Hoosic River

The Hoosic River watershed is made up of lands draining directly into the Hoosic River and some of its tributaries, such as Nipmoose Brook, Browns Brook, and Powamppokonk Creek. (While the Little Hoosic River, Walloomsac River, and Tomhannock Creek are also tributaries of the Hoosic River, the lands draining into these rivers are treated as their own watersheds on this map.) The Hoosic River watershed covers much of northern Rensselaer County, and extends into Washington County, Vermont, and Massachusetts.

The Hoosic River flows through Hoosick Falls, Johnsonville, Valley Falls, and Schaghticoke, all sites of major dams, before emptying into the Hudson River at Lock 4 Canal Park. Public access sites along the Hoosic include a state hand boat launch at the Rensselaer Land Trust's Hoosic River property in Eagle Bridge.

Much of the Hoosic River watershed is in agriculture and pastureland. The watershed also includes the most northern part of the Rensselaer Plateau, where Tibbetts State Forest offers public outdoor recreation, and the northeast slopes of the Taconics. The most popular destination along the Taconic Crest Trail is the Snow Hole, a deep crevice in which snow and ice persist long into the summer, sometimes all year. The Snow Hole is a three mile hike from the parking area at Petersburg Pass along NYS Route 2.

Bald eagles nest along the Hoosic River, and northern harriers nest in the watershed's fields. Just west of Schaghticoke, the Hoosic River flows through a long 200‐foot deep canyon. The unusual geology at the mouth of the Hoosic supports plants not commonly found elsewhere in Rensselaer County.