Adventures Around Putnam Volume 1: Family Friendly, Outdoors Oriented, Low or No Cost Things to Do in and Around Putnam County

By Steven Mattson

ADVENTURES AROUND PUTNAM explores the beauty and history of Putnam County, NY and surrounding communities. Written from the perspective of a father with young children, this book offers a sampling of hikes, historic sites and family-friendly activities. For each adventure, the author provides a detailed description, directions, difficulty ratings, pictures, and where to find additional info. The book was inspired because the author heard too many times, I never knew that was there.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463427160

Steven Mattson

Steven Mattson lives in Brewster, NY with his wife and three children. He has worked in the financial services industry for 15 years. When Steven was 31 he joined the Marine Corps Reserve and served a brief tour in Iraq. Active with the Brewster Veterans of Foreign Wars, Putnam County Land Trust and Cub Scouts, he also writes a freelance column about local hikes, historic sites and family-friendly activities. His love for exploring nature and local history has led him and his family on numerous adventures around Putnam over the last 11 years.

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DREWSCLIFT CEMETERY

Southeast, NY

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SYNOPSIS: If you are a local history buff, this site is definitely worth a visit. I found out about Drewsclift in December of 2000 when Michael Risinit wrote an article in the Journal News about the Southeast Highway Department’s then-recent repairs of a bridge leading to the cemetery. I had saved the article and about 5 years later Drewsclift became one of the first (if not the first) outdoor adventures with my eldest son. Since then, both the number of adventures and number of kids have increased.

APPROXIMATE TIME: One hour. The walk from the car to the cemetery is only about 2/10th of a mile.

DIFFICULTY: Easy.

DIRECTIONS: To get there from the downtown Brewster intersection of Route 6 (Main Street) and 22, take Route 22 south for 1.9 miles. Make a left onto Deans Corner Road and go 1 mile. A few hundred feet before the 684 overpass there will be a brown and gold historic marker on your right with a paved pull-off area. There is enough room for about 6 cars.

THE HIKE: From the parking area, walk through the stone pillars and head down the dirt road. Route 684 will be on your left. There are a number of large trees that line the dirt road, but unfortunately many of them seem pretty unhealthy.

A short stroll down the road will bring you to the (relatively) new bridge. The wood smells of creosote as you cross it. The smell reminds me of the boardwalks on the beaches in southern New Jersey.

After the bridge, the road will narrow a little and start a slight incline as it approaches the entrance to the cemetery. The stream that follows alongside the road will turn away from the road. A final short uphill bend to the right brings you to another set of stone pillars. Just before you enter the cemetery gates, look to your right to find the old hitching posts in the underbrush.

The cemetery itself has a beautiful stone wall around the perimeter, laid out in a large square. The graves and walking path form a circle within the outer square. Some of the headstones are worn and illegible, while others look like they were replaced or refurbished recently. Some are tiny, and some are grandiose. A few of the headstones have been knocked over.

The plants and trees in the cemetery really added to the experience. Botany is not one of my strong points, so I can’t tell you what kind of plants and trees were there, but they added something ineffable to the experience.

During our first visit my son seemed very nervous. I asked him why. He explained that he was afraid of the hyenas. It took a few more probing questions for me to figure out his consternation. At the time of our visit his Disney movie of choice was Lion King. In the movie, the evil hyenas live in the ‘elephant graveyard’. He extrapolated that to mean hyenas live in all graveyards, and therefore we were at risk. I explained we were not, but because of his age I chose not to explain exactly what the graveyard did contain.

Because of the close proximity of Route 684 the sound of the passing cars is very loud, especially in the winter when the leaves are off the trees. Consider visiting Drewsclift when the traffic on the highway is light—maybe on a Sunday morning, not at 5:30pm on a weeknight like we did.

HISTORY: The dates on the headstones at Drewsclift range from the late 1700’s to as recent as 1961. The family names include Adams, Bailey, Clift, Drew, Mead and many others. The most notable historical figure to be buried in Drewsclift is Daniel Drew. Mr. Drew was a businessman in the 1800’s whose pursuits included cattle, stock brokerage (and stock manipulation), steamships and railways. He declared bankruptcy a few years before his death, but at one point owned almost 1000 acres in Putnam County. He was very involved with the Methodist Church, and founded the Drew Seminary.

