The Huguenot Path

Huguenot Street, New Paltz, Ulster County, New York

Directions:

Accessible from the road leading to the New Paltz sewage treatment plant where parking is available.

US 87 west over the Tappan Zee Bridge; get off at Exit 18 for New Paltz; turn left onto Route 299; head through the town to a right turn onto Huguenot Street (at Gilded Otter Brewpub); within the distance of about two blocks or so, just after passing the driveway for Town and Country Condos, turn Left into a parking area/driveway and park in the main, paved parking area.  (The northern parking area by the horticultural gardens is for gardeners only.) 

Geology:

The Huguenot Path follows along the bank of the Wallkill River.

History:

pre-Colonial – a short distance south on the path toward the highway bridge is the old Indian fording place.

Colonial days – near the oxbow outlet are the remains of the old Huguenot dam that was used to trap fish and to harvest ice.

Trails:

From the main parking area walk past the sewage treatment plant.  There is a three mile trail. (There is an exit north of the Freer-Lowe House, beyond the bend in Huguenot Street.)

9/04/04. On a warm, but nice day, Sarah-David Rosenbaum, my wife Rosemary and I toured the area.  There is a main path that parallels the Wallkill River heading north.  (The Wallkill here looks pretty muddy.)  We were amazed at the number and size of the giant ragweed.  Many of the species were 12 feet high and they dominated large areas along the flood plain.  Another thing we thought impressive was the amount of area covered by Japanese hops.  There were large sections of the fields virtually completely dominated by this species.  (There were also a  lot of mosquitoes eager and willing to bite and annoy us.)  

On the east side of the Wallkill River are large fields, or perhaps they should be called meadows because they are dominated by plants that are found around water. There was a lot of purple loosestrife, but many other species as well such as halberd-leaved and arrow-leaved tearthumb.  A gorgeous find was provided by the gorgeous red and pink flowers of the water smartweed.    There are many wide paths crossing these meadows.  There is also a large pond covered with duckweed or watermeal or a combination of the two. We couldn't get close enough to the pond to tell because of the large stand of Phragmites in the shallow waters surrounding the pond. The plant highlight was finding the biennial gaura, which none of us had ever seen before. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

Habitats:

swamp, upland forest

Wildlife:

Christine Guarino found a sedge wren, May 16, 2004. 

Facilities:

picnic tables near the community gardens

Trails:

Trail that takes about 40 minutes to walk round trip.

Source: Adrienne K. Wiese, "The Huguenot Trail" Bevier-Elting Family Association http://www.b-efa.org/befa/huguenot_trail.htm

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, Sarah David Rosenbaum, Rosemary Cooney
* = plant found in bloom  on day of field trip, September 04, 2004

Trees:
Acer negundo (box-leaf maple)
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula nigra (river birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)
Celtis occidentalis (American hackberry)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juglans nigra (black walnut)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Populus deltoides (cottonwood)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Prunus sp. (cherry)
Quercus bicolor (swamp oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Salix sp. (willow)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Ulmus rubra (slippery elm)

Shrubs and Sub-shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honey suckle)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Sambucus canadensis (common elderberry)
Staphylea trifolia (bladdernut)
Vinca minor (periwinkle)

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Clematis virginiana (virgin's bower)
Dioscorea villosa (wild yam root)
Echinocystis lobata (wild balsam apple)
Humulus japonicus (Japanese hops)
Menispermum canadense (moonseed)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Polygonum scandens (climbing hempweed)
Sicyos angulatus (one-seeded cucumber) *
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis labrusca (fox grape)

Herbs:
Acalypha sp. (three-seeded mercury) *
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Aethusa cynapium (fool's parsley) *
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) *
Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed) *
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut) *
Anemone virginiana (thimbleweed)
Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp)
Arctium lappa (great burdock) *
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Aster cordifolius (heart-leaved aster) *
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster) *
Aster spp. (small white asters) *
Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed) *
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle)
Conyza canadensis (horseweed) *
Coronilla varia (crown vetch) *
Cryptotaenia canadensis (honewort)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) *
Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink) *
Erechtites hieraciifolia (pileweed) *
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane) *
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod) *
Galinsoga sp. (quickweed) *
Galium mollugo (wild madder) *
Gaura biennis (biennial gaura) * waning
Geranium sp. (pink geranium) *
Geum canadense (white avens)
Glechoma hederacea (gill over the ground)
Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke) *
Hypericum punctatum (spotted St. Johnswort)
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed) *
Impatiens pallida (yellow jewelweed) *
Lactuca canadensis (wild lettuce) *
Laportea canadensis (wood nettle)
Lemna sp. (duckweed) covers the pond
Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort)
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Lotus corniculatus (birdfoot trefoil) *
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) *
Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover) *
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) *
Osmorhiza sp. (cicely)
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Penstemon sp. (beardtongue)
Physalis subglabrata (smooth ground cherry) *
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain) *
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum biflorum (smooth true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum amphibium (water smartweed) *
Polygonum arifolium (halberd-leaved tearthumb) *
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Polygonum hydropiper (water pepper) *
Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb) *
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed)
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal)
Rudbeckia laciniata (green-headed coneflower) *
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Sedum acre (golden carpet stonecrop)
Silene vulgaris (bladder campion) *
Smilax herbacea (carrion flower)
Solanum nigrum (black nightshade) *
Solidago caesia (blue-stem goldenrod) *
Solidago canadensis var. canadensis (Canada goldenrod) *
Solidago canadensis var. scabra (tall goldenrod) *
Solidago rugosa (rough-stem goldenrod) *
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadowrue)
Trifolium hybridum (alsike clover) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Trifolium repens (white clover) *
Urtica dioica var. procera (tall nettle) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Verbena urticifolia (white vervain)
Veronica officinalis (common speedwell)
Viola sp. (violet)

Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered type sedge)
Carex lupulina (hop sedge)

Grasses:
Bromus inermis (smooth brome grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Echinochloa sp. (barnyard grass)
Elymus virginicus (Virginia wild rye grass)
Leersia oryzoides (rice cut grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass)
Poa annua (annual bluegrass)
Setaria faberi (nodding foxtail grass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)

Ferns:
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)