Teatown Lake Reservation



If you are looking for one of the best places in Westchester to go for a hike, head over to Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining! It is a 1,000-acre nature preserve that is also an education center that teaches people about the environment, specifically sustaining the diversity of wildlife and plants. 

Teatown has almost fifteen miles of hiking trails that are used throughout the year by over 10,000 hikers who are either studying nature or doing some type of outdoor activity like jogging, cross country skiing, or snowshoeing. They are also used for many of their year-round education activities, such as their summer nature camp. There is a total of fourteen trails that go across a variety of terrains and habitats, such as fields, mixed hardwood forests, laurel groves, lakes, streams, swamps, and farmland. These trails range in difficulty from easy to moderately difficult. One of the purposes of the preserve is that it provides visitors with a unique glimpse of the biological diversity of the entire lower Hudson Valley region. The trails also connect to the Briarcliff Peekskill Trailway and the Croton Aqueduct Trail. Many times, when I have walked along the trails next to the lake, I have heard frogs nearby. While I haven’t seen these animals, I have seen proof that beavers live in these woods with how certain trees look chewed. 

There is also a visitor center where guests can get a map of the trails, shop at the nature themed gift shop, and look at some animal exhibits. I have gone into the visitor center many times, and I remember that the gift shop had many fun items for kids, including plastic toys of animals that I had a lot of when I was younger. I also remember that the exhibits are in two rooms, with one room focused on aquatic creatures and reptiles like turtles, and the other room focused on mammals and woodland creatures like ferrets. There is also an outdoor exhibit that has presumably always been there that I recently discovered. It is on what they call the Raptor Loop, and it features birds of prey like great horned owls and red-tailed hawks. 

There are also going to be some events at the preserve over the next several weeks. One of these events is called a Christmas Bird Count. This is a group activity where you start at Teatown and then travel to the Croton Reservoir to notice how many winter waterfowl you find. There will also be an event where guests will take a hike and a tour guide will show the beauty that still exists when the green is gone in the winter. There will also be an event called Art on the Hearth where guests will create art out of natural materials while listening to a fire in the carriage house. There will also be a guided hike on New Year’s Eve that is described as meditative and a way to help you reflect and set your sights on the new year. Next year, they will also be having what they call their biggest event of the year, the Teatown Hudson River EagleFest. This is an all-day event that features live bird shows that highlight birds of prey, and it also has bird walks where you can view eagles through spotting scopes, heated tents filled with educational displays and exhibits, crafts and games for children, food trucks, and more.

Admission is free, so go and enjoy a nice walk through nature in Westchester!


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