Beauty off the beaten path.

Just 20 minutes shy of reaching Albany—not a short trip by any means when coming from major points south especially New York City—is Hannacroix Creek Preserve. It is a nature preserve in the town of New Baltimore that has several marked hiking trails, one of which leads to a waterfall.

The trail starts with an incline that the New Baltimore Conservancy calls “moderately steep”. You won’t reach the preserve’s maximum elevation of 360 feet if the waterfall is all you\’re after (unless you also do the Red Loop trail), but the 200-foot elevation you do gain is bunched up at the start of the already short 0.6-mile hike, making for a rather steep ascent you’d likely call anything but “moderate”. I found myself panting as I neared its top.

The waterfall isn’t big at about 8-10 feet tall. But its craggy wall of rocks spanning the entire width of the creek looks imposing and menacing like a row of prehistoric defensive linemen crouched shoulder-to-shoulder preventing you from advancing any further. Even without a waterfall, which can be weak at times when the water runs low, the rock formation alone can still command awe.

It’s far, it’s steep, and it’s small. They’re probably great excuses for staying put in the cozy indoors.

But, occasionally, nature’s beauty off the beaten paths and a little workout can be all that we need to help us get by from day to day.