Short Hike #9: Fox Preserve

Looking toward the Mohawk River 

Hidden away in the Town of Colonie is the Fox Preserve, a 70-acre property only a short distance from the Latham shopping district. Acquired by the Mohawk-Hudson Land Conservancy in 2015, its 1.25 miles of well-maintained trails opened to the public in October 2017.

Trail map, posted at trailhead kiosk

While not a place for a long excursion, the Fox Preserve's easily-accessible location makes it a good destination for a short walk if you want to stay close to home or hike as part of a shopping trip. Indeed, wanting to enjoy the warmer-than-normal weather in early February 2019 is what brought me to the Fox Preserve on a Sunday afternoon.

Trailhead kiosk

There is one main trail, blazed in orange, that makes a 0.9-mile loop. An alternate white-blazed trail adds a small distance to the loop. During my visit, I stuck to the clearly-blazed orange trail.

Starting at the kiosk, I headed west (counterclockwise) along the orange trail. We pass through a stand of trees and climb a gentle hill to a clearing.

Approaching the clearing

A picnic table provides a place to rest and enjoy the scenery at the clearing.

Clearing and picnic table

Looking north, we have the only real scenic vista at the preserve: a view of the wetlands along the Mohawk River.

View at clearing 

According to the trail map, the white trail breaks off at this clearing, but it is not clearly marked. Continuing along the orange trail, the we proceed east through a level stand of forest.

Soon enough, things become more interesting as we approach the Shaker Creek ravine. At first, there is a drop-off to the left...

then the trail begins to drop into the ravine.

At the east end of the preserve, the trail makes a wide U-turn to the left, turning to follow the path of Shaker Creek.

Shaker Creek

There's a man-made waterfall across the ravine from this turn, in the form of a drainage pipe emptying into Shaker Creek.

Drainage outlet

Now heading west, the trail passes through slightly more rugged terrain along the creek.

Nearing the parking lot, the trail pulls away from the creek and passes through a stand of trees

 Soon enough, we're back at the parking lot, facing the trailhead kiosk.

While it isn't a place to visit if you hope to hike all day (I made the loop in roughly 25 minutes), the Fox Preserve is a nice little suburban oasis that is now open for the public to enjoy.

Getting Here

The Fox Preserve is located on River Road in the northern part of the Town of Colonie. A paved parking lot on the south side of the road serves as the trailhead.

External Links

Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy - Fox Preserve: Official website

Short Hike #4: Christman Sanctuary

Main waterfall from end of spur trail
(All pictures mine)

Having just finished my only exam of the semester, I was in no mood to do any more work and I wanted to spend the remainder of the beautiful day outdoors. A friend of mine had told me about the Christman Sanctuary a couple months ago and I had yet to check it out, so I figured I'd head over there instead of my typical nearby short hike destinations. The Christman Sanctuary, managed by The Nature Conservancy, is located in southwestern Schenectady County in the Town of Duanesburg, with the main attraction being the waterfalls along Bozen Kill.

I pulled into the parking lot around 3:30 PM on a warm Tuesday afternoon. The small parking lot can hold 4-5 cars, but there is also some room to park along the road. Leaving the trailhead, the main loop trail, marked with blue blazes, proceeds through a grassy area. Planks cross some muddy areas.

Near the trailhead

Running along the edge of the woods, the blue loop begins. While not readily apparent, one can follow the loop clockwise by ducking into the woods or continue straight along the wide path (the most direct way to the waterfalls). Soon enough, this trail too bends into the woods

Blaze near the beginning of the woods

Not too far into the woods, we reach a bridge with plaque next to it. The plaque dedicates the bridge to Doris Saunders Plant.

Continuing across the bridge, the path begins a hard to follow winding trek through the woods

Yeah, that's the trail

The occasional blue blaze served as reassurance that I was indeed on the trail.

Eventually, the trail makes a sharp turn to the left and we begin the descent into the Bozen Kill ravine.

Down, down, down we go

Near the bottom of the ravine, there is a junction. Straight ahead, the blue trail follows Bozen Kill downstream. Sharp right is the yellow-blazed spur trail to the falls. I turned right.

Looking down the falls spur trail

The yellow trail wastes no time getting up close and personal with the cliffs, narrowing and descending through cracks in the rock.

Yup, that's the trail 

Ropes in much of this area help one to keep their balance and, in a couple places, the trail is under rock overhangs.

Did I really just walk under that?

By this point, we're walking right along the edge of Bozen Kill and a small waterfall is to the left.

Continue down the trail a bit and we reach the main attraction, a 30-foot waterfall, less than half a mile from the trailhead.

The waterfall cascades into a shallow pool rimmed by cliffs. Swimming and wading are expressly forbidden. A shelter containing a table is also located here.

Shelter

Having viewed the falls, I was ready to continue on.

Looking downstream along Bozen Kill 

Retracing my steps back to the blue trail, I followed the blue trail downstream to complete the loop.

A ways down, the orange trail breaks off to the right, crossing Bozen Kill on a set of stepping stones. This trail loops through the southern half of the preserve.

Orange Trail's crossing of the creek

Some more small falls and rapids are located downstream of the Orange Trail.

The blue trail turns away from the creek and a spur trail departs on the left, leading to the Christman Memorial.

Spur trail to the Christman Memorial

The trail enters a more open area near the road before turning back into the woods.

Soon enough, we're back at the point where the blue trail splits.

Approaching the loop split point

Looking down the other side of the Blue Trail loop

Turning right here leads back to the parking lot.

Approaching the parking lot

While not a ton of effort, the Christman Preserve makes for an excellent short hike if you'd like to see some waterfalls and don't have a lot of time to do it.

Getting Here

The Christman Sanctuary is located along Schoharie Turnpike in Duanesburg, about halfway between NY Route 7 and US Route 20. 

Resources

The Nature Conservancy: Christman Sanctuary: official website for preserve. Contains trail maps and more information.