Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve — Attraction in Town of Colonie

Ann Lee Pond is a peaceful and secluded nature trail in Colonie, NY. The trails are well kept and easy to hike and follow. There are many nice views of the pond on the trail. There are many picnic tables around to sit down. You can also fish in the pond. If you do the loop trail around the pond there are 2.3 miles of trails total. Dogs on leashes are allowed. Trail maps are available for free online. If time permits be sure to check out the nearby Shaker Historic Village. This site contains historic buildings from the original Shaker settlement that was created there in the 18th century. It is easy to walk around and there is a gift shop there. Plenty of parking available, with electric car charging spots. Only negative of the area is that the planes from the nearby airport are loud. Worth a stop for...

Nice little hike near the city. Very pretty pond that draws wildlife. Saw a lot of songbirds, a turtle, geese, a chipmunk, etc. and heard frogs and shy birds, such as a hermit thrush. To me, the best way to experience a nature hike is to park in the gravel lot to the RIGHT after you come down Heritage Lane from the airport. The pond signs point to the left, but there is a second lot to the right, and there’s a trailhead from that lot on the right. If you walk along the trail there, you will come to a floating bridge on the left. After you cross that you can just take every trail that goes to the left (all marked red) and you will circle the pond and end up back at the lot that’s on the left. Just cross that lot to get back to the starting point. It’s about 1...

The trails are marked well but without a map kiosk there’s little to no point as you don’t know which color to follow. We were on a blue trail that suddenly became red and before we knew it we looped back to the car. Never saw the bridge that everyone else posted. Also the trails are not well maintained, there are plenty of downed trees along the path. Keep in mind the proximity to the water means you’re going to be swarmed with bugs. I was excited to hike here seeing all the great reviews but honestly I don’t...