Scenes from a Swamp
This wetland forest can be found on the famous Long Path hiking trail that starts at the George Washington Bride in Fort Lee, New Jersey and ends 347.4-miles later in Albany, New York. This area of silver swamp is not far from the bridge, just above the New York state line in Tallman Mountain State Park and across the Hudson River from Westchester County.
This particular view is along one of the nicest day hikes in the New York City area. Well, nice until the first mosquito hatches and it becomes a living Hell. The reason it is such a fine walk is the variety of nature in a day hike. In about a half day you can climb out of the rich wet valley of the Sparkill Creek, go up to Tallman Mountain (more like a hilltop) to take in the views of Tappan and the great river. From there a nice walk through a more typical and less wet northeastern forest, then walk through this beautiful swamp before exploring the Piermont Marsh at the widest point of the Hudson River.
I love walking there because of the annual flooding, all of the nutrients that water brings in makes for one of the densest northeastern forest I’ve ever seen. Tall trees so tightly packed that more often than not there are trees growing out of trees. If you go back in June, be sure to be covered in mosquito repellant. It is less wet but far from dry. Once the leaves have filled in the walk in this moist forest is as darkened by the overhead foliage as the thickest of tropical rainforest.
Scenes from a Swamp
This wetland forest can be found on the famous Long Path hiking trail that starts at the George Washington Bride in Fort Lee, New Jersey and ends 347.4-miles later in Albany, New York. This area of silver swamp is not far from the bridge, just above the New York state line in Tallman Mountain State Park and across the Hudson River from Westchester County.
This particular view is along one of the nicest day hikes in the New York City area. Well, nice until the first mosquito hatches and it becomes a living Hell. The reason it is such a fine walk is the variety of nature in a day hike. In about a half day you can climb out of the rich wet valley of the Sparkill Creek, go up to Tallman Mountain (more like a hilltop) to take in the views of Tappan and the great river. From there a nice walk through a more typical and less wet northeastern forest, then walk through this beautiful swamp before exploring the Piermont Marsh at the widest point of the Hudson River.
I love walking there because of the annual flooding, all of the nutrients that water brings in makes for one of the densest northeastern forest I’ve ever seen. Tall trees so tightly packed that more often than not there are trees growing out of trees. If you go back in June, be sure to be covered in mosquito repellant. It is less wet but far from dry. Once the leaves have filled in the walk in this moist forest is as darkened by the overhead foliage as the thickest of tropical rainforest.