We have been trying to enjoy as much of nice fall weather as possible, and someone had recommended the Woodlawn Preserve to us. This preserve is located in Schenectady, NY, and is easy to find.
We used Google Maps to find the trail head at the end of Gifford Ave, and there is a decent amount of parking. There are also different access points to the preserve, which you can find on their website.
There is an informative trailhead, with a map and other information.
Unfortunately, it is marked as a tick-infested area, so we decided to minimize how much we would go into brush. Ticks are common around here but we are very careful nonetheless.
We started off on the main path, which is a paved road.
There are trail markers along the way to help guide you.
There are trails going off the main trail, which go to the water. I assume these are also places to sit and relax or fish. However, we stayed off the trails so we could stay out of the brush as we wanted to avoid getting any ticks on us.
We also missed the trail that takes you around the lake, but decided against it anyway. While the trail is better on the other side of the concrete barrier, it still looked like we would be going through brush.
There is a railroad along the side of the preserve. I don’t know that everyone takes the paved path to the fishing access, but that’s what we did in light of the tick warning.
The lake is pretty, but the water levels were high in late September.
In fact, the water was so high that all of the trails around the lake were flooded, so we weren’t able to go on any of the trails that go around the lake, which we had been hoping to see.
There is a colorful fishing dock on the side of the lake, where lots of people were fishing. We saw some receptacles for throwing out fishing line, which was pretty neat.
We didn’t get to explore much of the Woodlawn Preserve, but perhaps we will try back when water levels are lower. It’s nice to see some natural areas where you can explore in Schenectady.
Check out the Woodlawn Preserve website here.
That’s great that you were able to plan a family outing at the Woodlawn Preserve as a break from the pandemic. It looks like a wonderful place to connect with nature and yes, the lake is lovely!
That’s a gorgeous place to hike. The lake is lovely and even the tick warning wouldn’t have prevented me from seeing it!
This looks like such a peaceful spot. I know my daughter would want to come here to take photos.
This is a fun place and peaceful, I must put this place on my bucket list for our next vacation to go see. thanks for sharing.
It looks so green. I would enjoy hiking here to see all the trees and plants.
I have to put Woodlawn Preserve, in Schenectady, NY on my list of places to visit this year. It looks like a really relaxing place to visit.
Ticks are yucky. I would have avoided the area entirely unless I was prepared with off mosquito and tick spray. But spray is not 100% effective so you would still need to look for ticks afterwards. I lived in North Carolina for a while and the ticks would fall from the trees.
This looks so pretty and peaceful! I love places like that 🙂
That looks like an amazing place to be. These are the kinds of places I love going. Just being out in nature is always fun.
Woodlawn preserve looks like a great place to go on a hike with family! Glad you are enjoying this season and outings 🙂 I can’t wait to travel again 😍
Wow! This sounds like a really great and wonderful place to visit!
Oh my! This is such a really amazing place I know my kids would love to be here!
This is a place that I would like to visit, maybe in summer when the water lever will be low for sure!
Looks like a great place to relax and unwind. I love that view of the lake.