ALTAMONT ENTERPRISE FEATURE ARTICLE

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

ALTAMONT ENTERPRISE ARTICLE


Proposals on the Albany Hilltowns web site to encourage folks to visit the hill towns as a means to preserve the farmlands and the scenic beauty, and at the same time boosting the local economy, are the subject of The Altamont Enterprise  Feature Story for the week of December 24, 2009. Barb Husek tells me the front page article in weekly the Altamont Enterprise, by Zack Simone, also includes several nice photographs, and that the editor wrote a "glowing editorial" about our efforts. (Barb's words. My copy won't arrive here in Oaxaca, Mexico for another week.)


HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

This Christmas season Albany Hilltowns is celebrating its first anniversary! It was only a year ago that the first few pages of my site went online. There are now 2063 pages, "and growing daily." The main page is viewed over 1000 times a month, and that rate is also increasing steadily.

HEAD FOR THE HILLS - Economic benefits from visitors

High Point Road in Partridge Run WMA
Charles Sloger, Oct. 2008.

Here is a link to more of Charles Sloger's incredibly beautiful photos.

The purpose of this Albany Hilltowns has been broadened from history and genealogy to include the following:

ADDITIONAL GOALS

• Historic building preservation
• Farmland preservation
• Boost the hill towns economy

A primary means to accomplish these goals is to make people aware of the beauty of the Albany County hill towns, thus giving them reasons to visit the hill towns. Visitors spend money, thus supporting farmers and other local businessmen and their employees. This will encourage historic building and farmland preservation.

Giving visitors as many reasons as possible to "Head to the Hills - The Albany Hilltowns" is one way to make progress towards those goals.


HEAD FOR THE HILLS


Economic benefits from visitors

Not all visitors to the hill towns are hikers and leaf peepers; or at least they don't have to be.

The secret to separating visitors from their money painlessly, is to offer them something they want to buy. Head for the Hills - The Albany Hilltowns has suggestions for farm activities that could make visitors want to spend more of their time and more of their money in the hill towns.

One of the suggestions is to have a central Hilltowns Farmers Market every weekend at a different town park pavilion.

Let's imagine that a couple from below the hills decides to attend the Farmers Market on Saturday; then they decide since they are going, why not make in a mini-vacation weekend.

Saturday morning they go to the Farmers Market and stock up on a week's worth of fruits and vegetables. While there they buy some of Bob Rowe's alpaca head-wear and scarves for gifts. They also buy a couple of dozen fresh eggs and a free range chicken from the stand of Frantzen's Scenic Acres, some antiques, and crafts made by "Sister Sue."

Time for lunch at Jersey's in East Berne, then an afternoon's hike in the Burke Wildlife Management Area in Knox. They enjoy dinner at Maple Inn, (but then so does everyone who eats there!).

They spend the night at Ralph and Jan Miller's in one of their spare rooms. Since the Miller's are renting rooms by the night or week on an occasional basis in a bedroom in their own home, they meet the criteria to call their home a Guest House.

The next morning our couple eats breakfast at the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville. This is followed by a Sunday Drive in the Partridge Run WMA; then by lunch at the Palmer House.

They leave for home Sunday afternoon with full bellies, a trunk full of goodies bought in the hill towns, empty pockets, and smiles on their faces.

What have they left behind? Not pollution and litter!

They have left behind their money! And not just for sales tax at the MobilMart; rather they have transferred two or three hundred dollars from their pockets to the pockets of farmers and other business persons, the guest house owner, restaurants owners, and waitpersons in the hill towns.

They also took home lots of pictures and fond memories. They are anxious to tell their friends about the wonderful weekend they had, and suggest that the following weekend their friends "Head for the Hills."

And with a Hilltowns Farmers Market every weekend in a different town on a rotating basis, it would not be just one couple deciding to spend the weekend in the hill towns, it would be a dozen or two every weekend.

Where is the harm in that?

NATURAL AREAS AND OUTDOOR RECREATION OPPORTUNITES

The Albany hill towns are known for their natural beauty: pastoral rural country side, rolling hills, meandering creeks, waterfalls, forest land.

There are now separate pages for each of hill towns.

