The topography of this place is undulating but not too challenging, even for someone like me, a…read morecouch potato. A river runs through it. Along the way, there are some waterfalls of differing levels. Obviously, the volume of water is dependent on recent precipitation. The "mood" of the place depends of that flow. On most occasions, I could hear the rush of water before actually seeing it. It's an added bonus to this place, changing on a daily basis. Like a lot of things upstate, you've got to be informed about a place before you know it exists. If a co-worker hadn't told me about this sanctuary, I doubt I would have found it on my own. There is no fee but the parking lot is small; there's space for about eight vehicles. Check it out. It's a neat place. It'll do some good to get some fresh air.

Note to self: September may not be the absolute best time to come here because of the very low…read moreflow. Still, there are plenty of things to like about this...once you find it. The falls seem to be commonly known as Bozenkill Falls but the road sign (pictured) says Christman Sanctuary, and the gravel parking lot isn't massive so it may be easy to miss. The first 100+ metres is mostly boardwalks so it's easy enough to navigate. Then comes rocky, uphill trail, but at least markers are readily visible and aplenty. On our first visit I feel like we barely scratched the surface, so will look forward to another visit. Thank you whoever you are, for helping to preserve and maintain this sanctuary!

Great visit to Kaaterskill Falls on Wednesday, October 7, 2026…read more Decided to visit mid-week to avoid the crowds as it approached peak fall colors...I think October 7th was a bit too early...another week or so would have been better for colors. I have read that the Main Trailhead Lot (Laurel House Road), closest to the waterfall trails, fills up quickly during the fall. I arrived there at 8:30am and was the 9th car in the 40-50-capacity parking lot. When I left at 11:30am, the lot was full and staff was routing visiting from the main road (North Lake Road) to the Scutt Road parking lot...which is a bit further away from the falls. Once parked, the fall viewing platform was a short 0.1 mile walk. It offers some lovely views of the falls from higher up. From there, the walk to the lower falls was about 0.5 miles, but be advised that there are lots of steps (over 300) to get from the top of the falls to the bottom of the falls. You can walk even further from the base of the falls, along Spruce Creek, toward Route 23A and you will get to Bastion Falls. Since I arrived earlier, there were too many people on the trails...which made picture-taking a lot easier. I suspect the crowds increase as the area approached peak fall colors and on the weekends...so plan accordingly. The falls were great...I actually preferred the lower falls viewing area, for its consistent lighting and heavier waterfall flow. The upper was very high but the flow wasn't as heavy. The park is well-maintained with efficient trail marking and directional signage throughout. Free to park and enter the park/waterfall area. Port a potties in parking lot...are as clean as you can expect from a popular public parking port a potty.

Be prepared, the trail down to the falls is very long and while its quite easy going down ,getting…read moreback up is a definitely a treck. It's so worth it though. If however you decide not to go down to the bottom, there is a viewing platform . The waterfall pressure/flow can vary depending on when you visit. Heavy after rain or less during the summer months. Swimming is allowed in the basin , the water is cold . The fall and parking are free in designated parking lots. There was a porta potty in tje lot we parked in. Not sure if there's one in each parking lot though. Don't park anywhere along the roads as you will get ticketed and/or towed. Arrive early aa the parking lots fill up quickly, especially on weekends. Personally I wouldn't do this trail on a rainy day especially if you're a beginner. Lots of stepping stones that can be slippery when wet. Other than that it's one of the most beautiful trails I've been on.

Great park with so many trails! Stumbled on this park with my dog on a beautiful, sunny winter day…read more What an exceptional find with a tremendous history dating back to the 1790's!!! The trails are very well marked with signage to help navigate each section. Stop and see the ruins of the original house that was built around 1790 and read the history of this piece of land. Very impressive. The park is also great for cross country skiing and snowshoeing in winter. And its dog friendly (pack out what you bring in and clean up after your doggo)

I was visiting in the area and looking for a place to walk without walking on the side of the road…read more Anchor Diamond Park is clean, well maintained and has great signage. Any swampy areas have boardwalks.

