Adirondack Wildflowers: Twinflower in bloom along the Barnum Brook Trail (9 June 2012)

Interpretive Nature Trails in the Adirondacks:
Barnum Brook Trail

This page is no longer being updated.  For an updated and expanded version of this material, see: Interpretive Nature Trails in the Adirondacks: Barnum Brook Trail (VIC)

Gazebo at the entrance to the Barnum Brook Trail  (19 September 2012) Trees of the Adirondacks:  Red Maple leaf on the Barnum Brook Trail (12 September 2012) Adirondack Wetlands: Heron Marsh and Saint Regis Mountain (23 April 2013) Adirondack Wetlands: Heron Marsh and Saint Regis Mountain (18 July 2013) Adirondack Wetlands: Heron Marsh and Saint Regis Mountain (27 September 2012) Adirondack Wildflowers:  Blue Flag Iris on Heron Marsh (18 July 2013) Birds of the Adirondacks: Female Common Merganser on Barnum Brook (31 May 2013) Adirondack Wetlands:  Heron Marsh from the Barnum Brook Trail overlook (21 July 2012) Birds of the Adirondacks:  Great Blue Heron near the Barnum Brook overlook (7 May 2013) Adirondack Wildflowers: Twinflower along the Barnum Brook Trail (29 June 2013) Trees of the Adirondacks: Paper Birch along the Barnum Brook Trail (16 September 2004) Along the Barnum Brook Trail at the Paul Smiths VIC (12 September 2012) Birds of the Adirondacks: Female Mallard in Barnum Brook (12 May 2013) Along the north side of the Barnum Brook Trail (28 July 2012) Adirondack Wetlands: Heron Marsh from the Barnum Brook Trail
You have JavaScript turned off in your browser. To view the slideshow, please enable JavaScript. Instructions may be found here: www.enable-javascript.com

 

The Barnum Brook Trail is an interpretive nature trail designed to provide access to an Adirondack wetland and several different kinds of forest communities. The two overlooks provide exellent access to Heron Marsh, affording the opportunity to observe birds and marsh-dwelling mammals, such as North American River Otter. This well-marked, one-mile loop also features a series of identification markers on common Adirondack trees. Eleven species of trees native to the Adirondack Mountains are highlighted.

The surfaced trail -- designed to be accessible to those who have difficulty walking -- begins at the gazebo near the parking lot of the Visitor Center. Those taking a clockwise route should bear to the left at the intersection. The trail meanders through second-growth forest to two overlooks with good views of Heron Marsh and St. Regis Mountain. The path then follows Barnum Brook through a riparian woodland on a boardwalk. Use caution on the boardwalk, as it is apt to be slippery when wet. After crossing a fish barrier dam, you return to the gazebo through a stand of Eastern White Pines.

The walking is very easy, with a few slight grades and many benches to rest along the way. In the winter, this trail becomes a snowshoe trail. Follow the light blue trail markers.

Birds commonly heard and seen near the gazebo or in the mixed hardwood/conifer forest include:

Red-eyed Vireo Nashville Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-Breasted Nuthatch Black-capped Chickadee
Common Yellowthroat Hermit Thrush
Palm Warbler Magnolia Warbler
Ruffed Grouse Blackburnian Warbler
Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet
White-throated Sparrow American Robin
Blue-headed Vireo Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula Hairy Woodpecker
American Goldfinch Ovenbird
Purple Finch Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-throated Blue Warbler  

 

Birds heard and seen at the overlooks on Heron Marsh include:

American Bittern Broad-winged Hawk
Swamp Sparrow Alder Flycatcher
Great Blue Heron Red-winged Blackbird
Wood Duck American Black Duck
Mallard Common Loon
Blue Jay Cedar Waxwing
White-throated Sparrow  

 

Wildflowers and flowering shrubs commonly seen along this trail include:

Canada Mayflower Bunchberry
Blue Flag Iris Clintonia
Common Wood Sorrel Foamflower
Goldthread Partridgeberry
Starflower Twinflower
Wild Columbine Wild Sarsaparilla
Wintergreen Spotted Touch-Me-Not
Cow-wheat Dewdrop
Coltsfoot Trailing Arbutus
Indian Pipe Hop clover
Hobblebush Helleborine Orchid
St. John's Wort  

 

Paul Smiths VIC -- Map of Trees along the Barnum Brook Trail at the Paul Smiths VICMap of Adirondack Trees along the Barnum Brook Trail
Click on the name of the plant for a description
Sugar Maple American Beech Bigtooth Aspen Striped Maple Red Spruce White Pine Red Maple Balsam Fir Paper Birch Eastern Hemlock Witch Hobble Yellow Birch

Trees featured on the identification markers along the trail include:

Sugar Maple American Beech
Bigtooth Aspen Striped Maple
Red Spruce Eastern White Pine
Red Maple Balsam Fir
Paper Birch Eastern Hemlock
Yellow Birch  

 

 

Explore the VIC

The Paul Smiths VIC offers a wide variety of programs throughout the year to educate and inform Adirondack Park residents and visitors about the natural wonders of the Adirondack Mountains. You can help support these programs by joining the Friends of the VIC. More information on Friends of the VIC memberships

Explore the Trails

The VIC trails are free and open to the public, from dawn to dusk, spring through fall. In winter, the trails are open to cross-country skiers and snowshoers for a fee. Day or season passes may be purchased.