John Boyd Thacher State Park

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John Boyd Thacher State Park

Type State Park
Location Albany County, New York
Coordinates 42° 38' 57" 74° 00' 19"
Size 2,155 acres (872 ha)
Opened 1914
Operated by New York State

John Boyd Thacher State Park is a state park located 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Albany, New York near Voorheesville, in Albany County on State Route 157. Located mostly atop the Helderberg Escarpment, the park has several hiking trails that offer panoramic views of the Green Mountains in Vermont and the Hudson Valley.

Contents

[edit] Description

Picnic Area
Picnic Area

The park is open year round, 8:00 am until sunset. The Indian Ladder Trail is open from May 1 to November 15, weather permitting. All other trails are open year-round. It is located on the Helderberg Escarpment, one of the best fossil bearing formations in the USA. There are over 12 miles (20 km) of trails in the park[1] including the famous Indian Ladder trail. The park has an Olympic sized swimming pool, volleyball courts, children’s play areas and numerous cooking/barbecue areas both open and covered.

Nearby at Thompson Lake, is the Emma Treadwell Thacher Nature Center which opened in July 2001[2] and has permanent and occasional displays for the public to view. The center also offers educational programs and visitor information.

From the top of the escarpment, which reaches 1300 ft (400 m), there are fine views of the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys as well as spectacular panoramas of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains of Vermont.

[edit] History

The history of the park area dates back to the late 1570s when the trail now known as the Indian Ladder Trail was used by the Mohawk Iroquois Indians to reach the trading post run by Henry Hudson. [3]

Tory Cave sign
Tory Cave sign

It was here that in 1777, at a spot known as Tory Cave, Jacob Salsbury found refuge from settlers during the Burgoyne Invasion

The region is very well drained as all surface water runs into the limestone, making it an infertile area for farming. There are some fertile areas along the streams and Dutch settlers were brought in to the region by Patroons to whom they paid heavy rents until they freed themselves of the burden through the so called Helderberg War (also called the Anti-Rent War) of 1839.[4]

The park is named after Albany mayor John Boyd Thacher whose widow, Emma Treadwell Thacher, donated the land in 1914.[5] Since opening the area was designated a State Park The park soon became popular with the residents of Upstate New York and many amenities were added. The purchase of 500 acres (2 km²) of land in 2004 [6] with a State grant of $750.00 from the Environmental Protection Fund and a donation of land from the Nature Conservancy of 81 acres (320,000 m²) and the further purchase of 188 acres (0.76 km²) on 3 August 2006 [7] took the total area of the park to 2,155 acres (8.72 km²).

It is most likely that the most prominent feature of the park, the Helderberg escarpment got its name from the Dutch Helder meaning bright or light and Berg meaning mountain.[8]

[edit] Trails

There are over 12 miles (20 km) of trails in the park, the most famous trail being the Indian Ladder Trail.

[edit] Indian Ladder Trail

Water exiting the cave at the base of the cliff
Water exiting the cave at the base of the cliff

From the Indian Ladder parking lot, the visitor descends 60 ft (18 m) to the base of the escarpment via a metal ladder. From here the visitor can walk along the base of the escarpment passing under the Minelot Falls and by the steam exiting from a small cave in the base of the rocks. This water is actually from Thompson Lake,[9] some two miles (3 km) away and which makes its way through the porous limestone until it exits here. At the end of the trail, a further series of metal ladders take the visitor back to the top of the escarpment, where they can walk back to the parking lot observing the excellent panoramas.

Indian Ladder Trail, view from the path

Indian Ladder Trail, the path through the wooded area

Indian Ladder Trail, base of the cliff

Indian Ladder Trail, Minelot Falls

[edit] Paint Mine Trail

On the opposite side of the road to the Indian Ladder Trail, this trail is available all year round although in snow conditions, it can be a hard trail. The trail is a circular trail about 6 miles (10 km) long through wooded areas.

