Three of five cleared trails ready
A team of 25 volunteers installed metal trail blazes and cleared five trails within the Garrison School Forest on Trail Blazing Day, Nov. 1. The 181-acre Garrison School Forest is a living laboratory for students of the Garrison Union Free School.
Students past and present, parents and friends from the Garrison community worked together to blaze and clear the Beckwith, Blueberry Swamp, Cannon, Saddle and Sloan Carriage trails, which wind through woods, ridges, ravines, swamps and a meadow. The School Forest contains the ruins of the South Redoubt, a Revolutionary-era fortification that was part of the outer ring of the defenses of Fortress West Point, located directly across the Hudson River.
Seventh- and eighth-grade students who were members of the Garrison School’s Green Team designed the blazes in 2012. Each trail is designated by a different colored blaze with corresponding line drawings.
Hikers may now explore the Blueberry Swamp, Cannon and Sloan Carriage trails. The Saddle Trail requires clearing before it is ready for hikers, and the Beckwith Trail requires trail reconstruction work before it is safe for hikers. The Garrison School requests that hikers respect the private property adjacent to some of the trails, along with parking areas that are shared by neighbors of the School Forest.
The Garrison School Forest is located in the center of the rough square formed by Route 9D on the west, Snake Hill Road on the north, Route 9 on the east and Route 403 on the south. A map of the School Forest is available at gufs.org.
Photo courtesy of Garrison Union Free School
