Borden's Pond

The 62-acre Borden's Pond Conservation Area lies on the outskirts of the village of Chatham and offers  nearly 2 miles of woodland hiking.  Owned and maintained by the Columbia County Land Conservancy, the property offers a unique variety of habitat as well as a storied history. Colder temperatures have returned to the area following our recent warm spell which actually made for better walking on the frozen snow today.

 Borden's Pond is now an extinct pond, but was originally created in the 1920's by the Borden Mil Company to harvest ice for dairy products.  Presently it is a large wetland with a seasonal stream that flows from a dammed area and follows trail side for a distance.

 There are several small seasonal streams throughout the property.  This small stream on a hillside had a small area of running water in plain view.  If you listened closely, you could hear the sounds of running water buried beneath the still deep snow pack as well.

 The stream meandering through the woods along the trail.

 A charming little shed which I presume holds tools and equipment for trail improvements sits further along the trail

 As I climbed steeply from the green trail up to the yellow and red trails, the setting sun could be seen just over the treeline radiating its light.

 Continuing on the yellow trail with a nice, sunny glow at my back.

 About 20 yards off an upper section of the yellow trail lies a very large open field with expansive views west with the Catskills in the distance.  Looking closely, snow squalls can be seen moving in.

 A line of snow showers accompanied me for the last part of the hike.  As I neared the parking lot, the snow continued through a beautiful sunset.  It made for a very pretty scene.

Despite the cooler temperatures and biting winds I was very glad to get out for about 1.5 miles of hiking today on a quiet Monday evening.