Arden Point Park
 Philipstown, Putnam County, NY

Directions:

Saw Mill River Parkway north to the exit for Taconic Parkway north; drive to the second exit on the parkway (Route 9A); stay on Route 9A past Peekskill and turn left headed as if to Bear Mountain; pass over the bridge to the traffic circle; get off at the first exit, Route 9; pass from Westchester County into Putnam County; turn left onto Route 403 and drive 1.9 miles to the traffic light at the junction with Route 9D; head straight over Route 9D and drive 0.3 of a mile to a tiny parking area by the sign for Arden Point Park adjacent to the south part of the parking lot for the Garrison train station.

Trails:

Pick up the blue trail heading south; cross over the creek on a picturesque wooden bridge with railing; on the right are the remains of a brick building with 2 tall chimneys and a wooden building; private house on left; field on left; can see West Point across the Hudson River; over the railroad bridge. From here the blue trail goes to the right, while the red trail goes left. I go red. In a very short distance, you come to the southern part of Arden Point from where Bear Mountain Bridge can be seen in the distance. The red trail curves from south to north; heads along a dry ridge by the river; near the northern end of Arden Point, pass the end point of the blue trail on the right; head through a stone wall and head down to the northern point where there are some pitch pines. Turn around and return to the railroad bridge via the blue trail; then back to the parking area.

4/27/03  with Rosemary and Lauren, ate lunch at a bench on the red trail with views almost directly in back of the Hotel Thayer on the West Point campus.  The new visitor's center and museum at West Point are just south of the hotel.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
dates indicated when plants found in bloom on field trips

Trees:
Acer pensylvanicum (goosefoot maple)
Acer platanoides (Norway maple) 4/27/03
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush) 4/27/2003
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula papyrifera (white birch) 8 of them
Carya sp. (hickory)
Castanea dentata (American chestnut)
Celtis occidentalis (hackberry)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash) 4/27/03
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus rigida (pitch pine)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus americana (American elm) 4/27/03

Shrubs:
Amorpha fruticosa (false indigo)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry) 4/27/03
Chimaphila maculata (striped wintergreen)
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepperbush)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Forsythia sp. (golden bells) 4/27/03
Gaultheria procumbens (wintergreen)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) 11/07/2002
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) 4/27/03
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Myrica pensylvanica (bayberry)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Ribes sp. (gooseberry or currant)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Staphylea trifolia (bladdernut)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
Vinca minor (periwinkle) 4/27/03

Vines:
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Clematis terniflora (yam-leaved clematis) on RR tracks
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Rubus occidentalis (wineberry)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vincetoxicum nigrum (black swallowwort)
Vitis sp. (grape)
Wisteria sp. (wisteria)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Arctium minus (common burdock)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asarum canadense (wild ginger)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Aster cordifolius (heart-leaved aster)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster)
Caulophyllum thalictroides (blue cohosh)
Centaurea sp. (knapweed)
Chelidonium majus (celandine)
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle)
Conopholis americana (squawroot)
Conyza canadensis (horseweed)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane)
Erythronium americanum (trout lily) 4/27/03
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)
Eupatorium sp. (Joe-Pye-weed)
Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry)
Galium sp. (bedstraw)
Glechoma hederacea (gill-over-the-ground) 4/27/03
Geum canadense (white avens)
Gnaphalium obtusifolium (sweet everlasting)
Hemerocallis fulva (tawny day lily)
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket)
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Melilotus sp. (sweet clover)
Narcissus sp. (daffodil)
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum sp. (true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Ranunculus ficaria (lesser celandine) 4/27/03
Rumex obtusifolius (broad-leaved dock)
Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)
Solidago caesia (blue-stem goldenrod)
Solidago canadensis var. scabra (tall goldenrod)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) 4/27/03
Tussilago farfara (common dandelion) along roadway 4/27/03
Urtica dioica v. dioica (stinging nettle)
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Verbena urticifolia (white vervain)
Veronica officinalis (common speedwell)
Viola sororia (common blue violet) 4/27/03

Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)

Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered type sedge)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) 4/27/03

Grasses:
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
Setaria faberi (nodding foxtail grass)

Ferns:
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Osmunda regalis (royal fern)
Polypodium sp. (rock cap fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)