Master Trail Plan Complete
In 2021, The Sarah B. Foulke Friendship Trails Master Trail Plan was completed. This plan will guide the creation of a 50+ mile trail network throughout the Palmertown Range, accommodating a full spectrum of visitor abilities and interests.
You can read the Master Trail Plan here.
While the completion of the full trail system will be a multi-year effort, significant progress has been made at specific sites, with some trailheads on track to open as early as this spring.
Friendship Trail Updates
Six trail specific Friendship Trail designs are in the works. Numbers correspond to map below.
- Trails have been designed for Skidmore’s Palmertown properties.
- Saratoga County Community Forest’s trail development projects will be shovel ready this summer.
- Tupelo Community Forest and its 2.5 miles of trails are expected to open this spring.
- The parking lot for Lake Bonita’s trailhead in Moreau Lake State Park will be expanded to accommodate higher visitation rates.
- A new parking lot at Big Bend, a new 900-acre addition to Moreau Lake State Park, will accommodate cars and horse trailers.
- A developer is donating a trail corridor that will connect the terminus of Woodard Road with Moreau Lake State Park.
More about the Friendship Trails, here.
What’s the Palmertown Range?
The Palmertown Range, located between Routes 9 and 9N, is a stunning forested escarpment that rises steadily just outside of the City of Saratoga and stretches north through and beyond Moreau Lake State Park.
But the Palmertown Range is more than a unique geological feature in the community’s backyard.
Photo: The Palmertown Range runs parallel to I-87 and is visible around Exit 17. Source: Google street view.
The 40,500 acre zone is one of the largest remaining undeveloped and unfragmented forested habitats in Saratoga County and has been identified as a conservation priority for the region. Additionally, located just minutes from downtown Saratoga, it has potential for quick-access, quality recreational opportunities. On top of that, the Palmertown foothills are home to hundreds of local businesses that could benefit economically from increased recreation and tourism spurred by a world-class trail network.
Saratoga PLAN is part of a community of partners working to create opportunities to protect, play, and prosper in the Palmertown area. Learn more about the Palmertown Range here.
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