This 2-hour hike around Taghkanic Lake combines well-marked trails, deep woods, and some easier areas with the background of the beautiful Taghkanic Lake.
Wear: Bug spray & sun tan lotion
Location: Taghkanic Lake Gallatin NY
Length: 5.4 miles, about 2 hours
What makes the Taghanic Lake hike special?
What makes the Taghanic Lake hike truly excellent is that there is a lake beach at the parking lot. So if you are traveling with people who would rather kick back or swim they can do that. And you can go traversing through the wilderness. Even better your cell phone will be able to get your GPS location throughout the hike. This means you can see how much further you need to go to get back to the beach. Also if you share your location, your partners on the beach can track you as well. In fact, there is plenty of other things to do at the lake.
When I started this hike, I didn’t know what to expect. I half expected it to be a nearly paved path that went around the lake and was crowded with people. But the opposite was true. I barely saw any people on the trail and the trail had a lot of variation. There was a sign warning me of ticks though.
How is the Taghanic Lake walk?
I started the walk from the beach and the trail began as a commonly driven, yet wildly overgrown grass path. Over time that wider feeling disappeared and gave way to thinner trails that went up hills and down into valleys, all of the time with the lake on my right side. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if I was going on a trail at all until I saw a friendly trail marker. I discovered trail markers for the first time on this hike, there were essential to making me feel that I was not lost.
My concern about getting lost was also reduced because this was a trail around the lake. As long as I kept the lake view on my right side and fairly close I knew I would be ok. Each lake view was unique. It was labor day weekend, and I was told that some of the trees would be changing colors. For the most part, trees were either green or brown. Brown being dead leaves. So it was not as exciting as seeing the multi-colors that I’ve grown to love.
But the hike itself was great. The variation made it a lot of fun because as soon as I got bored with one thing a different challenge was presented to me. There were man-made water crossings, although I would not refer to them as bridges, and enough shade midday to make me feel as if night may have fallen and enough birds and animals to make me feel that I was on a small adventure. It felt quiet.
Are there bathrooms along the Taghkanic Lake walk?
Every now and then there would be a bathroom, perhaps 2 or 3 stops in total around the lake. I must note that often there was nobody else on the trail with you, so you have some freedom there in emergencies.
So if you have a group of people who want to relax by a lakeside beach and some people who want to hike, this is a great spot!
Want to know what else to do in NY State? — travel in NY State
