Dryden Lake Park Trail
Route. From Lake Rd south of Dryden Lake, find the parking area at the end of the trail. The trail along old railroad bed starts behind the Agway in Dryden and ends south of Dryden Lake. The path is flat, open and easy walking.
Length: 4 miles one way
I stopped at the Farmers Market to catch a bit of breakfast before I set out. I had my choice of seitan, tofu, bean wraps, sushi, Sri Lankan, Belgian waffles, chilies rellenos, and Japanese food. I couldn't find meat or eggs if I did want them for breakfast. However, I could indulge in as much sugar and fat as I wanted with sticky buns, and pecan chews or I could eat more healthy whole-wheat oat scones. The market was overflowing with tomatoes, corn, lettuce, squash, apples and pumpkins.
I decided to start at the south end of Dryden Lake so that I could walk past the entire lake. I walked up to the 1.5-mile bench and then headed back to the car. The town has built handicapped accessible fishing access points along the trail but the function nicely as overlooks along the lake. I stopped for lunch at the park located between the 2.5-mile bench and the 2-mile bench. Apples covered the ground. I sat and ate and wrote for at least an hour and saw not a single person or car come by.
The lake was carved by the glaciers and settled by Indians and is a good place to find Indian artifacts, according to the historical marker. The trail is abandoned Lehigh Valley railroad bed. The railroads searched for the straight line and flat route between two points, so you don't get views from the heights but you do get easy walking. At times you are walking through a cut with mounds over your head. The railroad also changed drainage patterns and always seems to dam water into still shallow ponds with cattails and algae. The flora tends to be sumac and brushy stuff like honeysuckle and dogwood. I saw two chipmunks basking in the sun on top of tree stumps and a few blue herons. I saw a beaver house out in one of the flooded areas. The last time I was here in a canoe we saw a big black water snake watching us from the reeds.