To the Editor:

It’s summer in the Hilltowns! Roadside flowers are blooming, gardens are growing, and fragrant hayfields are being mowed and baled. Why not celebrate on a sunny afternoon by taking a drive to explore some beautiful scenery? Here is one of my favorite drives. In deference to The Enterprise, the directions start in Altamont.

From Altamont Village Green, take Maple Avenue west and cross Route 146 onto Maple Avenue Extension; this will bring you to the Bozenkill Road (Route 253). Take a left and follow the Bozenkill up the hill into Knox. (Did you know that “kill” is Dutch for “creek”?)

About three miles from Altamont, on your left past Bell Road, is the Wolf Creek Falls Preserve parking lot. This gorgeous parcel, which is open for public hiking, contains streams and waterfalls, a wetland, and numerous old stone walls.

Continue along Bozenkill Road for about two miles and turn left on West Wind Road. At the end, take a right onto Knox Cave Road (Route 252), and in about a quarter of a mile, turn left onto Beebe Road (Route 259); after you cross Route 146 you will get some beautiful views of the Catskills.

At the end of Beebe Road, make a right onto the Knox-Gallupville Road (Route 255), and take the first left onto Becker Road. Take the second left onto West Road, which ends on Rock Road. Turn right on Rock Road (Route 254) and enjoy beautiful views of part of the Fox Creek Valley.

In about a mile, keep left onto Switzkill Road (Route 1), and make an immediate left onto Helderberg Trail (Route 443) and go into the hamlet of Berne. Berne was the center of the Anti-Rent Wars (1839 - 1845), with activity centered on St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on your left just past the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School.  If you need a sandwich, a slice of pizza, or a cup of coffee, the Fox Creek Market is on the left just before the bridge.

Cross the bridge and make a right to continue on Helderberg Trail (Route 443) for about a mile and a half. Take the second left turn onto Turner Road (the turn comes up suddenly at the top of a knoll), and take the first right onto Simons Road. From the top of the hill you can look back on beautiful views of the valley.

Continue on Simons to the end and make a right on Knox Cave Road (Route 252). This will merge onto Warner Lake Road (Route 157A) and take you past Warner Lake. If you’re hungry or thirsty, stop at the Maple on the Lake for lunch or dinner.

Warner Lake Road ends on Thacher Park Road; if you need gas or a snack, turn right, then left to get to the MobilMart in East Berne. Otherwise, turn left on Route 157A. In about two miles, turn left on Thompsons Lake Road (Route 157); in about two miles, turn right on Ketcham Road. It’s half a mile to the right turn to the Emma Treadwell Nature Center on Thompson’s Lake, which has nature displays and hiking trails.

A quarter mile farther along Ketcham Road is the Patroon Land Farm, which grows food for the Regional Food Bank; there’s a farmstand in season, where your purchase of vegetables supports the farm’s operations.

At the end of Ketcham Road, take a left into Thacher Park. Don’t miss the views from the Overlook, where there’s a display to tell you which are the mountains in the distance. There are great hiking trails and fossil hunting as well as picnic areas.

Continue on Thacher Park Road to the end, and take a left on Route 85, then, in about half a mile, a left onto Route 85A. In a quarter mile, take a left on Picard Road (route 307), and stay left at the “Y” on the Voorheesville-Altamont Road (Route 156), which will return you to Altamont.

Would you like to get this route on your computer or mobile device? Open www.tinyurl.com/HilltownRambles1 in your browser. You can print the map from a PC or laptop, or access the Google Maps app on your mobile device for real-time driving directions.

For more information on the area: For recreation, the HHA website www.hilltowns.org; for history, the Berne history project website www.albanyhilltowns.com.

Zenie Gladieux, president

Helderberg Hilltown Association