Continuing our quest to hike all the trails in the Delaware County Preservation Parks system, Tom and I headed to Blues Creek Preservation Park. Well, first we returned to Hogback Ridge, but I’ve already written a post on that. We hiked the trails in Hogback Ridge during our Delaware County Scavenger Hunt. Here is the post on Hogback Ridge.
The Nature Center at Hogback Ridge was open on our return so we started there. Hogback Ridge has the offices for the Preservation Parks, so there were lots of individual offices. I was trying to find someone to ask about the construction signs on the trails, but I walked past ten offices before I finally saw a person. He assured me that the construction was only near the Nature Center and wouldn’t interfere with our hike. With that assurance, Tom and I once again traversed the beautiful trails and ravines at Hogback Ridge.
The day after Hogback Ridge we headed to the park furthest from our home, Blues Creek Preservation park in Ostrander. Ostrander is like many places in Delaware County. It used to be a small town surrounded by farmland but is now built up into subdivisions and housing developments. The village itself is still tiny because it hasn’t expanded to incorporate any of these homes.
Blues Creek Preservation Park features prairies, a sparkling creek, forested areas and wetlands. The park is named for the creek that meanders along the park’s northern edge. In late summer and early fall, the prairies are vibrant with bright yellow, purple and white flowers, interspersed with tall prairie grasses. Goldenrod, asters, and prairie daisies spot the meadows and make homes for all kinds of butterflies and other insects. The prairie areas are surrounded by mature woodlands, and areas that have been reforested.
Special features of the park include a catch-and-release fishing pond for all ages, which allows park visitors to learn and participate in a sport they can enjoy their entire lives. No license is required to fish in this pond. The hill in the center of the park is a sled hill on snowy days and, all year round, provides an expansive view of the park. There also are two picnic shelters that can be rented.
Blues Creek Preserve was acquired at public auction in 1993 with funds provided by an anonymous donor. The original purchase was 97.5 acres, and an adjoining 40.9 acres were acquired in 1999. The park was opened to the public in 2001.
There are 2.5 miles of trails in the park, set up in four lollipop trails. We started on the Shagbark Loop, hit the Bluestem trail at the bottom of the loop and then returned to the Shagbark trail. We veered off on the Fox Run Trail, hit the Meadowlark trail, and then finished up on the Shagbark trail. I am directionally challenged at the best of times, so it was hard for me to stay oriented with all the loops. I followed Tom’s directions until we eventually wended our way back to the car.
It was a beautiful day for a hike and we enjoyed the park very much. Four done, six to go in our quest to hike them all.