The cemetery is owned by the Town of Southeast. I had read that visitors needed permission from the town to visit, so I just went to the town website at www.townofsoutheast-ny.com and sent them an email using the ‘Send Us Comments’ link at the bottom right of the homepage. The Town Supervisor and a Town Board Member both responded promptly.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Our last visit to Drewsclift was in October 2009. When initially researching the cemetery, I found some useful info at www.findagrave.com. Shortly before this book went to press, the Putnam County Historical Cemetery Committee published an interesting website at www.putnamgraveyards.com that has a great deal of info on old cemeteries in Putnam.

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LAUREL LEDGES: TURTLE POND

Patterson, NY

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SYNOPSIS: This is probably my favorite property in eastern Putnam. The best part is that it is deceiving from the outside, because pulling up to the preserve you wouldn’t expect to see the rather dramatic ledges that are waiting for you just inside the tree-line. As you walk beneath the ledges, you can see how pieces have broken off and fallen down over time.

APPROXIMATE TIME: 60 to 90 minutes.

DIFFICULTY: Moderate.

DIRECTIONS: From Route 84 exit 18, head east on Route 311 towards downtown Patterson and the Connecticut border for 1.5 miles. Make a slight right onto Route 164 heading east, go 1.2 miles and make a left onto Cornwall Hill Road. After turning left, there will be a pond (called Turtle Pond) on the right. Shortly after the pond, and directly across from Devon Road, there will be a dirt pull-off area on the right. A wooden sign marks the trailhead.

THE HIKE: As you leave the road to start the hike, the trail makes an immediate right turn and heads south in the direction of the pond. The trail then turns left to go uphill a little to give you a closer view of the tall rock ledges that are hidden from the road.

Coming back down into the wetlands, you follow a very cool stone walkway, then a narrow boardwalk that winds through a swampy area, hugging the base of a cliff that is a few stories tall.

Once past the ledges, a boardwalk juts out into the edge of Turtle Pond (in the past it has also been called Mendel Pond), making a 90-degree turn to the left. A small section rich in evergreen trees offers the faint smell of pine rising up from the pine needles on the ground. The trail will snake over and around rocks and boulders, as it is squeezed between the hill on the left and a swampy stream on the right.

Shortly thereafter, you will come to a Y in the path. If you take the right fork and cross the footbridge, another five minutes of hiking brings you to a small grassy area that is perfect for stopping for a snack. The trail seems to just end here, so you’ll have to head back the way you came in.

If you take the left fork at the Y-intersection, the path climbs the back side of the ledges using a series of switchbacks that zigzag up the hill. (Switchbacks are not used just to make your trip longer. Rather, they make for a less strenuous climb and prevent erosion that can occur if a trail leads straight uphill.)

In a short while you will come to a small flat area that, depending on the foliage, offers the first elevated glimpse of Turtle Pond.

The trail then continues up the switchbacks. When the path curves left almost 180 degrees around a large boulder, look up at the large, smooth ledge that rises above you. You will soon be on top of that ledge.

The trail gets a little steeper and the footing gets rockier, and stone steps help you get up a steep section near the top of the hill. Shortly thereafter, you will be walking along a straight section that steadily climbs uphill. The ledge mentioned earlier now sits below you to the right.

Once over the top of the ledge, the trail will dip down and then rise again to a spot that offers a nice place to sit and have a snack and a drink.

The trail continues on to meet up with the trails of Sterling Farm Preserve that is on Couch Road (see related chapter), however our snack break was our turning-back point, so we headed out the way we came in.

The rock formations at Laurel Ledges are truly unique, especially when compared to the rather tame geography immediately surrounding them, so I can see why this location was made in to a preserve. What makes this hike even better is that the trail-makers did a great job of using the natural terrain to create paths that added to the experience, so kudos to them.

HISTORY: The 44 acre Turtle Pond Preserve is owned by the Putnam County Land Trust. With assistance from Friends of the Great Swamp and the Nature Conservancy, PCLT acquired the property in 2004 from Bill and Linda Hamilton. Turtle Pond Preserve is part of the Laurel Ledges Natural Area, which is a conglomeration of smaller preserves. Sterling Farm, covered in a future chapter, is also part of Laurel Ledges Natural Area.

