John E. Hand Park at Bald Mountain
Westchester County, NY

Directions:

On the Taconic State Parkway heading north get off on the exit for Route 134. Turn left onto Route 134 west; take the first right turn (just after passing under the highway bridge) setting the odometer at 0.0; at 0.1 of a mile turn right at the stop sign; at 0.6 of a mile turn right onto Blinn Road; pass the Teatown parking lot by the lake at 0.8; at 1.6 miles turn right into the park entrance.

History:

Dedicated to John E. Hand, Westchester County legislator.

Trails:

This area connects with the Teatown property to the south. There are many unofficial trails here as the bikers have created many of their own trails for their own convenience.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, 4/29/02

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Carya sp. (hickory)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood) *
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)

Shrubs and sub-shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry) *
Chimaphila maculata (spotted wintergreen)
Corylus sp. (hazel)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw viburnum) *

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) *
Antennaria plantaginifolia (plantain-leaved pussytoes) *
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-pulpit) *
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Erythronium americanum (trout lily)
Galium aparine (cleavers)
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Lamium purpureum (purple dead nettle)?
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil) *
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)
Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaf crowfoot) *
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover)
Uvularia sessilifolia (sessile-leaved bellwort)
Veronica officinalis (common speedwell)
Viola sororia (common blue violet) *

Rushes:
Juncus effusus (soft rush)
Luzula multiflora (wood rush) *

Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (sedge)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) *
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)

Grasses:
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass) *
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue grass)
Poa annua (annual bluegrass)
Setaria sp. (foxtail grass)

Ferns:
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)