Had some time off work with my wife so we decided to practice social distancing by heading up to the Rensselaer Plateau to visit Cherry Plain State Park. Temps in the low to mid 40's greeted us when we arrived but the bright blue skies more than made up for the cool temps. We decided to park near the State Park entrance on gravel Pesticide Shack Road and passed by a couple of folks out enjoying the first day of trout season on the Black River. We decided to stick to road walking today because the trails would probably be muddy.
Just up the hill a short distance on the road, we saw an earthen dam uphill in the woods so we decided to check it out. Ended up being a small, dammed pond, still holding tightly onto some ice on the shaded north facing end.
Back down on the road, we continued heading west, climbing steadily up. The road is gravel and perfect for walking or biking. We actually saw two bikers pass along the way. Even on a nice spring day like today, snow and ice holds on tight in these high elevations on the plateau.
We took Pesticide Shack Road west to the Game Refuge Road, where we turned south enjoying a very quiet and pleasant walk. Turns out the only other person we saw on foot on all day was a friendly DEC forest ranger.
Game Refuge Road steadily drops back down to Black River Road, and aptly enough Black River. I found this nice spot just a few yards off the road and felt like I was in the middle of the Adirondacks.
A bit further down the road to the east, near Old Town Way, I came to another beautiful spot on the Black River.
Soon enough we found ourselves on Miller Road, the main traffic road in the area along the east side of Black River Pond. Dropped down to an orange marked trail along the shore of the pond with gorgeous water views.
Back near the car and the State Campground entrance on the north side of the pond, I found some incredible shoreline views.
Explored the water's edge and some campsites, finding some really nice spots. This campsite on the east point of the pond, looking south may have been my favorite.
Hiked about 5.5 miles total for the day with nearly 700 feet of total ascent. A beautiful, rugged area where social distancing is quite easy.
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