Up Yonda Farm Environmental Education Center

Up Yonda Farm is Warren County’s environmental education center in Bolton Landing, a hillside campus with a farmhouse welcome center, small museum, gardens, pond and about three miles of trails. It’s a good stop for families or anyone who wants a short, hands-on introduction to Adirondack nature. Keep going past the buildings for the wooded walks and the Lake George view. The standout payoff is the open hillside above the campus, looking toward the mouth of the lake’s Narrows and the mountains on its eastern shore.

Park in the visitor lot, then check in at the white Farmhouse before taking part in activities on the grounds. A day-use charge applies per vehicle, including for trail-only visits. Buildings and some activities follow separate program schedules and can be unavailable during private programs, so check ahead if there’s a particular exhibit or activity you’re coming for.

Use the map from a naturalist to choose among the short routes. The Base Loop is a half-mile and mostly level; its gravel section is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible. Field Traverse is a quarter-mile moderate walk across a grassy field to the open vista. The half-mile Summit Trail climbs gradually through woods. The marked trails add up to about three miles in all. Most other routes have uneven natural surfaces, so don’t assume the accessible gravel section carries over to every trail.

The best view is at the top of Field Traverse, a short uphill walk from the museum area. From the open hillside, Lake George narrows toward the islands, with the mountains on the eastern shore beyond. For a photo, include some of the lake’s wooded edge in the foreground; it gives the distant ridges and islands a sense of scale.

The small museum makes the stop especially good with kids. Its hands-on Adirondack exhibits cover animals, birds and pollinators, with taxidermy and multimedia displays. The Farmhouse has a live turtle exhibit and a small gift area. Try the TopoBox augmented-reality sandbox if you’re curious about how the region’s geology and geography fit together.

The name Up Yonda is tied to Dr. Willie Meyer, who used it for his place in the early 1900s. Later, Alice and John Scott lived here, ran tourist cabins, raised chickens and kept an egg business alongside their gardens. They donated the property and a trust fund to Warren County to create an environmental education center.

The trails pass stone walls and water catches once used for cattle and sheep, reminders of the property’s earlier farm life. A mixed-wood forest route climbs by switchbacks, while the open field on Field Traverse gives you the long view. The butterfly garden, pond-sampling activities and Sugar House programs are seasonal, so plan around what’s running if one of those is your main reason to visit.

There’s no meal service. You can bring a picnic for the pond area on a carry-in, carry-out basis, and the Farmhouse shop sells local maple syrup, honey and field guides.