Kiosk at the head of the trail, Clark Preserve, Pound Ridge. "IN WILDNESS IS THE PRESERVATION OF THE WORLD - THOREAU". Who?
We really like mud and running water. Clark Preserve was a little on the dry side, although there was plenty of mud on the riverbanks.
It looks like Wolf is about to step into the afterlife but here is where the forest gives way, briefly, to an open field. If you like watching birds without any hope of catching them and eating them on the spot, this place is for you.
'Shrooms and forest floor.
Charlie and bench, open field.
Carving on an old log bench: GIFT FROM GINO ROSSI. Maybe he is a friend of Thoreau and the two of them go around carving into stuff.
Clark Preserve is a seventy-acre wilderness in Pound Ridge. We didn't like it so much. Compared to other places in the area, Clark is a little dull, especially for Charlie, who is ADHD.
It was a lonely stretch of trails without much variation in terrain, but we are not complaining: for a place to stretch the legs and get some exercise, it's okay. But we're not going overboard on the big ups; it was just okay.
Water features: What water features? Clark has a little creek, dried up in places to the point of being conjoined puddles in muddy riverbanks. Your dog can wade or dip a big toe but not very deeply. The trail crosses the creek in three places.
Feel: Overgrown wilderness backyard. You are in the shade most of the way -- until you come to the open field, with its long grasses. There are several benches along the way, and the trail is pretty well-marked, although if you pick up a map at the kiosk near the trailhead, you'll get confused, and the trails are mis-labeled in spots. It's no big deal: this isn't a big place, and if you get lost, you won't be lost for long. The trails feature swamp, woodland, and fields, with plenty of stone fences crisscrossing the preserve. There isn't a lot of understory vegetation.
Wild Animal Sighting of the Day: Not a durned one. Nary a skeeter, even. Wolf was panting too loudly to not scare everything away, anyhow.
Did We Meet Other Dogs, and Were They Leashed?: Again: not a durned one. It was a lonely stretch of trail, but then again, nobody was there to order us to get back on the leash.
The Biggest Surprise: The verge where the woods abruptly became an open field.
Nearest Dunkin' Donuts: 176 North Bedford Road, Mt. Kisco
Getting There: Clark Preserve is on Autumn Ridge Road, in Pound Ridge.
I-684 to Exit 4; turn right onto Rt. 172, South Bedford Road; at the T-intersection turn left onto Route 22 heading north into Bedford Village. Follow Rte. 121 out of town for 1.8 miles; turn right onto Stone Ridge Road, and 1.4 miles later, turn right onto Autumn Ridge. Follow the road for a mile or so; don't miss the turn-off for Clark. It will be on the left. There is a small off-road parking area.
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