39. Mohawk River to Saratoga County Line

Section 39: Mohawk River to Saratoga County Line

Quick Facts

Distance: 9.1 miles
Parks: Lock 9 State Canal Park
Maps: Interactive Map
Print-Friendly Version: Link

General Description

Jim Schaefer has scouted a route through the back roads of the West Glenville Hills that features the beauty and vistas of the hill country. The route takes the hiker on low volume roads near several landmarks described by Vincent Schaefer. 

Access

Follow the NY Thruway (I-87) to I-90W. In Glenville take NY Route 5W to NY Route 103S. The entrance of Lock 9 Park in Rotterdam Junction is just south of the intersection, before the bridge. 

Parking 

0.00  Lock 9 Park near the intersection of NY Route 103 and NY Route 5. (42.87930°, -74.03993°) (under construction)
0.10  Stewart’s at the corner of Route 103 and Route 5. (42.88028°, -74.03968°)
1.90  Wolf Hollow (south end).
3.10  Wolf Hollow (north end).
5.90  Touareuna Road. (42.92920°, -74.08754°)

Camping

None

Trail Description

0.00  Lock 9 Park (Lock 9 Park is currently under construction but a Stewart’s Shop at the corner of Routes 103 and 5 has a restroom and room for parking).

0.10  Intersection of Route 103 and Route 5 near Lock 9 of the Erie Canal on the Mohawk River. Proceed west on Route 5 (turn left from Route 103). Hikers should walk on the far left shoulder facing traffic; this is a busy and dangerous road.

2.30  Intersection of Route 5 and Wolf Hollow Road (Schenectady County Route 59) . Turn right and proceed north on Wolf Hollow Road. This is Hoffman’s where an historic ferry crossed the Mohawk River. It also is the ancient site of the battle between the Iroquois and Mohican leaders, noted on NY State signs on the nearby Touareuna Road. A native village site sits atop the hill to the NE.

2.90  Reach Y intersection and bear left into Wolf Hollow. Wolf Hollow is closed to vehicles but is passable for hikers. The alternate route is to continue right (north) on Hoffman's Hill Road  Extension which is the signed detour for vehicles. The distance is nearly the same.

4.10  Wolf Hollow rejoins Hoffman's Hill Road  Extension. Bear left and continue on Wolf Hollow Road.

4.50  Reach intersection of Wolf Hollow Road and West Glenville Road (Schenectady County Route 40). Turn left and proceed west on West Glenville Road.

 

wolf hollow

Wolf Hollow. 2013 [JAKOB FRANKE]

 

off-road

Off-road north of West Glenville Road. 2013 [JAKOB FRANKE]

 

Off-road walk begins at mile 4.4. To drive to the other end of the off-road section continue for 0.7 miles on West Glenville Road and turn right onto Touareuna Road. In 1 mile the trail reaches Touareuna Road on the right. There is room to park a couple of cars here.

4.70  The Long Path turns left and enters a field on the south side of West Glenville Road. There is a turn blaze on a tree where the trail leaves the road. The trail continues west through the field generally parallel to the road.

4.90  The trail leaves the field on the south side of the road, crosses West Glenville Road, and enters the woods on the north side on an unpaved lane – blazes mark this crossing. There is a white Cape Cod house near this crossing point. Once off the road you see a trailer to the left. The trail forks several times - keep right each time.

5.25  A stone wall appears on the right. The trail veers left and enters a hemlock grove.

5.35  Leave the hemlock grove, turn right (east) and walk along the edge of the hayfield to the southeast corner. On a clear day there are pleasant views of the distant hills. Soon there is a large stone pile in the woods to the right. Turn left and follow the northern edge of the field, observing a stone fence on the right.

(Aside: There are several hayfields to be passed. There is usually a trail mowed along the edge. Since the farmer does not always mow exactly the same areas, some of the blazes may appear off the current trail. In consideration of the farmer’s kindness, do not cut across the fields.)

5.50  Turn right, cross a hedgerow and stone fence into another hayfield, and proceed northerly along the eastern edge. At the corner of the field, turn left (west) along a stone fence and woods on your right.

5.65  Enter the mixed woods just west of the northeastern corner of the field, following a narrow foot/horse trail. There is a wetland and small pond down the hill from the trail, a nice spot for a snack.

5.70  Cross a small stream on stones, entering a meandering trail cut through a very young woods and passing by another hemlock grove.

5.75  The trail passes by another small stream and reaches an area that was hit by a tornado. Most of the toppled trees have been salvaged and there is a fair amount of logging debris.

5.90  The trail reaches a woods road near the end of the logging area and continues on this road. Soon another woods road is crossed. Continue straight ahead; there is a stone wall to the left, then to the right.

6.05  Cross stone wall and continue. The stone wall is now to the left again.

6.10  Turn right at the next crossing of woods roads.

6.15  Turn left (west) onto a gravel road to Touareuna Road, where there is room to park a couple of cars. Do not block the gate!

This is presently the end of the off-road portion of the Long Path and the end of the blazing. Resume road walk.

6.20  Turn right (north) onto Touareuna road.

6.50  Intersection of Fairbanks Road (Schenectady County Route 44) on left. Bear right and continue east on Touareuna Road.

7.00  Intersection at Green Corners. Bear right at first intersection and continue approximately 200 ft to STOP sign. Go straight across at STOP sign and proceed east on Potter Road (Schenectady County Route 42).

8.30  Intersection of Potter Road and Hart Road. Turn left onto Hart Road and proceed north. There is a large white house with red barn on the left just before the intersection. There is a lot of open farm country here with scenic views in all directions.

9.10  Intersection of Hart Road and Western Avenue. Turn right at YIELD sign and proceed northeast on Western Avenue. The Saratoga County line is here. The trail description from here on is in Section 40.

 

Previous Section: Section 38
Next Section: Section 40

Comment: Please be relevant, civil, non-commercial.

kennykb's picture

I tried to hike some of this section this weekend, to grab GPS tracks for OpenStreetMap. As far as I can tell, the blazing ends about mile 5.7, both northbound and southbound, and my GPS tracks don't even make it look as if the two ends are even quite coming together. More at this blog post