To protect this land from development, this 3 acre parcel was donated to NSOLF by Eleanor Blakely Bell and her sister Bertha Bidda Blakely in 1980.
Stewards: Kate and John Arens
Trail Description
Bell-Blakely is an easy trail similar to the one on NSOLF’s Lances Preserve, but a bit more challenging. The entrance to the trail is an opening in the stone wall along Bogtown Road. This preserve is tucked away and less frequented than others and therefore the trail is covered in vegetation. Long pants, long-sleeved shirts and a walking stick are recommended when moving through the barberry thicket that covers the path near the entrance.
There are a large number of trees along the trail, along a New York State wetland, offering complete shade from the sun. The trail runs between a tall rock outcropping and a bog and is lined with low stone walls, remnants from the time when the trail served as a wagon route to Goldens Bridge. The trail ends at a low stone wall before a hill.
If you visit in the spring, skunk cabbage is present in large amounts toward the end of the trail, by the bog.
Bell-Blakely, though a short trail, allows one to experience the natural beauty of North Salem.