The section of trail from the parking area to the Y intersection and footbridge was the 2008 Eagle Scout project of Stephen Maddock of Mahopac Troop 1.

MAP & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Our last visit was in December 2010. The rock formations are beautiful any time of year, but the views at the top required near-barren trees. If you go in the warmer months, bug spray is a must. Pets are allowed if leashed. For more info, including a printable map, visit www.pclt.net.

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CONSTITUTION MARSH

Garrison, NY

SYNOPSIS: A network of boardwalks takes you through a large marsh on the Hudson River, and there is a nature center for the kids.

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APPROXIMATE TIME: Two hours.

DIFFICULTY: Moderate.

DIRECTIONS: From the intersection of Routes 301 and 9D in Cold Spring, head south on 9D for 1.3 miles. Make a slight right onto Indian Brook Road, which is a dirt road, and go .4 miles. The preserve sign and parking area will be where the road curves left. There is enough parking for 5 to 10 cars.

THE HIKE: We took the Blue Diamond Trail to the Marsh. From the parking area along Indian Brook Road, take the gravel drive that heads downhill. It will feel a little like you are walking into someone’s driveway. On the left is a fairly steep drop-off to a ravine with a stream, so hold on to the kids.

At the bottom of the hill, there are two buildings. One of the buildings is the James P. Rod Audubon Center, with a 500-gallon aquarium and educational information. To stay on the trail to the marsh, go between the two buildings to the outdoor kiosk that will give you some information on the marsh’s history and bird population. The trail will head into the woods and cross a small six-foot bridge made from two split logs, with a guardrail on one side. The trail will turn to the left and be relatively flat for a few hundred feet. Take a look at the tree on the right side of the path that has grown over and around a boulder.

As you get close to the water, the trail will make a right turn and start to climb a steep rocky area. The climb is not too long, but is also not that easy. Rough stone steps will help you up some steep areas. There are a few vantage points as you reach the top, and there is a bench where you can stop to catch your breath and take in the view.

Continuing on, the trail descends the other side of the hill. Notice the bright green moss that is abundant at the bottom of the hill (you are on the north side). Then, the boardwalk! Named Jim’s Walk also after James P. Rod, the warden of the sanctuary from 1982 to 1998, the walkway lets you explore an area normally only accessible by boat or with waders. There are a number of benches if you want to relax, bird-watch, or have lunch.

We went in early November and it was beautiful. As with any preserve, I think each season can offer something special, but I would also think the marsh could get extremely buggy the right (or wrong) time of year.

HISTORY: A series of channels and dykes were constructed through the marsh in the 1830s during an attempt to grow wild rice. According to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Constitution Marsh is one of only five large, tidal marshes on the Hudson River.

At 270 acres, it has been a sanctuary since 1970. In 1998, the Open Space Institute provided a critical four acre lot that provided a public access point to the marsh, and is the site for the sanctuary interpretive center. The property is owned by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and managed by the New York Audubon Society. The property is in the hamlet of Garrison, within the town of Philipstown.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Our last visit to Constitution Marsh was in November 2009. You can get info on the visitor center, scheduled events and more at www.constitutionmarsh.org or by calling 845/265-2601.

Note that no pets are allowed. Many people like to bird-watch from the marsh, so dogs, especially the sporting breeds, would feel very unwelcome.

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WHITE POND MULTIPLE USE AREA

Kent, NY

SYNOPSIS: This pond is very popular for boating, fishing, and dog-owners. Swimming is ‘not encouraged’ but a lot of people do it. There is a dock and boat ramp at one end of the parking lot. At the other end is an earthen dam with a paved walkway out to a wooden fishing pier. We have visited on three separate occasions and were amazed at the amount of activity.

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APPROXIMATE TIME: Two hours.

DIFFICULTY: Easy.

DIRECTIONS: White Pond is slightly less than seven miles from Route 84 exit 18. From the exit, drive west 1 mile on Route 311. Just after a small causeway that goes over Lake Carmel, make a right onto Route 52 and head