Lake Bonita, Moreau Lake State Park: 11/13/2016

Ski season is almost here, but we were able to squeeze in another short hike close to home on one of the last really nice days of late fall. Lake Bonita is a recent addition to Moreau Lake State Park, with the official trail being marked just a few months ago.

Hiking at Moreau Lake State Park: 07/11/2015

Family plans kept us close to home last weekend, but we managed to squeeze in a quick half-day hike at Moreau Lake State Park. Visitors come in throngs for the park's beach and campground, but many are unaware of the park’s wild side – nearly 5000 acres of rugged forest on both sides of a scenic stretch of the Hudson River.

Moreau Lake trail 15K: 09/07/2014

Beach starting area at the Moreau Lake trail 15K

Chalk it up to training (doubtful), experience (maybe) or just good luck (more like it), I ran a successful race at Sunday’s Moreau Lake 15K trail race, put on by Green Leaf Racing. By successful, I mean that a) I didn’t get lost, b) I didn’t get hurt or suffer any spectacular falls, and c) I beat my time from last year’s race by 6 minutes, finishing in less than 2 hours. Not getting lost or hurt might seem like odd criteria for “success” in a race, but this is no ordinary race, even by trail running standards. Featuring lots of rocks and roots, big vertical, downed trees and the infamous “staircase of death,” the Moreau Lake 15K course is known as one of the toughest around.

Moreau Lake 15K trail race: 09/08/2013

There are trail races, and there are trail races. At the pre-race meeting Sunday morning, organizers from Green Leaf Racing explained that their idea behind the creation of the Moreau Lake 15K Trail Race was to challenge runners from start to finish on hiking trails with plenty of rocks, roots and vertical. The result is the most technical yet runnable trail race in the Capital District, with well over 2,000 vertical feet of climbing. No carriage roads here!

Course preview video (from 2011):

With Moreau Lake State Park practically in my backyard, the race landed at the top of my must-do list this year. Despite that home course advantage, the race kicked my butt, yet at the same time it was one of the funnest races I’ve done in a long time.

Hiking at Moreau Lake State Park, 05/18/2013

I was so impressed with Moreau Lake State Park on my first mountain bike ride there a few weeks ago that I brought my family back to hike the very next weekend. Overshadowed by the limitless hiking opportunities in the nearby Adirondacks, Moreau Lake State Park would certainly be more widely regarded as a hiking destination if it was located elsewhere in the state. I'm almost embarassed to admit that despite living in Saratoga County for more than 20 years, I never bothered to explore Moreau Lake State Park's 4,000 + acres beyond the heavily used beach and campground area.

Mountain biking at Spier Falls

I’ve been out on my bike quite a bit since the end of ski season, so it seems like it’s time for a mountain bike trip report. This is from last week, my first-ever time riding the Spier Falls trails at Moreau Lake State Park.

Western Ridge trail

To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure I had the skills for Spier Falls. The reputation is that the riding is great, if you survive. You can read what others have to say about Spier Falls here. In a nutshell, the riding is rocky and technical, comparable to some of the advanced trails at SMBA but with one added twist: a lot more vertical.