Cool place. Nice and relaxing. The waters are calm. Take a nice walk and watch the water over the…read moreDam. A good fishing spot.

Have you guys heard of this coronavirus thing?…read more Anyway, it's this worldwide pandemic thingy that confined everyone to their homes for basically the last five months. Seeing as how my home is a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, this left my wife and I both working full-time from home, with a toddler, and nowhere to go. We're extremely lucky in our family, and had a small (but far bigger than our apartment), old, house we could shelter in next to this beautiful lake in the Adirondack Park. And this lake has been a lifesaver. In cold weather, it provided me with a shoreline overrun by nature that I could take out my excess energy on to fix up. In hot weather, swimming keeps me from flying into murderous rages (no air conditioning in this old house). When calm, we can kayak, and paddleboard, and just float when we feel lazy. At dusk, we can fish, and skim rocks, and point out frogs to our daughter. With its mountain backdrop, Lake Algonquin is gorgeous in all seasons. The sun glitters like diamonds in the summer. The colors of the autumn leaves are brief but spectacular. It freezes so solid in the winter that they have car races on it, and the snow remains pristine and perfect, unlike the sludge of NYC that appears after an hour or two. And when everything wakes up and starts blooming in spring, it's incredible and alive and downright magical. My father-in-law disparages it as merely a dammed river (perhaps he means 'damned'), but I love this lake, and I feel so fortunate to spend time next to it. Worldwide pandemics aren't my favorite, but Lake Algonquin has been a silver lining for sure.

Amazing easy/moderate hike in. No idea it existed and not that far away from Troy/Albany…read more Surprisingly big waterfalls and rock formations. Was told cause of all the rain it was not normally as high. Really peaceful. Thankfully no trash or other distractions from people. Will be back many times I'm sure.

I almost don't want to write a review for this conservation area because then it could become…read moreinundated with people. Simply put, you don't have to walk very far for some incredible views. We visited right after a heavy summer rainstorm so the trail right down to the falls was a bit hard to traverse (high water, slippery rocks, etc) but it was worth the treachery. But you don't have to hitch yourself down to get the full magic of these falls, you can also go for a slightly longer walk to see them at eye level. If you're visiting close to the Hudson area, a visit to the High Falls Conservation Area should be on your list! Then grab a drink in town.

Wouldn't recommend this trail. It feels swampy and my small dog was getting smacked in the face…read morewith various things. It's very narrow. Lots of noise from nearby traffic. Did not feel serene at all. We actually stopped walking on this trail and decided to drive 20 minutes to Peebles Island State Park which was spectacular.

We recently had a good-weather weekend this September, and decided to check out some nature…read morepreserves. We found the Dwaas Kill Nature Preserve in Clifton Park and thought it looked like a nice place to explore. We found parking right along the road, and there were a decent number of spaces left. Just a note, when it was time to leave, you have to back out into the road. There was someone before us who carefully backed up and was almost hit by someone speeding around the curve. It was a little nerve-wracking to back out into the same place, as people come flying around the bend. Just a word of caution. Right off the bat, we realized we had missed a trail. There is supposed to be a fishing trail to the left, but had walked right by it. When we returned back to the beginning of the trail later, we saw the fishing trail had grown in. We were able to follow the orange trail, which had some markers. The beginning of the orange trail was pleasant, with attractive wildflowers. After a couple minutes of walking on the trail, we reached a sandy area. I see on the trail map that there is a sandy pit area. It seems like there is a lot of dirt bike activity over hear, and the sand and trails are torn up. We also noticed lots of trash, like beer bottles and other junk. We made our way back to the car, following paths that meandered through the woods. We noticed the signs on the way out that prohibit motorized vehicles. It is nice that there is land set aside in a preserve, but sad to see that people aren't respecting natural areas like this. It seems like the area has been misused a lot, and the fishing trail has been neglected. Hopefully in the future there will be improvements made to the nature preserve. We did not spend a lot of time here, as the trails are short and we decided not to hike the entire preserve after seeing all the trash and damaged areas.

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

Serene little spot in the Catskills of upstate New York. Perfect place to enjoy nature on the…read moretrails or on their surprisingly large lake. My girlfriend and I spent a few hours here on a Sunday afternoon in May. If you rent a boat you can keep it out as long as you want, and you have access to the whole property for the entire day. We spent awhile in kayaks and had the whole lake to ourselves for the entire time. We then spent some time down at the swimming hole and had that to ourselves as well. Everyone who works there was incredibly friendly and helpful. Beautiful day overall and the perfect end to a perfect weekend getaway.

Oh what a magical experience. My boyfriend Tom and I kayaked the lake that the owner Jim so kindly…read moreadvised us of all the animal population. Birds, turtles, fish, beaver dams. It was so wonderful we came back a second day, and took use of the grounds by the swimming hole. You truly felt like you were on another planet. It was amazing and will revisit!

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.

The Hannacroix Ravine, a Nature Conservancy Preserve.  It is located in Clarksville, NY, off Cass…read moreRoad, and we had no problems finding the preserve using the directions on the Nature Conservancy website and Google Maps.  There are signs along the road and a small parking lot that holds two cars. I've heard it doesn't really get busy, so parking shouldn't be a concern, but just what I was told. (Note that the Hannacroix Ravine is different from the Hannacroix Preserve in New Baltimore, NY). We started off at the trailhead.  There isn't a kiosk at the beginning of the trail, so you might want to save a copy of the trail map to your phone beforehand. The trail meanders through woods, and is mostly flat or only a slight elevation change. My knees have been bothering me lately, so this was a great trail for me. The kids only complained moderately, so overall a success. There isn't a whole lot to do as far as exploring until you come to the creek. We had fun checking out the creek and wandering both up and downstream. We found some fish, newts, crayfish, and more. Being September, the stream was very low. Once we were done exploring the creek, we headed back the way we came. You can also do a loop, which puts you out to the road, and then you have to walk back a bit on the road. I don't think the road is too busy, but we figured the rest of the loop was similar to the first half, so we just went back how we had come in. I would say it was a couple miles from the trailhead to the creek. Overall, a pleasant hike with some nice exploring along the creek.