The Peru Gazette

By Adele Douglas

Ausable Marsh is one of my favorite places to walk and it’s only five minutes away.  Near Ausable Point Campground, the Ausable Marsh State Wildlife Management Area provides a fairly unique walking experience with a trail on a causeway and lovely views on all sides.  The causeway runs for about two-thirds of a mile and is a birder’s paradise.  I’ve seen ospreys, bald eagles, Canada geese, herons, bitterns, various ducks and many other birds that I haven’t identified. At this time of year it’s also an excellent place to bring young frog lovers.   I especially enjoy seeing how the plants and wild flowers along the causeway change throughout the year.  With the trees on the edge of the marsh starting to turn it’s a particularly pretty walk now. 

At the end of the causeway I usually head back, giving me about a half hour walk.  However if you continue you enter a very striking maple forest. There’s little undergrowth, the canopy is high and the trees have long, dark trunks.  Here the main trail turns to the right and runs through an initially very weedy section (beware nettles and fallen trees) and then a more open, grassy trail as you parallel the rail line and eventually meet the Ausable River (upper mouth).  It’s about another two-thirds of a mile from the beginning of the maple forest to the river.  There’s a much shorter trail to the Ausable River if you turn left as you enter the maple forest, but the nettles are shoulder high.

Be forewarned, at the beginning of the trail there’s lots of ragweed. Rubber boots are a must for most of the non-winter seasons as you’ll encounter a puddle/stream across the trail after about 10 minutes of walking.  Hunting is allowed here in season. (Click here for more photos)

To get to Ausable Marsh from the hamlet take Bear Swamp Road to Route 9. Turn right and almost immediately on your left (perhaps 20 yards) you’ll see a very old, difficult to read, DEC sign for Ausable Marsh and an access road.  This road is in pretty rough shape but after a little less than ½ a mile of bumping along you’ll reach a parking area, gate and sign-in kiosk.  For more information please check out the website http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24400.html