Voorheesville

Voorheesville of Albany County, NY is a beautiful little village located in the greater town of New Scotland, NY, which is located only 24 minutes by car of Albany (the state capitol of NY).

Located West of the Hudson River as well in the valley of the Helderberg Mountains, Voorheesville is a wonderful community of more than 2,789 residents and is a very diverse population indeed! Some of the benefits of Voorheesville is the Voorheesville Central School District which gets rave reviews, and offers many clubs such as Drama Club, whose Voorheesville Dionysians perform Shakespeare annually during the Fall season, as well as perform their own musical during the Springtime months.

In addition to school programs, both youth and adults alike can enjoy the Voorheesville Public Library's programs, such as Book Discussion Groups at the “Reading Cafe” and lots of seasonally-themed activities and regular events for the kiddies!

Plus, if you're visiting, Voorheesville has lots of fantastic restaurants to choose from, such as the Voorheesville Diner (a long-time staple on Voorheesville Avenue), the China Garden Restaurant, Brick House Pizza (there's other pizza places as well), Smith's Tavern, and more! There's also Hannaford for a unique grocery shopping experience (which also includes Hannaford Pharmacy within the supermarket as well) and A. Phillips Hardware for all your household fixing and upkeeping needs.

What I found most special about visiting Voorheesville is the John Boyd Thacher State Park, which is found off Rt 157. Here you can see a 360 degree view of Vermont's Green Mountains, as well as the spectacularly beautiful Hudson Valley! There's numerous trails here, including the Long Path, the Indian Ladder Trail, and the Paint Mine Trail, and you can do bird watching, as well as find many different spcies of plants. This park (except for the Indian Ladder Trail, which opens on May 1st and closes November 15 for safety reasons) is open all year from 8am until the sun sets. In addition to the splendor that is the nature of NY's backyard, you will also find a couple of playgrounds, grills and volleyball courts as well. There was a pool at one point but unfortunately it shut down in the year of 2006. However, there is still beautiful Thompson Lake and the Emma Treadwell Thacher Nature Center, as well as several hidden fossils to be found at the Helderberg Escarpment, which is famous and one of the greatest places for searching for fossils in the entire country! John Boyd Thacher was one of Albany's mayors, and Emma Treadwell Thacher, his widow, created the park as her own donation in the year of1914. The name “Helderberg” means “Bright Mountain” in Dutch, who were Voorheesville's first settlers.

Also, don't forget to visit the non-for-profit organization, Old Songs, whose home base is located in town (known for the famous Old Songs Festival in nearby Altamont, NY). They hold a whole host of events as well as many music teaching programs there, as well as dances, the amazing and fantastically fun, old-fashioned summer event, the Old Song Festival (Altamont NY). Old Songs' new home currently hosts their wonderful Open Mic Nights (everyone can be involved; takes place every first Wednesday of the month, from 7 until 10:30pm). There's a $3 entrance fee, walk-in, fifteen minutes to perform (don't forget to sign-up first at the door). Old Songs is located at 37 South Main Street in Voorheesville, NY and be contacted at (518)-765-2815 (hint: press 1 before area code if you're not in the local area). Discover more info at www.oldsongs.org!