. Having heard all about the sightings of what can be seen from the tower and such, there really is something to look forward to. I sure hope that I don't get scared when going up the stairs when I do get close enough towards the Tower that I can build up the courage and climb up. I'm sorry my power of persuasion in 2012 was a little off. Having heard from my parents of times when we had people heading in and getting bit by ticks (but not getting bit when we went into Poets Walk), I knew I could mention what I knew actually did happen when we tried prior to that last experience. Sorry it was painful to see this last for many years without being updated. read more

And do you think there are no ticks at Poets Walk???? If it's that time of the year they are everywhere. And if you require an overlook and good scenery to walk you need to revise your requirements. What you need is a trail...period. read more