Beaver Lake Nature Center (near to Syracuse, NY)

Beaver Lake State Park is located a few miles from Baldwinsville, NY, which itself is only a short distance from Syracuse.

Lots of informative signs along the trails and this one, relating to the joys of Poison Ivy is now added to the many other images in my Poison Ivy Tutorial page.

$3 per car is the admission price to this area and with plenty of trails and benches, it provides a nice respite from hectic city life and provides visitors with a chance to smell the fresh air and visit a glacial lake.

The weather continued to be troublesome during my visit and a light rain was falling most of the time that I was there. This not only meant that I had to work at keeping the camera dry but also meant that available light was often marginal at best.

I began my visit to their trail system by taking the Bog Trail out to a peninsula where I could get a good look at the lake both from the ground level as well as from a nicely located observation tower.

Although the trail is called a Bog Trail, the area is affected by fluctuating water levels from the lake and springs and is therefore less acidic than a full fledged bog might be. The floating boardwalk was surrounded by a great variety of woody plant growth more in line with the growth characteristics of a fen. For those who like bogs, the Mer Bleu Bog on the east edge of Ottawa, Ontario is a classic example.

Who cares about technicalities such as this when you can be so close to acid loving plants such as the Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea).