Fahnestock -- Canopus Lake -- AT Trail
Putnam County, NY

Directions:

Saw Mill Parkway or Sprain Brook Parkway to Taconic Parkway north. Go from Westchester to Putnam County and then get off at the Cold Spring exit (Route 301 west) at the little green rectangle mileage marker 11:08 (equivalent to 10.8 miles north of Westchester County). Turn right at the stop sign onto Route 301 west, pass the picnic area on the left and the headquarters of Fahnestock on the right , go past the boat rental place at Canopus Lake, and just a block or tow equivalent beyond the end of Canopus Lake on the west side and park on the right in a pull-off on the side of the road by/near the Appalachian Trail Sign.

Trail:

Heading northeast in the mountains west of Canopus Lake. For awhile it is not possible to see the lake. The trail soon climbs left and then right around and up a big rock cliff side. Typical chestnut-oak/mountain laurel habitat.

Cross a stream that heads from uphill downhill to Canopus Lake. Ascend a hill. There are a few clearings with bear oak from which you can get somewhat of a look at the lake.

The trail probably hooks up with the beech at the northern end of Canopus Lake. But I did not want to go that far, so I bush-whacked downhill and then bush-whacked along the shoreline of the western side of the lake until I got to the dam, then walked back on the eastern side of the lake to the boat rental place on Route 301.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
Date indicates calendar date when plant found in bloom.

Trees:
Acer pensylvanica (goosefoot maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Castanea dentata (American chestnut)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree) 6/04/01
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)

Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Chimaphila maculata (spotted wintergreen)
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepper bush)
Corylus sp. (hazel eglandular hairs)
Gaultheria procumbens (checkerberry)
Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry) 6/04/01
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) 6/04/01
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Quercus ilicifolia (bear oak)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus alleghaniensis (common blackberry) 6/04/01
Rubus odoratus (flowering raspberry)
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)
Vaccinium pallidum (hillside blueberry)
Vaccinium stamineum (deerberry) 6/04/01
Viburnum acerifolium (maple leaf viburnum ) 6/04/01

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)

Herbs:
Arabis canadensis? (sicklepod)?
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster)
Galium circaezens (wild licorice)
Hieracium venosum (rattlesnake hawkweed) 6/04/01
Lotus corniculatus (birdfoot trefoil) 6/04/01
Lysimachia quadrifolia (whorled loosestrife)
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower) 6/04/01
Medeola virginiana (Indian cucumber root) 6/04/01
Melampyrum lineare (cowwheat) 6/04/01
Nuphar variegata (spatterdock) 6/04/01
Polygonum (halberd-leaved tearthumb)
Potentilla recta (rough-fruited cinquefoil)
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil) 6/04/01
Prenanthes altissima (tall lettuce)
Smilacina racemosa (Solomon's seal) 6/04/01
Triadenum virginianum (marsh St. Johnswort)
Trientalis borealis (star flower)
Trifolium pratense (red clover) 6/04/01
Typha latifolia (cattail)
Uvularia sessilifolia (sessile leaved bellwort) 6/04/01in fruit
Veronica officinalis (common speedwell)

Rushes and Sedges:
Carex lots
Carex pensylvanica
Juncus effusus (soft rush)

Grasses:
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Panicum clandestinum (deer tongue grass)
Panicum sp. (panic grass)

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Osmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern)
Polypodium sp. (rock cap fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Pteridium aquilinum (bracken fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)

Others:
Sphagnum sp. (sphagnum moss)
rock tripe lichen