Historic Environments

The Cary Institute’s campus is spread across approximately 2,000 acres in the Hudson Valley of New York.  The institute’s buildings consist of a research complex, analytical laboratories, an environmental monitoring station, classrooms, an education department, and an auditorium. These grounds function primarily as a laboratory for field research and for extensive research on the ecology of Lyme disease. The grounds also contain hiking trails accompanied by interpretive kiosks covering topics ranging from wetland protection to environmental conditions and their effects on Lyme disease risk.

Trails:

Cary Pines Tail

The Cary Pines trail stretches 1.3 miles and looks on a wooded meadow full of white pine that inspired the trail’s name. The trail divides half way, with the second path leading to the roadways

Wappinger Creek Trail

This 1.25 mile trail runs along the Wappinger creek under a thick canopy to create a cool dark forest filled with sugar maple.

EdVenture Trail

This “educational adventure” trail acts as a tool for students and visitors to investigate environmental factors impacting our forests such as deer browsing, farming, glaciers, and lightning.

Sedge Meadow Trail

The Sedge Meadow trail runs on a small boardwalk to cut through a stand of red maple in it’s namesake sedge-hummock wetland.

Another area of the grounds, the Fern Glen, is a two-acre display consisting of native plant communities making use of a pond, a meandering boardwalk, a pond, and an observation deck with a view of Wappinger Creek. The Glen acts as a location where nature is available to stimulate all your senses. The Cary Institute’s Ecology Camp allows children the opportunity to be in this environment and connect science concepts learned in the classroom with real-world examples and application. Visitors also walk along paths where one can see an active hummingbird community sip nectar from flowers, spot painted turtles sunbathing on a log, or learn to identify spore patterns on the local ferns.