thacher state park (john boyd thacher)

Beautiful overlook provides a gorgeous view of Albany in all seasons. Lots of different picnic grounds. Some with restroom areas; some with creeks. Fire pits available. Some have playground equipment. Lots of different hiking advantages with beautiful views. Walk a creek and you can come upon wonderful waterfalls. Weddings have been held there. Have had some beautiful family picnics there.

I have lived in the capital region for many years . I did not realize how beautiful the trails are in Thatcher park. We hiked the Indian ladder trail on a beautiful fall day. I am not a hiker and this trail was very easy to hike. I feel this is a perfect starter trail for the whole family. Along the trail you will see beautiful waterfalls and there are places you can stop and have a picnic and enjoy the wonderful views that the park has to offer. Get out there and explore this great new your state park.

A bit crowded on the weekends but the views are spectacular - especial during leaf season! Definitely take the Indian Ladder trail all the way!

Close by yet I haven't gone and walked the Indian Ladder Trail in some time but since we had visitors from outside the country thought we would make a day of it.What first surprised me was the number of people in the park, especially since it was after Labor Day. It was a rare 80+ sunny day in late September. There is a spot called the Overlook that gives quite a view of the wooded valley from high above and you can easily see the Empire State Plaza which is over 15 miles away.However the main attraction for us was walking the Indian Ladder Trail. You descend about 60' via a metal stairway. Once down you walk for about 30 minutes along a rough trail [not overly difficult or treacherous but definitely not for anyone with walking problems]. The trail offers some great views at times looking out but mainly looking up at the limestone formations that hang out over you. You will truly feel as one with nature as you walk the trail which once served as the trail for the local Mohawk Indians used to make their way up the escarpment.

This is a great park full of trails, waterfalls and spectacular views. This park was almost shut down a few years ago because of budget cuts. Glad it wasn't. They should sink a little more money into the access roads as they were pretty beat up and a little more in general maintenance to keep this park sparkling. Overall it is a fantastic park and well worthy of multiple visits.

This is an area that is so user friendly that both young and old will have an opportunity to see things that other parks in the Albany area can not offer. Great hiking trails, awesome views and geology lessons all around. Dog friendly as long as they leashed on trail, but they will still love it.It is a great area for family picnics with space to explore, run, and play from dawn until dusk.

The view is so beautiful and it is kept clean and the paths are well maintained. There is a wall to keep you from getting to close to the edge. Just wish the concession stand was open

Indian Ladder Trail in this park will take you through sedimentary rocks escarpment, which is evidence of an ancient sea that covered New York State area hundreds of millions of years ago. Several spring waterfalls, caves, deep gulfs in the cliffs, wildlife (we saw frogs and little newt), mostly in shade, we enjoyed every second of our visit. Lets not forget picturesque views of the Hudson and Mohawk River valleys. Restroom was clean, with soup and toilet paper provided. We would definitely visit this beautiful park again.

Spent the afternoon at the Glen Doone picnic area at Thatcher State Park with my family. It is about 10 degrees cooler here than anywhere off the mountain. The admission is only $6 per carload and there are numerous picnic areas throughout the entire park with grills for cooking. There are also nice, clean rest rooms in every picnic area. One of the best features of the park is the Indian trail which is about a 1.5 mile hike from beginning to end. It starts on the top of the escarpment and then you take stairs down to "the indian trail" which is a few hundred feet below. Legend has it that it was an area inhabited by NYS indians many years ago and you get that feeling that they did walk along this same trail a long time ago. There is a waterfall about halfway through but it is very small in the later summer but is really something to see in the spring. Definitely worth the trip from anywhere.

We live about 15 minutes from this park and when the weather is nice, we go as often as possible. We always pack food and grill our dinner in the picnic area, then drop the basket back in the car and head for one of the many trails here. Views are gorgeous from almost everywhere here, the fall is obviously the best but it's great any time of year. Don't hesitate to try it. Kids love it here too! Tons to do and see.

John Boyd Thacher State Park is one of the under-appreciated gems of the New York State Park system. It features breathtaking views of the Capital District and some wonderful trails. Check it out during the hawk migration season in October for some fantastic birding.

We go to Thacher Park year round. There's always something to take your breath away. Just finished one of the best snow show/cross country ski seasons in years and now onto the beauty that is spring bursting forth through the valley.Fall foliage is to die for and summer hiking and picnicking superb. I live ten minutes away and NEVER take it for granted. Love, love, love the park.

Brought our dogs with my ex to this park, beautiful views everywhere you go and the pups love it! If I find myself in the Northeast again I will definitely be coming back.

This is a great park for a walk or for a picnic dinner. It is one of our favorite places to meet up with friends for a relaxing evening together.

Living a short distance from this amazing area, I often make trips to this Park. Even as a child, I was fascinated by the stories of settlers hiding from insurgents and indians on the ladder trail and in the caves and camping there with my parents and finding fossils everywhere.."Cliffs Higher Than the Palisades” was just one of the superlatives used to describe John Boyd Thacher StatePark after its acquisition in 1914. It was also extolled as a paradise for geologists and acclaimed for its precipitous cliffs and magnificent prospects. Enthusiasts declared its scenery unsurpassed, even in the Adirondacks. Thacher Park is located in the Helderbergs, an east-west mountain range between the Adirondacks and the Catskills. Although the Helderbergs extend more than 300 miles, their most dramatic manifestation is the 3-mile-long, 1200 foot-high limestone escarpment southwest of Albany that forms the core of the park. The park has a long association with human activity. Native American trails from the Mohawk and Hudson Valleys traversed the escarpment leading to settlements in the Schoharie Valley, while the secluded caves under the cliffs provided refuge for loyalists during the Revolution. Permanent European settlement began after the war, when Stephen van Rensselaer III opened this remote corner of Rensselaerswyck to tenants, and by the 1790s farmswere established throughout the Helderbergs. In 1821 a steep road was cut along the cliff face; however, this treacherous approach did little to diminish the region’s isolation. A combination of poor soil and near feudal leaseholds sparked turbulence after van Rensselaer’s death in 1839, as heirs demanded long-overdue rents. The ensuing “Anti-Rent Wars” engendered years of instability. Early visitors were drawn to the Helderbergs by scientific interests. In the 1830s, geologists began studying the region’s superb exposures of upper Silurian and Devonian strata and its extraordinary collection of marine fossils. By the late nineteenth century, the Helderbergs were attracting tourists, and boarding houses, hotels, and campgrounds developed around the area.In 1906 John Boyd and Emma Treadwell Thacher began acquiring land along the escarpment to protect it from development. J.B. Thacher (1847-1909), a well-known politician, served as a state senator and as mayor of Albany. By 1909, when Thacher died, the couple owned numerous ridge-top parcels. Emma Thacher (1850-1927) later donated 350 acres to New York State for public parkland. In 1914 the legislature delegated management to the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society (ASHPS), formed in 1895 to protect scenic and historic sites. The society enthused that “the lover of nature, the geologist, the seeker for inspiration can here make interesting explorations of the wonders of nature.The upper trail is accessible to the handicapped, but the Indian Ladder can only be accessed by stairs at each end of the trail. Take a picnic....take the kids but keep a firm grip on them...it's a long way down and many have foolishly gone over the edges and perished