What's Your Nature?
Become a Nature Up North explorer to share your encounters with wild things and wild places in New York's North Country. Post your wildlife sightings, landscape shots, photos from your outings, and even your organization's events!
Summer Scavenger Hunt Adventure
Submit your webform here! https://www.natureupnorth.org/form/submit-your-summer-scavenger-hun
Join us this summer for a North Country scavenger hunt! Use this checklist as a guide to get outside and learn more about the natural world that is right in your backyard!
Virtual Nature Coloring Book
Nature Up North presents a virtual nature coloring book! This coloring book features different animals and plants that you can find in the North Country. It includes fun facts about each species, tree identification, and more. Post and tag us in your finished coloring book pages on social media and use the hashtag #colorwithnun. Stay tuned for more coloring pages coming soon!
Moore Trail - Wanakena
The Moore Trail runes from Wanakena to Inlet, and follows along the Oswegatchie River. This is always a fun 4-mile hike any time of year. For More on this - https://hikingthetrailtoyesterday.wordpress.com/2017/10/29/the-moore-tr…
Streeter Lake in Aldrich (Fine NY)
A nice day of social distancing was had at Streeter Lake in Aldrich (Fine NY) was had over the weekend. This is always a favorite of mine, and being nearby makes it a nice last-minute hike.
I have wondered about a road/trail that used to run from near the mausoleum to the old railroad bed on the west side of the lake. This road or trail shows up on several topographic maps from a century ago. I was able to find remnants of the road for a bit, but it soon turned into a full-on bushwhack. It's a pretty rough piece of real estate, so be prepared if you try it.
LEONARD POND- SOUTH COLTON NY
The days of social distancing have given me the opportunity to seek more local and out of the way trails & destinations. Leonard Pond (S. Colton) has been on my “to hike” list for a while. Looking over maps of the area, I noticed a small access road that starts on the west side of RT 56, across from the Jamestown Falls water access site.
Robert G. Wehle state park, Henderson NY.
A favorite destination during sunny & windy days is the Robert G. Wehle state park in Henderson NY. During the spring and winter months, this is a perfect place to practice social distancing. (We saw only three people that day).
This park is on the shores of Lake Ontario and has an interesting history.
Horseshoe Pond in Gale (Piercefield) NY.
Cold but bright days still make for great social distancing adventures. Earlier this week I did some hiking around Horseshoe Pond in Gale (Piercefield) NY.
This pond and several others have a nice network of trails and waterways open for public use at certain times thanks to a conservation easement between the Boy Scouts of America and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. The Massawepie Easement is closed for public recreation from June 15th to August 31st each year.
GULF STREAM TRAIL AT JAYVILLE
In keeping with the social distancing guidelines, I have been seeking out some lesser-known/used trails as well as staying local. This trail I found by looking over the DEC’s website. This hike was to Gulf Stream in the Aldrich Pond Wild Forest, Pitcarian NY.
Colvin’s Great Corner- Aldrich NY
We finally got a chance to hike to Colvin's Great Corner monument today. A long (12 miles) but rewarding trip that I can finally scratch off my list. We hiked south from the old Schuller estate in Aldrich (Fine). This was a great day of social distancing- we saw one family camping at the Streeter Lake lean-to.
The monument was set in 1904 to give a more fitting marker to the point of the Totten & Crossfield and Macomb lines, and St Lawrence & Herkimer county lines.