We moved to Albany County, New York in the autumn of 1982. I hate to admit that it has taken us 38 years to discover the Albany Pine Bush. Discover might be a bit harsh because we knew it was there and had attended numerous meetings in the Pine Bush Discovery Center over the years. We had even taken a couple of short walks in the preserve and one year attended the springtime Lupine Festival held at the Discovery Center.

But it was this year that we really started to explore the Pine Bush. We do not live that far from the Pine Bush Discovery Center and decided to begin our exploration at that location. Since then we have discovered that the Pine Bush Preserve includes over 3,200 acres of land, 20 miles of hiking trails that are organized around 12 different trailhead locations spread across the preserve in various “units.”

So far this summer we have visited 8 of the 12 trailhead locations and hiked on numerous trails and trail sections. Future posts in this blog will highlight each of the trailheads and trails that we visit.

The Albany Pine Bush is referred to locally as the Pine Bush and is one of the largest of the remaining 20 inland pine barrens in the world. It is centrally located in New York’s Capital District within Albany and Schenectady counties, between the cities of Albany and Schenectady. The Albany Pine Bush was formed thousands of years ago, following the drainage of Glacial Lake Albany.

The Albany Pine Bush is the sole remaining undeveloped portion of pine barrens that once covered over 40 square miles and is considered one of the best remaining examples of an inland pine barrens ecosystem in the world. By 2008 it included all parcels of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve (a state nature preserve spanning 3,200 acres, the properties that connect these protected parcels, and some of the surrounding areas that abut the preserve. The 135-acre Woodlawn Preserve and surrounding areas in Schenectady County are the western sections of the Pine Bush but separated geographically by other properties in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve in Albany County.

Historically regarded as a barren, desolate, and dangerous to cross, the Pine Bush has come to be known as a historical, cultural, and environmental asset to the Capital District and Hudson Valley regions of New York. It is home to the Karner blue butterfly, an endangered species first identified by author Vladimir Nabokov in 1944 using a type specimen from the Pine Bush. In 2014, Albany Pine Bush was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

The Pine Bush is governed by the Pine Bush Commission and supported by several agencies. See who the Commission Board Members are by CLICKING HERE

Although it has taken us nearly 40 years to really discover the Albany Pine Bush, we are now making up for lost time. We are indeed lucky to live close to this special natural feature.