I truly love nature preserves. They are little pieces of paradise, and this preserve is no different. This is a lovely short, flat hike that follows the creek through the woods. Fun Fact: Over 30 species of wildflowers grow in this preserve.
The are no bathrooms or trash facilities at Kraai Preserve. This is a carry-in/carry-out preserve – Please leave no trace.
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Hiking Kraai Preserve
My favorite part of this Kraai Preserve is that some people took the time to create ceramic plant identification tiles and placed them along the trail in specialized holders.
The trail at Kraai isn’t long, but it is pretty and follows along the creek. The trail travels through the wood, fern gardens, and even something that appears to be a miniature bamboo thicket. This area is very wild, and the trail is a bit overgrown in places, but the peace and quiet here are unparalleled.
There are a few drawbacks to hiking here. 1)This trail was quite buggy; in fact, I felt like we donated to the mosquito blood drive. 2)There was also a huge amount of poison ivy just off the trail. If you visit, I recommend wearing long pants, bug repellent and make sure you stay on the trail.
Despite all that, I really found this preserve very pretty. It was an exceptionally easy hike, and we had the place completely to ourselves. I do have a plan to return to this preserve in the spring when, from what I understand, the forest floor is just carpeted with a huge variety of wildflowers.
Ganargua Creek
The Creek’s Name, Ganargua means “where the village sprang up” in the Iroquois language, although locally, it is also known as Mud Creek. This is due to the murkiness of the water.
One of the great features of the trail at Kraai Preserve is that there are places along the trail where you can reach the water. This is actually a fantastic kayaking/Canoeing creek, and there is a car-top boat launch at Norsen Bridge Park on the other side of the creek.
A Road Grown Wild
When you enter the preserve, there is an immediate split in the trail. If you take the trail to the left, you can take a quick jaunt to the remains of the abandoned road and the missing Norsen Bridge. It is truly amazing to see what happens when a road is overtaken by nature.
Out and About with Nova
Kraai Preserve is a Dog-Friendly Preserve as long as your dog is on a leash.
There is nothing Nova loves more than a hike that involves water, and Kraai Preserve fit the bill nicely. Although I hadn’t bargained on the burdocks, so many burdocks. She is a fluffy dog, so it isn’t unusual for us to have to brush a few burdocks out of her after a hike. But this, folks, this wasn’t a few; this was a lot. And a huge variety; she was a doggy seed spreader.
As always if you visit Kraai Preserve with your dog, please have respect for those who visit after you and clean up after them.
Getting to Kraai Preserve
We had been trying to visit this preserve for a while, but our GPS kept sending us to the wrong place. I finally broke down and figured out that the preserve was actually across the creek, and we could only get there from a different road than the GPS was giving us. While Google has the address correct (on Norsen Rd.), When you put the destination in your GPS it takes you to Pulver Rd.
Address: Kraai Preserve, 2428 Norsen Rd, Newark, NY 14513
Google Map Link
Other Places to Visit
Blue Cut Nature Center
The Blue Cut Nature Center is a lovely 40-acre nature preserve located just outside Lyons, New York. Although it is called a nature center, it is actually more of a nature preserve.
Montezuma Heritage Park & Richmond Aqueduct Ruins
This park has some of the most gorgeous and wild hiking trails mixed in with the unique history of the Eire Canal. The Richmond Aqueduct Ruins are what first drew my attention to the park, but it was the trails that made me fall in love with it.
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge is a 9,000-acre wildlife preserve located in Seneca Falls that is operated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This unique destination has lots of opportunities to view all sorts of native wildlife species.