I have logged many-a-mile on this trail over the years; most often between Kiwanis and Aqueduct…read moreParks. I especially enjoy starting near Schenectady Community College - an easy-to-spot local landmark with lots of room to park for group run meet-ups, a small track space perfect for timing splits and speedwork, and plenty of benches and grasses spaces for stretching and chatting before/after a walk, run, bike, or blade. The path varies in flatness, tree cover, nature-views, and frequency of traffic crossing, offering a nice variety for any activity. I've spotted loads of unthreatening wildlife while on the path, including turtles, deer, snakes, ground hogs, beavers, and many different birds, squirrels, and enjoy being near the water and especially stopping at the locks to stretch, rest, or fuel mid-long run, too. [extra garbage cans, tables/benches, and proximity to other humans makes it feel like a safer space to slow, perhaps?] I am hopeful that the Color the Canal project will return for the third year in 2021, which creates visual and sculptural art to welcome the CEC cyclists riding from Buffalo to Albany each July.

My wife and I walked the portion between Watervliet and Albany recently and it was a pretty nice…read moretrail. Much of it was in the woods along an old railroad right-of-way, so there were plenty of trees providing shade. A couple of clearings allowed for sightlines of the expressway but it wasn't too noisy. One area had a bench, picnic table, and informational display about the location of the old Troy Iron Works. A few areas had cutaways in the trees for sightlines to the river. I wish there was more to see or do along the trail, and it would have been appreciated to have some more benches or tables or whatnot to rest on. But, the area in Watervliet where the parking lot is had a couple of tables.

This is a gorgeous state park on the northeast edge of Otsego Lake. My wife, two teenage sons (15…read moreyrs, 13 yrs), and I came here with our miniature poodle for a quick visit during a 4-night stay in Sharon Springs, NY. We came here every day to enjoy the lovely view of the lake, take a leisurely stroll with the dog, and spend an afternoon fishing (for my 15 year old son). It's about a 15-20 minute drive from Cooperstown along the east shore. At the main entrance, you'll pay a $7 admission fee per vehiecle, or you can just show your NY State Parks Empire Pass card. This is a gem of a park that is well worth the price of admission. First, it feels open and spacious with nice hiking trails. Second, the view of Lake Otsego is lovely. You may see a few kayakers or windsurfers on the lake depending on weather conditions. If you have young children, this is a must-visit place as there are kid-friendly playgrounds. Third, the lake is shallow and calm by the beach, but the water temperature can feel a bit chilly. In the summer, they have lifeguards available starting at 11:00am. Finally, the park has a concession stand which sells basic snacks, hot dogs, and drinks. It's also worth it to take a short walk up the hill to see Hyde Hall and the view of the lake from there!

Very friendly staff at front gate beautiful lake to swim in and camping available as well.read more

Beautiful falls! Who knew? We parked on the cutout on the street and it was an easy walk to the…read moreoverlook. If you are challenged to go up stairs, I recommend you do not take the stairs down for a closer view. The overlook view is comparable!

What a beautiful waterfall and trail. I don't think many folks know about it (may actually be a…read moregood thing so it doesn't get overly attracted; but maybe bad for business's around? - unsure). There was free parking across the park, and there was a lot of rich history around this park. Hope to come back when there is possibly a high water wave. Highly recommend.

What a gem. We have been visiting Plotter Kill for over a year and the changing seasonal characters…read moreof the part are just one of the many draws for us. The place is deceptively vast and you could easily get lost in it - not literally and in the most delightful ways. First off, parking is usually no problem since the parking lot fits about 20 vehicles, although there has been one occasion where it spilt over to the main road in the summer. The short trail from the parking lot to the first two forks is gorgeous with tree shade and mostly gravelly than the majority of the trails which are more natural. The creek and the falls are beautiful, although water level can be quite low in the summer and early fall. All in all this is a great park suitable for most people to navigate, and I'm glad for another natural reserve like this.

