Spring Walk: Hop Field Trail, John Boyd Thacher State Park, Altamont

We begin this hike through a small picnic area and up a brief incline along a fast-running stream and waterfall. This orange trail intersects the yellow trail, which loops around a wetland for about a mile and a half, then merges again with the orange trail and back down to the parking lot. It’s a beautiful, deeply wooded hike through a mixed forest, with a wide variety of landscapes, plants and birds. Although some areas can be very muddy, there is much to view. There is a new warming hut (cabin) with a beautiful bluestone fireplace, slate floors, picnic tables, and a year-round restroom. Leader: Susan Toohey. Directions: Take Rt. 85 (Town of New Scotland) to Rt. 157, also known as Thacher Park Road. Hop field is the first parking lot on the left. Look for the new visitor’s cabin.