[edit] The Long Path

The Long Path proposed by Vincent J. Schaefer of Schenectady[10] is a long-distance hiking trail began in the 1960s. It is a long distance trail running from the George Washington Bridge in New York City. It ends at Thacher Park, a distance of 347.35 miles (559.01 km)

[edit] Natural History

NOTE : The park is designated as a wild life preserve, there are strict regulations on the non-removal of fossils, rocks, plants, animals and birds from the park. There are also rules on the use of snowmobiles during winter and damage to the park. Breach of the regulations can lead to prosecution.

[edit] Birds

Turkey Vulture soaring above the park
Turkey Vulture soaring above the park
Turkey Vulture above the trees at the park
Turkey Vulture above the trees at the park

In April 2004, [11] the then New York State Governor George Pataki, announced that 1,800 acres (7.3 km²) of Thacher Park and nearby Thompson Lake were to be turned into a bird conservation area. This conservation area was modelled on the National Audubon Society's Important Bird Areas Program which was signed into law in 1997.[12]

There are some 171 species of bird, many of which are in the of concern status that can be seen in the park, including[13]

[edit] Plants

There is also a prolific variety of flowers, plants and trees within the park. [14] As the park is a preserve, all species are protected within the park boundaries. The area has some 1,400 acres (5.7 km²) of upland forest with mainly northern hardwoods predominating but there are also

There are several habitat types preserved in the park including, 3,700 m of calcareous cliff, bur black oak swamp, red maple swamp and emergent marsh/scrub swamp.

Amongst flowers that can be seen are[15]

Ferns and their relations are also found in cool damp areas especially along Indian Ladder Trail

[edit] Geology

The Helderberg plateau is comprised mainly of a series of limestones of early Devonian age and is one of the most fossiliferous regions in the United Sates. The plateau also has rocks of the Upper Silurian and Upper and Middle Ordovician ages resting below the Devonian rocks[20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Weather.com - NYSPJT
  2. ^ New Yorl State Parks Education
  3. ^ Albany City Search
  4. ^ Goldring, Winifred. Guide to the Geology of John Boyd Thacher Park. University of the State of New York. ISBN 1-55557-204-9. 
  5. ^ Stuberts Isle
  6. ^ Parsavand, Shirin (April 28, 2004). "1,800-acre bird area preserved". Daily Gazette, Schenectady NY. 
  7. ^ State Governors Office press release
  8. ^ Goldring, Winifred. Guide to the Geology of John Boyd Thacher Park. University of the State of New York. ISBN 1-55557-204-9. 
  9. ^ Goldring, Winifred. Guide to the Geology of John Boyd Thacher Park. University of the State of New York. ISBN 1-55557-204-9. 
  10. ^ The Long Path Trail
  11. ^ Parsavand, Shirin (April 28, 2004). "1,800-acre bird area preserved". Daily Gazette, Schenectady NY. 
  12. ^ Duggan, Erin (April 28, 2004). "Feathered friends can nest easy at parks". Times Union, Albany NY. 
  13. ^ New York State Department of Environmental Conservation}
  14. ^ New York State Department of Environmental Conservation}
  15. ^ House, Dr H. D. (2000). Handout. NY State Museum (Botany Department). 
  16. ^ Purple virgins-bower
  17. ^ Walking fern
  18. ^ Purple stemmed cliff brake
  19. ^ Slender cliff brake
  20. ^ Goldring, Winifred. Guide to the Geology of John Boyd Thacher Park. University of the State of New York. ISBN 1-55557-204-9. 

[edit] General references

  • Able, K .P. (1996). Birding New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region. Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club, Inc., Delmar, NY. 
  • NYS Office of Parks,. Birds of John Boyd Thacher & Thompson's Lake State Parks. NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Albany, NY.. 
  • Van Driver, Bradford B. (1985 (reprinted 2003)). Roadside Geology of New York. Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, pp 176,185, 208-209. ISBN 0-87842-180-7. 

[edit] See also

[edit] Maps

[edit] External links