Gorgeous scenery here, but we had some issues with the trails/trail maps that I suspect weren't…read morecompletely down to my being bad at reading them. What's shown on the map at the entrance doesn't seem to conform to reality, and many trails are very obviously blocked off with warning signs, end in abrupt dead ends, or head off in directions that don't seem to reflect what the map shows. The blue trail on the map brings you past several waterfalls, but the real one seemed to reroute you away from the water and onto a muddy track through the woods heading in the opposite direction. This might have eventually led back in the direction of the falls, but we decided to turn back from when the mud got tough to deal with. To find the interesting bits in my pictures, we went to the first observation point on the blue trail, doubled back to take the bridge to the red trail, then went past there and took the yellow trail to the water before heading back to the parking lot, with a few accidental detours in between. With all of the backtracking and wrong turns I'd guesstimate that we walked a total of about three miles, but if you were more systematic about it you could probably do it under two. However, the short dead-end yellow trail especially was very steep and somewhat challenging for keeping our footing on the downhill, so appropriate hiking/walking shoes are still a good idea. Don't come here in flip flops! All in all this was still totally worth it, but I'd be really happy to learn that they've managed to re-open the trails that have been closed (for safety reasons?) and/or updated the maps to make it a bit easier to hit the scenic highlights.

This trail is hidden in plain sight but definitely worth finding. First you have to park at the…read moreymca next to the elementary school. Then creep around the playground and find the sign and steps on your right. They will lead you across a small bridge. Then you end up in a neighborhood and super confused. Keep going straight. At the end of the next block you will see a sign which I've attached. Follow this street to the dead end and that's where the trail really starts. It's super interesting from the beginning and starts off easy. It follows the river. As you get closer to the waterfall (yes an amazing waterfall) it gets more challenging. We climbed up the rocks to the base of the waterfall where this is a little pond. A true hidden gem and worth the effort.

Great little hike to the cascades which were beautiful. At the peak the pools are deep enough to go…read morein about knee deep. Water is cool and refreshing.

Not sure how I even heard of this place. But I did. So here I went. As far as state parks go, this…read moreone is pretty small. Only 48 acres. But a lot to see in those 48 acres. Takes about an hour to see every thing. When you are first driving in, you see the marble amphitheater. A grassy circle with tall marble walls surrounding it. Apparently there is an "art installation" here. Classical music plated at astronomical sundown every evening. HOWEVER the park closes at 4:45. So - if there are no visitors to hear it, do the rocks make a sound??? It looked like it would have been a gorgeous spot to sit with a bottle of wine, a loved one, and some tapas, enjoy sunset and some Classic Rock music. BUT the park is closed. When you reach the parking lot, there is a short trail that leads you to the white marble dam. A sign tells you that this is the only WHITE marble dam in the USA. Which leads me to believe there are other marble dams, just not white ones? It was pretty and peaceful. Further down the trail you come to the Natural Bridge. The parks namesake. And this was pretty disappointing. Maybe since I go out west every year and I've seen all the huge sandstone arches and bridges, I saw this bridge and it looked more like a teeny tiny slot tunnel. I guess it's a natural bridge in the Webster dictionary sense. But this was supposed to be the highlight. My advice to DVR - change the park name to be White Marble Dam State Park. Not as many disappointed customers.

After visiting Mass MOCA spend an hour down the road at this park - you will not be disappointed!!…read moreNatural Bridge State Park gets its name from its natural white arch made of 550-million-year-old bedrock marble that was carved by a glacial melt some 13,000 years ago. The bridge spans Hudson Brook as it runs through a 60-foot gorge, which DCR calls "one of the best demonstrations of glacial erosion in New England." The park contains North America's only white marble dam, built in 1838. It was first used to supply water to an industrial quarry mill that operated from 1810 to 1947. In 2022 the state closed an unsafe portion of the viewing platform that goes over the chasm along with other unsafe areas of the park. The park department is planning improvements including improved parking and visitor center arrival areas, expanded universal access, and a "reimagined chasm viewing experience" with new accessible overlooks of the dam, brook, and natural bridge. It really is a remarkable natural park and deserves attention so that people can come and enjoy all its beauty. Giving it four stars for its spectacular wonder and for the visitor center that has interesting information about the glacial formations.

The amazing scenic area is second to the staff who love sharing their time and passions with the…read morevisitors and community. Once you visit you will never forget it and you will always want to come back.

Nice bench to sit on and view the falls, there are quite a few steps (for those with issues…read moreclimbing stairs). Then another path through the woods (that the park has been updating with new stone and water drainage system) - lots of rolling hills.