Papscanee Island Nature Preserve(Town of Schodack, Rensselaer County)

Took both of my boys out for the first time today, opting to keep it local and take it nice and easy at the Papscanee Island Nature Preserve along the east banks of the Hudson River.  Weather conditions were optimal for mid August, with relatively tolerable humidity and temps in the low 80's.  Unfortunately the bugs were a whole separate issue.  They were absolutely swarming us!  Luckily, the trails are all pretty much level and easy walking.

Looking downstream on the Hudson River.  

Looking upstream on the river.  This was not only both of my boys favorite part of the hike, but the only area where the bugs weren't attacking us!

Once on the trails in the woods, we were inundated with biting mosquitoes so we practically ran much of the way.  I stopped briefly to take this photo on the red trail, and had to swat away several bugs off of my youngest's head...so we didn't linger.

We had every intention of hiking more of the trails here, but the bugs were relentless, so we turned back around along the white trail, rushing back to the car.  We covered about 1.3 miles RT.  Even with the annoyance, both of my boys really seemed to enjoy being out there exploring with me.

Dill Brook Community Forest(Town of Petersburg, Rensselaer County)

Took my toddler out for a local walk at the Dill Brook Community Forest in the quiet hills of rural Petersburg in eastern Rensselaer County.  The Community Forest covers 150 acres and is another one of Hudson Taconic Land's beautiful properties.  We first checked out Dill Creek, which sits just south of CR-94, and my son had a ball splashing around in the shallow but cool mountain stream.

After frolicking in the brook for a bit, we crossed over to the north side of the road and hiked some of the serene trails of the forest, which ranged from fairly steep to mostly benign.  

Although there is a decent amount of elevation change, I would guess from my experience, that the best views would be when the leaves are off the trees.  Down low, on the Quarry Rim Trail, I was able to capture this pastoral look out across some farmland along Route 22, with the eastern edge of the Rensselaer Plateau above.

My boy grew weary after a little while, so we cut the hike short.  We covered about 2 miles total, with 400 feet of combined climbing.

Rensselaer Tech Park Southern/ Cascades Trails(Town of North Greenbush, Rensselaer County)

Tucked between the Hudson River to the west, the city of Troy to the north, and the hustle and bustle of the Rensselaer Tech Park and nearby traffic on Route 4 to its east, sits an expansive wooded trail network filled with cascading streams, ravines and surprising solitude.  I took advantage of a rare window of free time this morning to visit the Tach Park's southern trails off of Stone Clay Road, on a beautiful summer day.  Even though it was a Tuesday, I was shocked to be the only car in the lot as I set out on the orange blazed trail.

I followed the trail west across Stone Clay Road, and into the woods, eventually meeting up with the highly scenic Cascades Trail.  A babbling brook accompanies you for much of this trail, with several picturesque cascades making for a pleasant stroll.

I followed the Cascades Trail west to its terminus, where it spills out onto railroad tracks, which run north/ south along the Hudson River.  I turned left here, headed south, along the tracks for about 1/3 of a mile until I saw the orange blazes of the South Trail drop down from the woods.

Back in the woods, the orange trail climbs steeply up  away from the tracks, winding its way through ravines, heading generally east back to the car.  The woods remained peaceful and quiet the entire hike,

Covered about 3.3 miles total with 350 feet of elevation gain along the way.  A Rensselaer County gem.