Day Hike: Papscanee Island Nature Preserve

Getting There

South Entrance From Rensselaer Amtrak Station: Head south toward East St 410 ft, Turn right onto East St 0.3 mi, Turn right onto 2nd Ave 223 ft, Turn left onto South St 1.3 mi, Continue onto NY-9J S/River Rd 3.3 mi, Turn right onto Staats Island Rd 0.5 mi, Parking lot will be on the right side.

North Entrance From Rensselaer Amtrak Station: Head south toward East St 410 ft, Turn right onto East St 0.3 mi, Turn right onto 2nd Ave 223 ft, Turn left onto South St 0.5 mi, Slight right onto Irwin Stewart Port Expy 1.5 mi, Irwin Stewart Port Expy turns right and becomes American Oil Rd 1.3 mi

Papscanee Island History

The 156-acre property offers three miles of scenic trails that wind through the forested landscape, including trails that access the Hudson River.

With the land transferred to the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, the property will continue to function as a nature preserve. A conservation easement will permanently protect the land and an arrangement with Rensselaer County and the Rensselaer Land Trust will keep the trails maintained and open for public enjoyment.

The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, also known as the Mohican Nation, is the federally recognized tribe whose ancestors lived on the land that now comprises the Papscanee Island Nature Preserve prior to Dutch colonization. The Mohican community derive their name from their word for the Hudson River, the Mahhicannituck, which translates as the “river that flows both ways” or the “waters that are never still.”

Taken from OPENSPACE INSTITUTE

Papscanee Island Nature Preserve

Oh what an under apprecitated, hidden gem this place is. Just a short 5.6 mile, 11 minute drive south of the Rensselaer Amtrak Station is the southern enterance of the “Papscanee Island Nature Preserve.” This place is perfect for a nice afternoon walk in the woods with the kids. Trails are easy to follow and navigate.

Trails are well marked with plastic diamond color coded markers . Some are just plain with nothing printed, others have different prints of critters that could be encountered in the area. During my visit to the preserve, I parked and stuck to the southern cluster of trails.

The white trail is the main trail that runs between both the northern entrance and the southern entrance. The Blue trail loops back on itself to the white trail on the south end meeting up with the Red trail. The yellow trail is a connector trail between the White and Blue trails. The Red trail just runs west from the White trail at it’s southern most end to the Hudson River terminating at a beautiful clearing.

While I was there, I only saw 2 people on the trails the whole time. One gentelman glided by on some kind of one-wheeled eletric skate board looking thing. The other was at the clearing at the end of the red trail, he was fishing and just as we were about to depart, he got a bite and pulled in a small catfish.

Final Thoughts

The Papscanee Preserve is a nice, peaceful place to visit. I estimate there are about 3-4 miles of marked hiking trails to enjoy. I enjoyed my short hike there, and my youngest son had a fun time too. Because of how flat and easy the trails are, I think I found my areas to do a shake-down hike with any new packs, gear, or any new configuration of attaching my gear to my pack. I would rather find issues to be fixed close to home before my life may depend on it.