Now that the vegetation is down and the seasons are changing visit the Mohawk Towpath Byway. It. is amazing what you can see that was not obvious a month ago! The pesky summer insects are gone. The water chestnuts that clogged our shallow waterways have gone to seed. If the sun comes out and the air warms get out in your kayak.

– photo by Ricard Yacco

If the sun doesn’t come out bundle up and take a hike on the Towpath Trail. It looks entirely different now. You can pick out historic features, even remnants of an earlier time like foundation walls and storage pits for ice cut from the river surface. You can also get a feel of how important the Mohawk River was in everyday life.

With the first snow and the low angle of the sun some of the secrets of the land and how early settlements and farming modified the landscape. Animal tracks in the snow give clues how they survive through the winter. Take notes, take pictures, and make your own tracks.