Little Hoosic River

The Little Hoosic River watershed is made up of the lands draining into the Little Hoosic River and its tributaries, such as Dill Creek, Red Pond Brook, and Kronk Brook. The Little Hoosic flows into the Hoosic River in North Petersburgh, and the watershed extends south along the Route 22 corridor to the headwaters of the Little Hoosic in the Taconics above Cherry Plain. With much of the east side of the Rensselaer Plateau and the west slopes of the Taconic Mountains in this watershed, it has a high proportion of forested land.

The Taconic Crest Trail traverses the entire length of the Taconics in Rensselaer County, and can be accessed via trailheads at Petersburg Pass along Route 2 and at Mattison Hollow in Cherry Plain. A popular destination along the Taconic Crest Trail is Berlin Mountain, at 2,798 feet the highest point in Rensselaer County, and which straddles the Little Hoosic and Hoosic River watersheds. A spruce‐northern hardwoods forest is found on the east side of Berlin Mountain, giving a feel of the Adirondacks.

The Little Hoosic River watershed contains areas of limestone and dolomite bedrock. Soil derived from this bedrock, or where ground-water has carried these calcareous minerals to the surface, is less acidic than most soils of Rensselaer County. Forests and wetlands with these richer soils support wildflowers and other plants that are adapted to these less acidic conditions and that are uncommon in Rensselaer County.