Adirondack Nature Trails:
Silvi Trail
The Silvi Trail is an interesting one-mile trail intersecting with the Woods and Waters Trail and weaving through a variety of Adirondack habitats, including swampland, northern hardwood forest, and mixed forest. The Silvi Trail leads through a forest plantation which was developed on the site of the St. Regis Golf Club. The golf course was closed in 1949. The pine plantation on the trail was developed in 1973, when six-inch seedlings of red and white pine were planted on one of the old fairways.
The name of the trail – silvi – comes from silviculture: a branch of forestry dealing with the development and care of forests. This area was once used by silviculture classes at Paul Smith's College to practice forest management techniques. Students taking Silviculture 132 were assigned a "plot" of forested land and spent five weeks developing and implementing a silvicultural treatment, as a field exercise. As a result, the Silvi Trail weaves through areas that are in many different stages of forest succession.
The eastern end of the trail begins at a well-marked intersection with the Woods and Waters Trail. The Silvi Trail leads over a short boardwalk, through a swampy area, then through mixed (primarily hardwood forest). The trail then curves down to a clearing, leading to a small gazebo by the radial plantation. Go through the gazebo and follow the path uphill through a pine forest. The trail then goes through a mixed forest before intersecting again with the Woods and Waters Trail. Along the Silvi Trail, there are a number of old and now partly illegible interpretive signs, placed there when the VIC was under New York State management. The walking is easy, with a few hills.