Woke up to some surprisingly nice weather this morning, so Kalli and I decided to visit 168 acre Falling Waters Preserve in Saugerties. The Preserve is owned and managed by Scenic Hudson and features a little over 2 miles of very pleasant walking along the west side of the Hudson River.
To access the Preserve, you follow 9W south out of the village of Saugerties, before turning left on Route 32 then left again at a crossroads(Glasco Turnpike). Driving east now, you take a left onto York Ave leading you through residential streets when a sign for Falling Waters appears on the right. This is your turn, which you will follow to the parking lot on the left. Beautiful woodwork and a kiosk mark the start of the trail.
A gorgeous 17th century map of the Hudson River we found on the kiosk. There were also Park guide/ trail maps available to take along for your walk.
A blue marked trail known as the Father C. Jorn Trail, comes in on the right, dropping sharply down towards the Hudson. We followed this carriage road towards the sounds of cascading water, when about halfway down the hill we arrived at a group of benches with beautiful views of falling water.
A small stream provides the pleasant, relaxing views.
Continuing past the falls, we dropped down to the Hudson's shoreline where we saw a barge passing by.
The dazzling April sunshine dancing on the river water. Even with bright sun and temps close to 60, a noticeably cool breeze was blowing along the shoreline.
Another bench provides awesome views south over the Hudson from a small cove.
Walking back up the carriage road away from the river, we passed by several couples with dogs that were also out enjoying the beautiful spring day.
Not sure what this was from, but the teeth look in tact.
We really took our time strolling along the blue trail, which makes a nice loop along the low lands near the river. Walked back up the hill past the waterfalls again and arrived at the red marked "upland trail". This trail is actually a gravel road and made for very easy walking.
The road passes by nearby farmland and the bare early spring woods.
We passed by several benches along this stretch of trail with views of open fields.
The red marked trail comes to a small bridge and sharp right turn as you arrive at posted property. As you turn here, the sounds of cascading water become audible again and a short distance further you arrive at another set of waterfalls.
These falls are even more impressive than the first ones back on the blue trail. Several carefully placed benches face the falls and invite you to relax.
The red trail eventually meets a white marked "Riverside" trail at the northern extent of the Preserve. This trail offers intimate views along the Hudson River, following the shoreline for about half a mile before rising back up through the woods towards the parking area again.
Walked about 2.4 easy miles on a particularly scenic and gorgeous early spring day. This trail was just what was needed for a relaxing, easy-going couples day.
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