The Hannacroix Creek Preserve is about 30 minutes south of Albany. It's located at the confluence of the Hannacroix Creek and the Hudson River. The Hannacroix Creek drains from it's headwaters high on the Heldeberg Escarpment, taking many dramatic twists and turns through some lovely country south of Albany. To see the upper reaches, visit the Hannacroix Ravine Preserve.
This preserve was a wonderful place to watch the spring unfurl. This preserve includes several unique destinations all worth visiting on their own. Each one on its own is a lovely family hike or relaxed visit to the woods. The entire preserve can be done by a strong hiker in around 3 hours and would be a decent little workout.
You can visit the Hudson River while strolling through some tidal wetlands. Spring peepers made quite a ruckus while a Blue Heron expressed indignation about the break in it's solitude. Many of the birds of spring were flitting about in early April including robins, juncos, cardinals, woodpeckers and red winged black birds. There's a bench to rest along the Hudson to take in some boating traffic or watch for river friendly birds like gulls or bald eagles.
The main draw for the preserve is its stunning falls. A gravel woods road takes you up over a rise and down along the Hannacroix Creek's banks. The water is stunningly blue-green. During one visit I watched a kingfisher working the rocky shore for it's lunch while a pileated woodpecker's noisy lunch pursuit echoed through the valley. In my humble estimation this is one of the loveliest waterfalls within in hour of Albany in any direction. All spring it was too high and fast to get to close but in times of low water you can explore all around it's top and base for interesting perspectives.
As April drifted wetly towards May, the flowers began to spring up through the dense leaf-mat on the forest floor. The red trail, found off of the main yellow trail to the falls, doesn't look like much on the map. I ignored it the first few visits here. It turns out its quite a worthy destination all on its own. Twisting up through stately pine forest, this loop trail takes you to the height of land in the preserve. A filtered view down to the Hudson was a pleasant surprise. The Mid-Hudson Bridge was even visible with matchbox cars bustling up and down the highway. the entire top of the ridge is scenic with several fun rock outcroppings to explore.
This is a wonderful park to take in some solitude. A day there feels very satisfying with little time invested. You can have several different adventures all in one small preserve.
