A short walk down Maude Adams Road brings visitors to the East Meadow, 10-acres of mowed paths and boardwalks that pass through masses of wild blueberry, an old pine allee, a new American hedgerow, a wetland teeming with wild asters and spiraea, and an historic pump house. Map & Self-Guided Tour >

The Pine Allee features majestic eastern white pine which the Arboretum is slowly replacing with younger trees of the species.  Under the pine canopy grow ferns, a multitude of sedges, woodland grasses like wavy hair grass and poverty oat grass, and the lovely groundcovers bunchberry and partridge berry.

The American Hedgerow is planted with species and cultivars of native shrubs like gray and redtwig dogwood, winterberry, sweet gale, elderberry and various fiery twigged willows. The hedgerow is a good example of choices available for four season interest: masses of flowers in spring and summer, fruits and berries in fall, and the magnificent explosion of variegated twig colors in winter.

The Wetland Boardwalk meanders through an abundant natural community of native spirea, asters, goldenrods, winterberry, ninebark and many sedges and reeds.  A view across the wetland to the mountains framing Platte Clove is a stunning sight in every season. (Birding here is especially good.)

The Fern Trail winds along the western edge of the wetland.  The shady border hosts a variety of native ferns, surrounding boulders caked with mosses and lichens, all under the cooling shade of hemlock, fir, birch and beech.

The Pump House is a cool spot situated over a true Catskills spring. Water from this spring feeds nearby creeks, all part of the immense watershed that supplies most of New York City’s drinking water. The small building, built in the early 20th century to pump water to a nearby home, was recently restored as a reminder of the role the Catskill Mountains play in the lives of New York City’s eight million residents.