Arden Woods Hiking Trails

Most of Arden Woods is a forested hardwood swamp. The site is the largest wetlands that the Department of Environmental Conservation has classified anywhere in the New York metropolitan area. It contains several kettle ponds (bodies of water formed by glaciers) which are connected by an intricate network of streams and creeks. As such, it provides natural flood control for the area, making a more complicated (and expensive) man-made sewage system unnecessary.

The forests throughout the property are called successional forests. This is because they undergo a multi-stage lifecycle, beginning as open fields and maturing into hardwood forests. In the mature, or climax, portions of these forests live a multitude of trees, including hemlocks (Tsuga), black cherry (Prunus serotina), persimmons (Diospyros) and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus).

Many owls frequent this site, including the screech owl (Otus asio), saw whet owl (Aegolius acadicus), great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), and the barn owl (Tyto alba). Occasionally, a barred owl (Strix varia) from the south will venture this far north. Bats come here because the swamp’s ample insect population helps satisfy their appetite. In addition to housing these native species, freshwater wetlands also provide resting, breeding, and feeding grounds for hundreds of thousands of migrating birds. Many of these birds arrive in New York City only twice a year as they travel along the Atlantic flyway, a major migratory route.

Blue Trail: A starting point for the easy to moderate Blue Trail can be found at the new parking area constructed in 2021 on Arden Ave. south of Arthur Kill Road. From the parking area follow the blue markers into the woods and the songbirds begin to drown out the street traffic. A wetland area with a pond is visible to your left as you descend into a slight depression. As you come back up, the trail intersects with the Orange Trail with a scenic overview of the pond. Making a right at the intersection, you will be on an overlapping section of the Blue and Orange trails and headed south. Parallel with Arden Ave., you walk under a canopy of white oak (Quercus alba), red maple (Acer rubrum) and sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) trees. You’ll come to a creek crossing with a small wooden bridge installed by NYC Parks in 2022. Shortly before reaching Correll Ave., the Orange Trail breaks off to the left to continue its loop, either continue your walk on the Orange Trail or if you stay on the Blue Trail, you reach Correll Ave. with the option to exit the park or retrace your steps back to the parking area.

Orange Trail (Loop): The Orange Trail is a loop trail that begins with the Blue Trail from the parking lot on Arden Ave. Taking the trail clockwise, continue straight after the wetland pond scenic view leaving the Blue Trail. Soon after, you meet up with the White Trail and head further into the woods. The forest opens with spice bush (Linder benzoin), maple (Acer spp) and sweet gum (Liquidamber styraciflua) trees along with hay scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctiloba) among the ground cover. Continuing south, the trail allows beautiful scenic views of the forested trail corridor. Both trails turn right after the stepping stones used to cross the stream. Keep an eye out for deer! Leaving the White Trail, the Orange Trail descends to the right where you will find a second stream crossing before meeting and overlapping yet again with the Blue Trail near Correll Ave. Now heading north and parallel to Arden Ave., you’ll descend and walk through wet areas crossing over a wooden foot bridge called a “puncheon” built by NYC Parks in 2022 to protect the wetland and to keep feet dry. Continue with the Blue Trail exiting the natural area to the left back to the parking lot on Arden Ave.

White Trail: The White Trail begins from the north at Arthur Kill Road on a section of trail constructed in 2022 by NYC Parks. After walking through a hardwood swamp area dominated with a thick brush turn left to meet with the Orange Trail and continue into the woods. The forest opens with spice bush (Lindera benzoin), maple (Acer spp.) and sweet gum (Liquidamber styraciflua) trees along with hay scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctiloba) among the ground cover. Continuing south, the trail allows scenic views of the forested trail corridor. Turn right after the stepping stones stream crossing and keep an eye out for deer! After walking back up to a ridge with the Orange Trail, the White Trail leaves the Orange to the left heading to exit the park at Legate Avenue.

Interactive Map

Download the Arden Woods Trail Guide.

Points of Interest

Scenic View of Wetland Pond

One of the several kettle ponds connected by an intricate network of streams and creeks providing natural flood control for the surrounding area, this pond is located near the intersection of the Blue and Orange Trails. This viewpoint is not far from the parking area on Arden Avenue so it is a convenient place to take a moment to enjoy the sounds and sights of the wetland including the birds. Bug repellant and/or long sleeves are a good idea to bring along in the summer months.

View Scenic View of Wetland Pond on the map

Eastern Hay Scented Ferns

Along the White and Orange Trails shortly after the merge in the northern section of the park, you enter a section of more upland forest with a beautiful ground covering of Easter Hay Scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctiloba) that encompasses the area in a sea of green under a canopy of hardwoods. Take a moment to take in the lovely site and perhaps breathe in the fragrance of freshly mowed hay that is typical of crushed fronds of this fern.

View Eastern Hay Scented Ferns on the map

Forested Corridor

In the center of the upland forest of Arden Woods along the Orange and White Trails, you’ll walk along a forested corridor. Along this straight section, you’ll enjoy a view of the large trees lining both sides of the trail.

View Forested Corridor on the map

Hiking in NYC Parks

Visit our Hiking in NYC Parks page to find more nature trails in parks across New York City.