Need some new or forgotten places to take a mom break or get the kids out of the house for some exercise? Check out some of our favorite places!
This week we visit the Esopus Bend Preserve
| Esopus Bend Preserve | ||||
4 Shady Lane, Saugerties, NY 12477 | ||||
With all this snow, it's a little bit trickier to find a trail for young hikers! But if you want to get on a relatively easy snow hike, check out the Esopus Bend Preserve! There were a few icy spots, but walking on the edge helped. The snow was very compacted from what I imagine is the result of a highly used trail, but we only saw 2 other people and one dog while we did our loop. | ||||
We park in the small lot right at the end of Shady Rd. You will see the trail map and you can choose your best suited adventure! We chose to just do the blue trail, which is a 1.2 mile loop. | ||||
When beginning you, you will start at the pavilion and choose to head down the Schroeder trail towards the right or left. We went left, but either direction will be a great adventure! | w | |||
Hiking the trail clockwise, you will reach the access point for the South Trail. Either trail, you will be adjacent to the water. We stayed on Schroeder's trail with a detour once in a while to check out the frozen creek. | ||||
This trail is fun in all seasons, and I will have to head back there to share what it is like during the snowless warmer months! As for our February hike, we chose to dress the kids in snow gear. We had this feeling that they would want to play in the snow while hiking! | ||||
This was our first time completing the loop, usually we turn around at the Kayak landing point. There's a small bridge, a bench to rest and a staircase down to the water. We continued on a took a short (was cold once we stopped moving) break at Bear's Bench and Overlook. Continuing on you will have the chance to follow the yellow trail, which would lead you to a different parking area. We trekked on to the kids favorite part of the trail. We came up to a few downhills and from all the previous hikers they were a bit slippery. I stayed along the edge and waddled my way down... the kids were up and down multiple times using the slippery slope as a natural playground! Was very glad we chose snow pants at this point! | ||||
The last quarter of a mile was a beautiful and quiet stroll through the woods. We found a few twisted trees, this "tree rainbow", and spotted a Pileated Woodpecker! There were so many animal tracks along the whole trail that we had fun guessing their owner. | ||||
Everyone hiked the whole way, including my 3 year old, who is very good at begging for someone to hold him 😂 (did I just age myself by using that emoji?). We highly recommend this hike that is right in Saugerties' backyard! You really feel like you are escaping from reality for a bit. | ||||
| Remember to always respect the world around you, including people, our trails and the wildlife living along the trail. Do you have a favorite spot to hike or take a stroll? Email me at JennaS@macaronikid.com | ||||
Interested in checking out more of our weekend hikes? You can see them all on our Hiking Guide! |
