Overmountain Conservation Area(Ancram, Columbia County)

Decided to pay a visit to the Columbia County Land Conservancy's newest land acqusition, the Undermountain Conservation Area, located at 138 Catalano Road in the town of Ancram after work today.  The new area is the Land Conservancy's largest, at 1700 acres in size.  I arrived at the brand new Kate Hill parking lot, complete with signage and a kiosk at an 1150 feet elevation.

Stopped by the kiosk to pick up a trail map, and then continued on to a nearby old barn and a pair of picturesque silos.  From the barn, a right turn brings you onto the yellow trail.

I followed the yellow trail, which is actually an old farm road, up through a stately row of maple trees.  Although pretty, this area is painstakingly open to the bitter winds that were crashing down from the northwest today.

The trail climbs to the top of a wide open knoll, with other trails breaking off in each direction.  This part of the hike was made much more difficult to enjoy due to the harsh winds.

A gazebo sits atop the knoll, with spectacular views over the Harlem Valley and all the way west to the Catskills.

The rustic gazebo would make a perfect spot to watch the sun set.

The Catskill views from the gazebo.

Continuing on the yellow trail past the gazebo, the trail passes by a high meadow with distant views east towards the Taconics.

The yellow trail forms a loop in a large field at the far north end of the property.

Looping back south toward the gazebo, I turned left(east) onto a green marked trail, passing by a pretty pond.

The green trail passes through wide open fields, before meeting up with a black marked trail, which also stays in the open.  This section of trail does offer up some nice views of the Taconic ridge, but leaves you terribly exposed on a cold, windy day such as this.

I traveled south on the black trail all the way back to the yellow trail on the farm road near the parking area.  From there, I crossed Catalano Road and headed up the wide open slopes of Gentian Hill.

Gentian Hill is really just a large hill, at just over 1200 feet in elevation, but the views east towards the Taconics are quite nice.

From the top of the hill(and also the southern edge of the property), a nice view unfolds to the north, covering much of the trails I had just traveled.

Taconic views to the east as a steady drop brings you back down towards the hill's lower slopes.

A last sweeping view of the southern Taconic ridge, from the edge of the Conservation Area.  I was quite impressed with the multitude of viewpoints that are offered.

Turning the corner, heading back towards the parking area, with a a mowed path passing through a large swath of green.

I took a moment to check out a section of the blue trail, which crosses Catalino Road and actually connects this area to two other Columbia County Land Conservancy properties,  Round Ball Mountain to the south and Fox Hill Preserve to the north.  The stone steps leading away from the road are just one example of the impressive amount of work put into these trails.

Arriving back at the pastoral red barn, complete with a green John Deere tractor.

I really enjoyed this brand new preserve in the southeast corner of Columbia County, covering nearly all of the trails for a total of 3 miles with just under 400 feet of ascent.