What better cure for cabin fever than to get out for an historic walk along the Mohawk River on a cold winter's day. With the sun shining bright, temperatures in the mid 20's didn't feel all that bad as I arrived at the parking area for the Crescent-Halfmoon Park. There are three separate parking areas for the park, and I decided to start from the large parking area at the end of Terminal Road on the north side of the Cresecent Bridge on Route 9.
A popular fishing spot in the warmer months, this is a beautiful location with impressive up close view of the 1229 foot Crescent Bridge that spans the Mohawk River, connecting Albany County to Saratoga County.
A handicap access paved trail leads under the bridge to a bench and unique fishing spot. The sounds of rushing traffic above on the bridge, however, is certain to quell any sense of solitude.
A view upstream from under the bridge near the site of the old Crescent Aqueduct.
Once on the other side of the bridge, the trail turns to crushed stone, passing through cattails swaying in the breeze.
An interpretive panel and historical marker provide some insight into this historically relevant location.
One thing that this trail doesn't lack is an abundance of river views. Our mostly mild winter so far means that most of the water remains open with minimal ice of any kind.
As the trail closely hugs the river's edge there are continued good views back towards the Crescent Bridge, with Bald Mountain poking out in the distance to the SE. Last night's cold temperatures helped form some ice along the shore, but even today(with temps only in the mid 20's) under the sun I could hear it breaking up.
A relaxing, peaceful walk along the river, complete with many benches for soaking in the water views. My only complaint is that a road with light traffic is never more than 10 to 15 yards away from trail.
A bit further down the trail, I began to see views across the river to the Shelter Cove Community, a fairly new high end apartment complex.
As I continued, the trail soon pulled away from the river and crossed over the road and nearly into people's backyards. When I arrived at the third and final parking area across from the Crescent Boat Club, I decided to turn back. A pair of picnic tables and grassy field here are nice, but the highlight of this park is certainly the area around the Crescent Bridge.
Retraced my steps back to the car for a total of 3 miles round trip.
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