GREENPORT Conservation Area
- Excellent Hudson River and Catskill Mountain views
- Upland meadows, deciduous forests, and an estuarine wetland
- 714 acres
- 4 miles of trail
- Gazebo, overlook benches, and picnic shelter
- Access-for-All (wheelchair friendly trail)
- Owned by the Open Space Institute and managed by the Columbia Land Conservancy
Submit your animal spottings, photos, and questions in the comments below.
54 Daisy Hill Rd, Greenport
From the North: Take Route 9 to Greenport, NY. Veer right onto Joslen Blvd., and follow straight for 1.2 miles. Turn right onto Daisy Hill Road at the sign for the Conservation Area. Continue on Daisy Hill Road until it ends. You will see a parking area and information kiosk.
From the South: Take Route 9 to Greenport, NY. Pass Healy Blvd. Turn left at the second light onto Joslen Blvd., and proceed for 0.9 miles. Turn left onto Daisy Hill Road at the sign for the Conservation Area. Continue on Daisy Hill Road until it ends. You will see a parking area and information kiosk.
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The Greenport Conservation Area is a great place to run. There are wonderful views, and a variety of terrain through meadows, forests and across streams.
Leonard Collins, member of the Columbia Land Conservancy and Kinderhook Runners Club.
5k Trail Run
Regulations
- CLC properties are open year-round, dawn to dusk. The main entrance has a gate that opens at 5:00am and closes at 8:00pm. The closing time changes seasonally, check back for updates.
- Admission is free.
- Park only in the designated parking area.
- Pets must be on leash at all times.
- “Carry in, carry out”. In an effort to minimize human impact on the conservation areas, no trash receptacles are located at the sites. Take your trash with you when you leave.
- Camping and fires are prohibited.
- Dog owners must remove dog waste from the site. Leaving dog waste on the site is harmful to wildlife and creates a major annoyance to site visitors and CLC maintenance staff. There are no trash receptacles located on the site.
- Motorized vehicles are not allowed unless they are part of an official CLC program.
- Fishing is permitted with NYS License.
- Limited hunting is allowed on some of the CLC properties as part of the overall management plans. Contact the Tony at 518.392.5252, ext. 201 or tony@clctrust.org if you are interested in finding out more about our hunting policies and regulations.
- Audio equipment or radio use is allowed with earphones only.
- Please respect the plants, animals, and artifacts at the sites as they make the properties special.
Good time to look for wildflowers – Rue Anemone is in bloom.
On a recent walk along the Blue Trail (in Greenport) I noticed an old grave marker, just above the twin bridges. The marker is so old, most of the inscription has weathered away, and I was unable to read it. I am curious if the Conservancy knows who’s grave this is, and might there be plans to restore and maintain it. Although it is in a very wooded knoll, I imagine the site was originally chosen for it’s view of the Hudson River.
Sam, thanks for the comment. We don’t have any information on the grave. The marker is part of a larger permanently conserved area, so it should be around for generations to come. However, we don’t have any special restoration or maintenance plans.
hello – my husband and i recently moved to the area, and we can’t tell you how much we enjoy the parks, and all that they have to offer. we are from a place where there is nowhere to walk, you have to drive everywhere – we are so happy to be here! i do have a query – at the greenport conservation area, i see restrooms posted on the kiosk map close to the information spot, but i do not see them anywhere around. can you please tell me if there are public restrooms along the trails?
thanks so much!
Thanks for the note about the restrooms. There are restrooms at the Greenport Town Park. The park is at 405 Joslen Blvd – just north of the main entrance to the conservation area. There is also access to the conservation area through the Greenport Town Park.
Aside from the town park bathroom, none of our Public Conservation Areas have bathrooms. I’ll have to check the kiosk map for errors.
I’m glad you are enjoying the Public Conservation Areas!
I checked the kiosk map at the main entrance and didn’t see anything on the map about restrooms. I’m not sure if we are looking at the same thing.
I enjoy using the Greenport conservation area so I can get a good walk in and enjoy natural surroundings but work a full day. Why is the gate time so early? It is closed before well before dark. Is it to limit the traffic through? I would be happy to walk back through if cars accessing the road are the issue but don’t know where I could park by Joslin Blvd.
Also, I know the hours change by season. Can those be posted to the website and updated when they are changed?
Thanks for the feedback. The gate closing time changes throughout the year, based on the sunset time. Soon, it will move to 6:00pm. That’s a good idea about posting the times on the website. I’ll look into that.
Gate closing time is now listed in the “Regulations” section.
