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.

A classic stop if you live nearby or are driving through! I've been before but it was a whole new…read moreexperience today brining my kids for the 1st time. They were absolutely impressed and got a little exercise with all those stairs! A must see!

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.

A small park that's good for kids on a hot sunny day as it has a lot of shade to keep it cool. The…read morepark has swings, slides and features other cool play equipment for the kids. In addition the park also has a basketball court and tennis court with enough room for adults to walk around. There is ample seating, parking and picnic tables for a mini picnic. Been coming here for 5 years now and will continue to do so till my son grows out of it.

Nice park when it's hot out with the tall pines. We call it…read morethe shady park. Well maintained. .

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

My wife was part of a group that rented out a pavilion in this park recently. Of note, the parking…read moresituation is a bit unusual so follow the signs (which take precedence over common sense). There were two pavilions in the area and we had the one on the right, but the one on the left was being used by two different groups of people celebrating two different events. I don't know if either or both rented it, or if both showed up at the same time, but it looked like an awkward situation. The pavilion we rented had at least one electrical outlet good for a crock pot or stereo, but don't think there were many more. Next to it was a small barbecue grill that was about 18x24". It was big enough for a family gathering, but it couldn't possibly hold enough food for a crowded pavilion unless they were all eating hot dogs. We tried, and only got about 16 burgers on it at a time. A large garbage can with a bag liner was inside at the corner, but we were told that it was NOT for use by people who rent the pavilion (rental is carry in-carry out) but instead was for use by those who don't rent the pavilion. That must be a mistake as nobody would have such a stupid policy. Nearby was a nice kids playground, and all around us and mixed through the trees was a disc golf course. I should have brought my old Frisbee from college. I was told a creek also ran in the area. Bathrooms were within sight but I never ventured near them. All told, a decent place to rent.

Shenantaha, meaning "deer water," is the Iroquois name for the Ballston Creek, which forms the…read moreeastern boundary of the park. The gates to drive to the park area closed. However, you can park your car upfront and take a long walk. Zin Smith trail passes through this park allowing hiking, bicycling, rollerblading, horseback riding, and snowmobiling. In the park there are remains of a mill that pressed flax seed oil.

Our group stopped into Saratoga National Historic Park on a Tuesday morning. Many of the parks have…read morelimited hours/opening days due to President Trump's cuts so we were happy to found a park open on a Tuesday. We spent our time at the Visitor Center as we couldn't commit to the road around the park due to other obligations. As we arrived we were invited to a Ranger Talk ne Game Show starting in a few minutes. We joined about 15 other folks outside for the talk/game show. It was awesome. The park's historian presented all of the parties that were blamed for the British army's loss and we chose the quotes from the General's book best attributed to each group. It was lots of fun and I definitely learned a lot in a short 30-40 minutes. When then watched the video inside about the battle's history and explored the visitor center. I'm sure the exhibits and stops around the drive are fantastic. We took a lot away from just our experience with the ranger and the visitor center. I highly recommend this stop to others. It's the first time the British army surrendered in their HISTORY! That's major. Have a great visit!

Having lived in a Boston suburb back in the 80's where the height of the American Revolutionary War…read moretook place all around that area (obviously many years before I was there, lol), I was surprised to learn upon a very recent visit to Saratoga Springs, NY that there is a park that preserves the site of the Battles of Saratoga, the first significant American military defeat of the British army in this period of history. Because we were in town on the opening weekend of the summer horse racing, and because this park is a few miles removed from the center of town, it was virtually empty the day we appeared at the park. Further, the park tour is all done by car, about 10 miles of a paved one-way only road with (10) marked stops. There is also a visitor center at the beginning. To fully engage with the driving tour, one must access their audio narration, which can be easily found and set up. The audio tour discusses each of the 10 marked stops and offers an indepth description of what we were looking at. One could easily get out of the car and walk around or just stay in the car listening to the narration. It is very well set up and so easy to follow along, both in terms of the car route and narration. Also, if one is ambitious enough, one could even bicycle their way through the park's 9 or 10 miles of road. For me, it would've been too hilly, but we saw a number of bikers along the path. Kudos to them for sure ! As with ALL battle sites, when one views the land in times of freedom, and it is quiet, pristine and beautiful (typically), it is (at least for me) difficult to envision that many people lost their lives on the very grounds we would walk (or drive) in order to pave the way for freedom and democracy. If you only knew how much I am having to force myself to remain quiet about THAT in the year 2025 with what is going on in this world and more specifically, this nation of ours, but I will just refrain from going THERE. What I will say is this... especially if you are a history buff... or if you just like viewing beautiful terrain, this park will NOT disappoint. A very nice little detour from the horse racing and whatever else you might be doing in Saratoga Springs !!

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 local park has tennis courts, basketball courts, a really nice playground with some seating…read morefor adults, swings, slides and a ton of grassy areas for play time. The playground is mulched so make sure your kids are wearing appropriate footwear. My son usually plays on the swing and I take him there to use the basketball court. Its been a while buy I'll start back again in the summer. I have some bitter sweet and an adventurous experience and memory from this place. You can take a trail that connects to the local neighborhood and during winter I have seen kids sledding. There is ample parking space.

Great park with a several choices for swinging on swings, climbing ladders and sliding on a variety…read moreof slides. It even has an old-fashioned merry-go-round. Pickle ball courts adjacent for an older crowd. Fun.