May 12, 2026 - Leon M Steves Big Bay & Hudson Pointe Nature Preserves hike, in Queensbury, <2 miles outside the Adirondack Park. Mostly sunny, 60°F. No bad bugs. Saw 10 other people, half were fishing on the green trail. 1 car in the Steves parking lot when I got there, 2 when I left. Yellow to Red trails. Lots of violets. L across Clendon Brook bridge & into Hudson Pointe blue trail. L on green trail which goes along the Hudson River. Boardwalk, & bridge crosses a cove. The river is wide here, hence Big Bay. No boats. R on Red & Yellow trails to loop back to Steves. Yellow with overlook thru the trees. Lots of flat, but moderately steep when transitioning from lower trails to upper. Mostly quiet & peaceful on a Tuesday afternoon. 2.4 hours. Very nice.
May 11, 2026 - Rush Pond Way, a Queensbury Parks and rec preserve. 2.6-mile trail. Hoping to see some different flowers - saw lots of wild oats. Nice but too close to the Northway.
Oct 28, 2021 - SULLIVAN PRESERVE hike. In Queensbury, just N of Glen Lake canoe/kayak launch. Had a lot of rain earlier this week but the trails were dry. Especially liked the swamp with a view to French Mtn (partial bushwhack to get a good view), & the Ridge Trail. Tall trees, mixed deciduous with some white pines. Interesting trail names (Jill's Thrill, Gallien's Glide, Pig Alley, etc.). Wide & smooth trails - would like to xc ski here, at least intermediate. 2.8 miles, 1.6 hours.
July 10, 2021 - VAN DUSEN PRESERVE from West Mountain Rd in Queensbury, just outside the Adirondack Park. I was exploring something else in the area but could not go past a new-to-me preserve without checking it out. Lollipop loop trail clockwise. Up thru hemlocks with some white pine, then changes to open hardwoods. After a gain of 450' in 0.8 miles, at an elevation of 970', there are some thru-the-trees views - should be nice in late fall or as a winter snowshoe - the land above the preserve's high point is posted (City of Glens Falls waterworks). 2 whitetail deer, lots of gypsy moths (the leaves on the hardwoods looked yellow-green like in spring, I believe the gypsy moth caterpillars ate the leaves & the trees recently sprouted new leaves). Dry trail, despite recent rains. No bad bugs (there are no streams or wetlands in the preserve). No-one there when I started mid-day but saw 4 people just as I was finishing. 2.2 miles. The Dutch Van Dusen family moved in to this area in 1785!
https://www.qlcny.org/vandusen-preserve.
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