Love walking here along the river. Really pretty with the trees and the river. It's great in the…read moreday and so pretty after dinner. Trail follows a wooded path that leads to a walk along the river (that is also still wooded). My only dislike is that some sections have a steep cliff drop to the river. BUT there is usually also a single lane trail a bit farther inland you could use if heights bother you (which is the case with me). I walk on the inside and my husband likes the outside closer to the edge. Very pretty to see the river and watch it flow while walking alongside it. Also love looking for birds here. Nice gentle walk with exposed roots.

Peebles has been my go to walking trail for over a few years now. Trails are easily marked and…read moremanageable elevation.

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!

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.

We started coming here during the pandemic as a way to get out of the house. Their two dog park…read moreareas, which are fenced in, are reasonably large and clean and share a common "owner area" in the middle where we can watch our pets run around. The old Troy and Schenectady Railroad, now a rail-trail, was also pleasant to walk along through the woods. Admittedly, I enjoyed it more for its former railroad history than as an actual paved trail but there enough things to do and see including a large tunnel that went under Route 9 and a dusty cement plant. The water park area is fantastic with lots of spraying pipes and hoses and such in the kiddie spray area. There are several pools too for different swim levels and one had diving boards. Changing rooms with free lockers are provided, and there is a concession stand on one end that sells hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, and the like. There is one downside though: they ID everyone that comes in. Colonie residents pay $7 each, and non-residents pay $12 each. That is for the day. It isn't a lot of money, and I believe you can purchase season passes to save money. But, on the day we came I didn't think to bring my license and they absolutely wouldn't let me in without some form of ID or proof of address. They asked if I had old mail in my car (nope), a way to check a bill on my [flip] phone (nope), insurance registration (nope), etc. We paid the $5 non-resident premium and moved on. I won't make that mistake again, and as a Colonie resident I sort of appreciate why they are doing it, but it was annoying.

I really love the High Diving board and I wish my girlfriend could go swimming with me!read more

I'm constantly on the lookout for great places to hike not far from home. I saw this one in a…read moreguidebook and I'm glad I tried it. The preserve is on 138 acres on a very quiet road. There's a trail on one side of Rarick rd. to the Onesquethaw Creek, and more hiking trails across the road. It's beautiful and quiet but fairly muddy this time of year.

Ample parking in the provided lot on a weekday. I took the white loop that starts across the Rarick…read moreRoad first. I only saw 2 other people on this trail (and 2 later on the creek trail). Easy forest walk, mostly flat with some stones and tree roots. It was surprisingly not muddy and few bugs. Amazing rock formations and lots of native plants. On my way back, I connected with the blue/creek trail, which has amazing views of the rushing water. This is a bit rockier path. You have to walk along Rarick Road a little ways at the end of this trail to connect to the last leg that will take you back to parking. Overall I walked about 2 miles. The trails are well marked and kept. Would definitely come back, a treasure!

horrible service and bad manners- the ladies were judging us and were very passive aggressive. they…read moredidn't greet us and didn't believe our younger sister was 11. made us pay for 4 adult tickets. completely unjustified and agist.

Beautiful pool to lounge around or swim in. Way less crowded with way less kids than the Peerless…read morePool. You can bring your own non-glass, non-alcoholic drinks in a small cooler and relax all day!

This is a tiny little park just south of Route 9 and right off of Canal Road. It is so small that…read morethe road it is located directly on (which connects with Canal Road) doesn't even have a name! There isn't much going for this park itself, though there are a couple of benches and a picnic table. You can see the Mohawk River and the wildlife along the coast. Where I think it has the potential to be nice is if you are grabbing food from one of the few nearby restaurants. Instead of eating it there, bring it here and enjoy a nice picnic meal in the sunshine while watching the water.

For birdwatchers this is a great trail. Yellow, red, blue, silver . . . I can't identify the…read morespecies, but you will see a great variety of them. The trail is usually easily walkable (not so much after a heavy rain) and it is level. A fabulous nature experience!