Colonie Park - By The River!

On the way up to visit my mother I stopped by Colonie Mohawk River Park to ride the trails by the river.  I have often ridden the trails on the south side of the rail trail but this was my first time riding the trails by the river - they were great!

Some of the Green Trails (as marked on Trailforks) have been "sanitized" for young mothers with baby carriages but they are still fun to ride

There's plenty of decent singletrack!

Along the river was great!

This is the location of the photo ABOVE

The lovely Mohawk River:

There's even a covered bridge!

Even though I was a bit pressed for time, I couldn't resist riding a bit of the trails on the south side of the rail trail which I used to ride quite frequently :-)

Colonie Town Park - By The River

Whenever I go upstate to visit family and friends, I try to mountain bike. Quite often I go over to the Colonie Loops south of the rail trail.  The Trailforks map showed much more of the park I have missed (down by the river) so on Christmas -Day--while the rest of America was waking up and opening presents--I hiked these great trails:-)

The Black Shelter Cove trail was especially nice! I can't wait to return wit my mountain bike to ride!

Heading toward the river...

The other "Twin Bridges" :-(

 The Shelter Cove Loop  - Ooo Yeah!

My perch on this rock, enabled the next few Mohawk river photos...

 

 Its a special scenic spot for sure!

I next headed west along the river on the Pine Ridge and Cliff Trails...

 ... and ended up at the picnic area.

 Finally I headed back east along the river...

 and found a trail going back up the hill to the parking lot. This will be a fun park to ride!

Schenectady Central Park and Colonie ...

I was up visiting my mother for the weekend and rode both Schenectady Central Park and the Colonie Shale trail on Saturday.

Schenectady Central Park

This park packs a lot of fun riding in a small area. Tight switchbacks and frequent turns add up to about 5 miles of trails. Although much of it is flat and marshy there are quite a few hills, and boardwalks of all different sizes in the marshy areas to keep it interesting. There are quite a few tight squeezes thru trees and many kinda of unexpected large log up and overs as well. I got clipped on the first tight tree squeeze but learned my lesson and slowed down enough to negotiate all the others without incident.

The section south of the creek channel was really fun. Kudos to the trail builders here--they have built a masterpiece!

This section is super fun!

Colonie Shale Trail

After a complete ride thru the many trail options at Schenectady Central Park, I popped on over to Colonie to ride the Shale trail(s). Much to my surprise, it looks as if the trail system is now legit and there were lots of markers and tags on the trees to indicate where to follow the Yellow Loop.

I rode in the first "long climb" entrance for a change and made it up to the top without incident.

Vestiges of the Halloween night ride are found scattered here and there and it caused quite a few chuckles!

Its real a great place to ride and packs a wallop each time I have been there.

Lastly, I rode west a bit on the rail trail and discovered this secret trail offshoot. Sadly it ended abruptly only a few hundred feet into the woods. Too bad it looked like a gorgeous area. (No trespassing private property signs on the opposite side of the creek probably caused this trail to be abandoned)

Quick Hits at Luther and Colonie

I was upstate for the weekend to visit my parents and popped out for a couple of quick hits on my mountain bike.

Luther Forest

Man it was chilly to start off - I almost wish I had full fingered gloves but after about 20 minutes or so it started to warm up. My morning ride took exactly one hour - I rode the whole park. Also had the good fortune of seeing a deer. She whizzed by in front of me on one of the ravine trails. :-)

At the start of the bowl

The trails along the ravine are easy but squeezing thru the trees keeps it always fun :-)

Colonie Shale Trail

I did a 40 minute quickie over at Colonie mid afternoon. The weather still was a bit chilly but the riding was fun. The three panoramas below are two-photo combos.

Pasta Loop starts on the right (Note trail sign on tree)

After the Pasta Loop, the Yellow Trail skirts along the edge of the encroaching new development 

This is at the old east entrance - you can still exit out this way from the Yellow Trail.
There are trail signs on the trees in green indicating this as the exit trail.
If you look closely in the photo you can see the old entrance.

Tradition

A Stewarts Mountain Brew - I am at the7 Rt 9 Mohawk River Crossing.

Sleuthing Both The New and the Old in Upstate NY

Revisting Colonie Shale Trail(s) 

I was Upstate (NY) for the weekend for a family event on Sunday and was curious about the Colonie Shale Trails. On my last visit there I documented a bit of the destruction of the east side due to development. Was more of the forest razed?

I rode into the trail area in a different way--the second trail from the west--and spent some time riding the trails west of the ravine. Lots of short climbs and up and downs but familiar to me. I then rode down to the ravine and over to the east side.

I rode around a variety of "east side" trails eventually making my way back up to the eastern edge. Man... was I pleasantly surprised! Where the trail skirts the edge of the new cleared area,  the trail was rerouted and had even better flow. The local trail gnomes have been busy and have created a fantastic solution!

Rerouted Yellow Trail skirting the cleared area for development

Mini yellow trail markers dotted the park everywhere, but IMHO just go in and ride wherever it leads you. There are so many choices and great flow everywhere, don't worry about getting lost - just ride!

Yellow Trail Marker

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The Charlton Mill Search Continues...

After returning to my parents house, I met my friend Gary and we ventured over to where Swaggertown Road crosses over the Alplaus Kill. History research indicated there was a mill here but after scouring the area pretty throughly we found no remnants. Needless to say, it was a beautiful stretch of the creek.

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Mysterious Bunker in the Woods

Lastly my curiosity was satisfied by visiting the site of the G.E. experimental laboratory on Sacandaga Road. Further Background info here >

It was a little creepy, especially if you knew that nature of the radioactive work done here way back when... but fascinating nonetheless.

G.E. experimental laboratory

Close Up

Don't Go There!! - the "radioactive cellar"

An old Milling Machine

The road in/out

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Conclusion

It was an interesting day biking in a "renovated" Colonie and history sleuthing in Charlton. As always, the quest to learn coupled with trying to see firsthand any remnants "in the field" proved fruitful and fulfilling... :-)