February 1 was another beautiful day at Greenport – the late afternoon light made me feel like I was walking in a Hudson River School painting. I watched a Red-tailed Hawk riding on the strong wind gusts coming from the west.
Saw a beautiful Northern Harrier Hawk gliding low over the fields near the kiosk today.
Hi-
I went to Greenport yesterday (Sunday, 11/13) at about 9:30 a.m., and was surprised to find a gate across the access road. There was no way to get it open with out some kind of key code (for residents, I presume) and no sign explaining why it was closed.
Would you please let me know when the area is open? And if it is going to be temporarily closed, will you please put that information on your website and/or on the gate?
We did enjoy a hike in the High Falls Conservation Area and do appreciate all of the work the Land Trust does.
Barbara, thanks for the update about the gate. It’s helpful when our conservation area users to report issues to us. The gate is malfunctioning and we are working on it.
The gate is fixed. Enjoy!
How can I help with the developing problem at Greenport regarding dogs?
I am concerned that the attitudes/opinions of very few are going to restrict the park for many users.
I help in any way I can.
Bob
Bob, thanks for the offer. To be clear, CLC has not made any change in our dog policy. Leashed dogs are allowed at all 10 of our public conservation areas. At this moment, we don’t have a specific dog-issue volunteer program. But you can help by keeping your dog on a leash and cleaning up after it and encouraging others to comply with our dog policies. If you are interested in volunteering for CLC, you can sign up here.
Hi Michael, Unfortunately there are some dog issues. People continue to walk their dogs unleashed. Last year both my son and I got bit by a German Shephard that literally ran at us and attacked us. We did report this to to the police. Also, my husband and I walked there the other day, as we often do, and still inconsiderate people are letting their dogs defacate in the middle of the trails. There are plenty of sticks around that could be used to flick it off the trail when done. But I wondered if the park has considered installing doggie bags. I know you probably can’t put garbage cans, because it would be abused, but maybe that would encourage people to pick it up and take it with them. Or maybe a sign saying, “If walking your dog, please bring a bag and clean up after your pup, to keep the experience at our park pleasant for all. Carry in, carry out.” LOL Thanks!
Lori, thanks for your comments. I’m dismayed to hear about you and your son being bit. That’s terrible.
As you may know, in the past year we have intensified our campaign to ensure that visitors follow our dog rules. (You can view the online component.) You may have noticed our new signs at each of our trail entrances or seen a CLC staffer talking with visitors in the parking lot. Thanks for the suggestion about the doggie bags and signage.
The town of Greenport would be better advised to spend their resources on considering the effects to the community of : yards of off gassing tarmac, hideous strip malls filled with big box stores, the proliferation of dollar stores on Fairview, and permitting drive through cigarette stores and mulitple OTB outlets as opposed to harrassing people who enjoy the outdoors and walking their dogs in a conservation area.
Off leash is NOT necessarily out of control.
Why not have one of the trails dedicated to dog walking – on or off leash?
It’s frankly absurd that the Land Conservancy needs to kowtow to the town of Greenport who should be delighted that such a valuable resource is housed in their town.
[content edited for appropriateness by CLC moderator]
Amanda, on a separate page, we have an explanation of our dog policy. I’m sorry that you feel harassed – that is not our intention. We have a policy that dogs need to be on a leash and we want to make sure people follow it. Do you have any suggestions on how we can communicate this in a better way?
I’m glad you recognize the Greenport Conservation Area as a valuable resource. It is important to us to have positive relations with the neighbors of our public conservation areas and to have good relations with the towns these conservation areas are located in. If you think that the town board of Greenport doesn’t fully appreciate the service we provide to the community, it may be make sense to contact them directly. Thanks for commenting.
While many visitors are mindful of the need to keep their dogs under control, the Town of Greenport has received a number of complaints about off-leash dogs at the Conservation Area. As a result, the Greenport Animal Control Officer will be monitoring this site and enforcing the Town of Greenport’s leash law. In order to comply with the rules of the Conservation Area and the Town law, all dogs must be kept on leash while visiting this property.
The Columbia Land Conservancy requires that dogs be leashed in order to protect the plants and animals on the property and to ensure that all visitors have a safe and enjoyable visit.
What does “a number of complaints” mean? Three or thirty or three hundred?
How large a group is complaining, or are there frequent complaints from a relatively small group of individuals?
Thanks for elaborating
I am not sure how many complaints the Greenport Town Board has gotten about dogs. Regardless of the number, CLC has had a policy that dogs must be leashed since we opened this property to the public. In light of the complaints, we stepped up our efforts to ensure compliance with users of the Greenport Conservation Areas. You can read more about our efforts and the reasons why we have a dog policy here.