Up Yonda Farm, Environmental Education Center — Attraction in Town of Bolton

This the perfect place to bring all explorers, learners, and the nature-conscientious, young and old. We brought our toddler & preschooler and they absolutely loved it and we’re planning to come back year after year. They have tons of easy-to-walk trails (or steeper/more difficult ones for the more inclined [see what I did there? 😉🙄]); we brought our rugged wagon which made it fine on the easy trails, but I think a regular stroller would struggle. Bring a picnic lunch - there’s picnic tables or you can hike to the top of a hill to get a gorgeous view of Lake George. They have a story walk, you can learn about making maple syrup, there’s a pond where you can observe the inhabitants or catch frogs and HUGE tadpoles for a closer look (and release, of course). There’s a pretty little butterfly garden (right now -late July - they’re mostly chrysalis’). The conservationists/caretakers have such obvious depth of passion for spreading education about NYS wildlife, endangered species, invasive species, and caring for nature - it’s really inspiring 💚. This place is a true gem. Oh! There’s a museum with a Dino dig, a reading nook, coloring, tactile tables, pelts, bird watching. Everything you can imagine!! I can’t recommend this place enough!! $6 to park/enter per vehicle. Bring bug spray for sure and maybe your own hand sanitizer...

Up Yonda Farm is a unique environmental education center where you can get out and enjoy the outdoors. The farm is located near Lake George and their hiking trails have some of the best views of Lake George in the area. On top of the hiking trails there is a small wildlife museum, gardens, butterfly house, auditorium, pond, and sugarhouse. The hiking trails are fairly easy and most should be able to handle them without any problem. Trail maps are provided in the visitor center. The best part of the trails is the vista of Lake George. For those who like history, you can also follow a short spur trail that leads to the oldest cemetery in Bolton Landing called the Federal Hill Cemetery. Check their website or call ahead to see if they have any special shows or exhibits as they do change frequently. The museum they have open is small but worthwhile. There are nice Adirondack chairs near the visitor center to sit, relax, and enjoy the day. Rates for visiting are reasonable and tickets can be purchased at the door. The Warren County Parks Agency does a great job of maintaining and taking care of this place. Up Yonda Farm is a pleasant place to spend some time near the shores of lovely...

We were visiting the area and decided to spend an afternoon here… wow! Impressed. Right from the parking lot we visited the butterfly house and then the kids ran across the way to find nets and buckets to catch frogs and fish in the pond. They would have been content doing that for our entire stay I think. We went into the office space, paid $5 for parking, and visited the turtles there. The naturalist was a wealth of info about the farm and animals. From there we dropped into the museum, small, but packs a punch! There’s something for all ages and it’s nearly all hands-on. We got to watch bees inside a hive, touch animal skeletons and furs, take a guess at what animals we were seeing by looking at their XRays and the kids most loved the topographical map table with kinetic sand. We only left it when we did because they had to close up. We ended our visit with a mile hike through the woods and then up to the Lake George Vista. Mushrooms galore! We found puffballs even, the most fun. The hike was lovely… steep (!)...