The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Hermit thrush at Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve © Daryl Burtnett/The Nature Conservancy

Open to the Public

Yes

Things To Do

Plants and Animals View All

Plan Your Visit

Preserve Map View All

Get Directions

Explore a microcosm of diverse natural communities at each level of 1,053-foot-tall Hammersly Ridge. In the reserve’s gorge, Duell Hollow Brook cascades down the rocks and The Appalachian Trail winds through stands of red pines, eastern hemlocks, and mixed hardwoods. Farther up the ridge, a hillside of beech trees slopes down into a yellow birch forest. And at the ridgetop, chestnut oaks, lichens and mosses grace the rocky soil and compliment stunning views of Great Swamp and Harlem Valley below.

Why We Selected This Site

The reserve was donated to The Nature Conservancy in 1958 through a gift from a group of local residents, the Akin Hall Association. The large entrance sign at the Quaker Lake Road parking area proclaims the reserve “A living museum for man’s use.” Acquisition of this site was an important milestone in the Eastern New York Chapter’s early conservation portfolio, because preservation of this large tract of land is vital to the health of adjacent Great Swamp, one of New York State’s largest freshwater wetlands.

What We Do Here

Devil’s bit, a New York state-rare plant, is one target of long-term protection and monitoring at the site. Isolated populations of state-threatened salamanders that occupy ridge-top wetlands in the reserve are also subjects of ongoing research and protection strategies here.  

Things To Do

Second-growth oak woodlands dominate, accompanied by swamps, red maple forests, fields and hemlock forests. Along the gorge sides you will see unusual plants such as walking fern, maidenhair spleenwort and hobblebush. Other rare plant species include devil’s bit, soapwort gentian, yellow wild flax, scarlet Indian-paintbrush and Bicknell’s sedge.

Twelve species of amphibians, including six species of salamanders and five species of frogs breed here. At least 77 bird species use the area for nesting or foraging, including hermit thrushes, black-throated green warblers, winter wrens, blue-gray gnatcatchers and acadian flycatchers.

Plan Your Visit

This 1,060-acre preserve is located in Pawling in Dutchess County, New York. Download a preserve map to help plan your trip to Pawling Nature Reserve

Directions

• From the northern terminus of I-684, follow Route 22 north past Route 55.
• Turn right onto Dutchess Route 68 (North Quaker Hill Road).
• Stay to the right on Route 68, then turn left onto Quaker Lake Road.
• The parking area is 1.2 miles on left.
• The reserve can also be accessed from the Appalachian Trail stop on Metro-North.

Discussion

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Add Your Comments

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