• Rensselaerville Natural Areas and Outdoor Recreation
• Knox Natural History and Outdoor Recreation
• Westerlo Natural Areas and Outdoor Recreation
• Berne Natural History and Outdoor Recreation - (Take a look at this page for ideas for making more use of the natural beauty of Berne to attract outside visitors interested in hiking, fishing, history, and photograph.)

HEAD FOR THE HILLS - THE ALBANY HILLTOWNS

I spent more of the day updating the main page of the Albany Hilltowns wiki site, and this page suggesting ways to increase the number of visitors to the hill towns, to remove the offending phrases "Tourists" and "Tourism." I had no idea they would give so many people bad connotations of the hill towns being turned into a Woodstock with tour buses, pollution, and congestion. Calm down folks! 

I changed the name of the new Facebook group promoting tourism to Head for the Hills - The Albany Hilltowns. Again I removed the phrases "Tourists" and "Tourism." You do not have to be a member of Facebook to view the site and read the discussions.

 

HEAD TO THE HILLTOWNS

Waterfall on Fox Creek
Nov. 2009, Charles Sloger

 

I have spent most of the last few days updating the main page of Albany Hilltowns wiki site. I have broadened the purpose of the site from history and genealogy to include the preservation of historic buildings, farmland preservation and the encouragement of low impact tourism to benefit the local economy. Barb Husek suggested a possible theme "Head to the Hilltowns." 

ALBANY HILLTOWNS ECOTOURISM

Partridge Run State Wildlife Management Area

• This is photo of High Point Road in Partridge Run Wildlife Mgt. area near Berne in Albany County, New York, taken by Charles Sloger, Oct. 2008. Here is a link to more of his incredibly beautiful photos.
• Eco-tourism. Getting tourists to come to the hill towns for the beauty of the countryside: hiking, biking, caving, visiting old cemeteries, trails to historic ruins, taking pictures, admiring our historic hamlets. It is a low impact way to help the local economy and encourage preservation of farmlands, scenery, historic homes and hamlets. Tourists need guest houses, B & B's, campgrounds, and picnic sites. Tour maps! To further that end I have created a new Albany Hilltowns Ecotourism Facebook Group. You don't need to belong to Facebook to check out the group. While there, click on the Wall tab. If you support our goals, we would love to have you join us.
• Partidge Run is one of several Berne Natural History areas open to the public in for hiking, photography, picnicking, etc.
• I have also updated the list of Knox Natural History areas.
  

HILL TOWNS TRAIL SYSTEM?

A few days ago I added a page on the Albany Hilltowns site on Knox natural history. I did not realize Knox had so much to offer! In continuing my thinking as to how the hill towns could increase tourism, I got to thinking that Knox could tout itself as a destination for locals to come for the weekend and hike the many beautiful preserves. I am going to add a link to the Natural History page with suggestions as to where out of town visitors could find something to eat or buy groceries. They could camp at the Thompsons Lake Campground. Eventually someone could open a guest house or B&B.

I wonder if it is possible to start linking some of the Knox preserves together, then linking them with the Thacher Park trail system and with the Christman Sanctuary in Duanesburg.

I suggest that the town of Berne consider a trail from the top of Cole Hill at the Long Trail and down the hill somewhere and along the tree line on the east side of the Cole Hill valley, across the Fox Creek at the bridge on Cole Hill Road and up the old Camp Orinsekwa Lane and along the west side of Warners Lake and on to some of the land preserves in Knox. Along the lake it might be used by bicyclists and runners as well as hikers.

The Long Trail should also have a connection to the Hyack preserve in Rensselaervlle.

Searching the Internet I found that there seems to be quite a lot of interest in hiking in the hill towns, but that it is not easy for hikers to find the trails. Maps are either non-existent or mis-leading.

Helder-hiking blog

Local Hikes

Partridge Run

There should be a few more trail shelters. It would be nice if there were a small campground somewhere near Partridge Run, perhaps privately run. A guest house might be useful, and a place to buy supplies.

I am sending this to a variety of people, since different people have different experiences, outlooks, and expertise.

Is there a local group that is interested in building trails? How did the Long Trail get built? Would the people who built it be interested in helping expand side trails?

This is outside by area of expertise, but something I have an a peripheral interest in because of my interest in preserving open land in the hill towns.