Conserving Land • Protecting Resources
Since 1987
 

As of January 1, 2024, the Rensselaer Land Trust has merged with the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance. For all questions regarding donations, events, land, or other matters, please visit www.rensselaerplateau.org or call 518-712-9211. For questions about the merger, use extension 101 to speak with Jim Bonesteel. You can expect a new name and logo for our merged organization by Spring / Summer 2024 and a new website by the end of the year!

Description

The Dyken Pond Easements contain a total of 86 forested acres adjoining the Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center in the Town of Grafton. A network of two miles of marked trails connects to trails at the Dyken Pond Center. The trails are open to the public for hiking, nature viewing, skiing, snowshoeing, and birding, subject to the rules and regulations of the Dyken Pond Center.

Most of the land is covered with hemlock and northern hardwoods such as sugar maple, yellow birch, black cherry, and beech, with some areas of spruce‐northern hardwood forest and spruce flats, forest types known primarily from the Adirondacks. The properties also contain a spring, a large vernal pool, red maple‐hardwood swamp, and part of a spruce‐fir swamp. Teal Brook flows through these properties. Spring wildflowers include painted trillium. A cistern and an abandoned family cemetery dating from the early 1800s attest to the past human history of the area.

The Dyken Pond easements include three properties, two owned by a conservation‐minded landowner and the third by the Friends of the Dyken Pond Center, a non‐profit support group for the Rensselaer County‐owned Center. The conservation easements are held by the Rensselaer Land Trust, and protect the properties from ever being developed. The easements were put on the properties in 1990, 1997, and 1999.

The Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center website has a trail map and information about the Center and its programs. The Spring Trail and part of the Long Trail are on the Dyken Pond Easements.

Rules

Visitors should follow the rules and regulations of the Dyken Pond Center. The Center and the Dyken Pond Easements are open to the public from dawn to dusk. Please take all trash out with you. Horses, hunting, camping, motorized vehicles including ATVs, and removal or disturbance of plants and wildlife are not permitted.

Directions

From the intersection of NYS Routes 2 and 278 in Brunswick, near Tamarac School, go east on Route 2 for two miles. Watch for the Dyken Pond sign on the right. Turn right onto Route 79 (Blue Factory Road). Go two miles. Turn left at Dyken Pond sign onto Route 80 (Madonna Lake Road). Bear right at fork (Jay Hakes Road is to the left). Bear right at Dyken Pond sign onto Dyken Pond Road (go straight instead of following the turn). Continue 21⁄2 miles. Dyken Pond Road is a dirt road. Don’t get discouraged. Dyken Pond Center’s main parking area is at the end of the road. There is also a parking area and trailhead along Dyken Pond Road 1.3 miles from Route 80. More directions are here.

Dyken Pond Easement at a glance

  • Hours: Sunrise to Sunset
  • Description: The three Dyken Pond conservation easements make up 86 acres of land adjoining the Dyken Pond Environmental Center. A network of 2 miles of marked trails connect to trails on the Center property.
  • Activities: Hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, birding, nature study. Dogs on leash.
  • Trails: Yes
  • Handicap Accessible: No
  • Location: Grafton
  • Acres: 86