Decided to check out the Van Rensselaer Forest and Wildlife Preserve in Glenmont, a somewhat obscure open space that is owned and managed by the First Reformed Church of Bethlehem. The main trailhead is located off of Route 9W just south of Elmwood Cemetery, but being such a busy road, I decided to use the alternate entrance from the nearby church itself. Cold and breezy, winter like conditions greeted me as I set out on Ted Luidens Trail to start.
The trails are in need of TLC, as most of them have fallen into a bad state of despair. Even the several small wooden footbridges have began to rot and some appear unsafe. This bridge was actually probably the nicest of them all.
If prickers are your cup of tea, then this preserve is for you!
Emerging at the clearing near the Route 9W entrance, with rushing traffic on a busy holiday weekend rushing by.
A badly eroded picnic table sitting sadly beside the trail. I saw a few wooden bird houses that looked to be in rough shape as well.
I ventured down to the pond, which I'm sure at one point was a nice, pleasant spot to visit. Prickers and thick bushes have completely overgrown the entire perimeter of the pond, however, making it all but impossible to get a clear view of the water now. Even the wooden viewing bench has been nearly reclaimed by nature.
I'm not really sure what has happened here, but it looks like there is basically no maintenance of any kind in these woods. It's sad to see because it looks as though this was a nice place to visit some time ago, but those days are long gone. I took most of the trails here, and bushwhacked where trails disappeared altogether for a total of about 1.5 miles of wandering around.
A backissue of the Spotlight indicates improving the trails had been a 1988 Eagle Scout project. Maybe the signs, bridges, and picnic table date from then?
ReplyDeleteI've lived a large part of my life in Glenmont but had never tried visiting that preserve until today. I had a map that I'd found on some blog that I'd luckily printed out (lucky, as I cannot find it online at the moment). There was snow on the ground and no prints other than deer and possibly a loose dog's. I didn't see any trail markers, but there was a fairly clear path from that south entrance northeastward to a tree with signs
ReplyDelete<- Short Trail [in yellow]
Long Trail -> [in yellow]
Pond -> [in red]
<-9W-> [in red]
The directions and colors don't match up to the trail map I'd found online. However, the trail in either direction wasn't clear so I headed back. The map I had has a red long trail on the west side of a stream connecting 9w and the church parking. A green short trail connects two points along the red long trail. A yellow "Sam's Trail" on the east side of the stream connects two points on the red trail. There's also a dotted "pond trail" leading north from the pond to a picnic area. Both the pond trail and Sam's trail are identified as "difficult."
The preserve had been in the news back around 2016 when there was discussion of a gas line being put through it, which had a lot of opposition. The RCA website states in part "Our church has held this land in sacred trust for more than 220 years. This land contains the Van Rensselaer Forest and Wildlife Preserve, a designated conservation area in the town of Bethlehem. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Open for community use, the preserve is an area of wildlife refuge, nature trails, and benches for quiet contemplation. Our local Boy Scouts have done troop projects in the forest."
Another blog online states that in 1948 Pastor Ted Luidens led plans to plant 47,000 seedlings in that area that account for the forest present now. I'm not sure when the trails were first created.
Wow! Thanks for the in depth and informative information you were able to dig up. It's really a shame that the trails have fallen into such despair. I can only imagine how overgrown they must be in the summer!
DeleteI got in touch with the church, and there's a new pastor there who's interested in forming a new team to look after it. Though not being a member, I might help. I also recommended they connect with Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy for advice.
DeleteHere's the map: https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110179653839607320851/album/AF1QipNzmfB9CC4Co5K4SRoDfI8I92NpiZwqcPdadwVQ/AF1QipNZPwJ7PMkjV9INGdfEDyCa6AUb1ZCG9i-EYDzO
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful! There's so much potential in those woods for a nice outdoor experience...glad to hear there's some hope moving forward!
DeleteI haven't heard anything since prior to the meeting. I gave the trail from the south another shot, but even with less snow on the ground lost the trail once I reached the signposts. I then tried from 9W. The main red trail going east then north was pretty easy to follow, though a lot of downed trees. I stopped past the rotting picnic table where it started going downhill to the creek, because there was icy packed snowcrust and my shoes weren't prepared for that. I then went back and found what I think was the other red trail going south and took that for a while but at a large fallen tree it became unclear. It all definitely needs some TLC.
DeleteYes for sure...definitely needs a lot of work but at least there is a nice framework laid out to work with.
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