Kakiat County Park (Photo by Alan Wells).
Best birding in the spring, and best butterflying throughout the summer.
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Kakiat County Park (Photo by Alan Wells). |
FROM THE NY THRUWAY: Exit 14B, right on Airmont Road; left on Montebello; right on Mile Road; left on Viola Road, right on Route 202 (Haverstraw Road). Located off Route 202, between Viola Road and Grandview Avenue, just opposite from the Viola Elementary School.
FROM THE PALISADES PARKWAY: Exit 13, right on Route 202, go approximately 4 miles. Located off Route 202, between Viola Road and Grandview Avenue, just opposite from the Viola Elementary School.
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Mahwah River through Kakiat County Park (Photo by Alan Wells). |
Kakiat is a minimally developed Rockland County park with diverse topography, including: flat wetlands, open meadows, rolling hills, and steep mountainsides. The Mahwah River flows in a SW direction through the park. After heavy rains, there may be considerable flooding along the stream. A footbridge crosses the river where brown trout are stocked annual. Several utility easements criss-cross the park. The Algonquin Gas Transmission Easement, in particular, cuts a swath through the woods creating the narrow meadow favored by butterflies. A planned expansion of this pipeline in 2003 may, at least temporarily, destroy this habitat.
Kakiat Farm, as the parcel has been known in the past, was formerly the home of the Blauvelt family. The family owned and farmed the land for over 200 years growing apples, peaches and cherries. The remains of the Blauvelt mill can still be seen along the Mahwah River by following the Old Mill Trail (Blue). The property officially became county parkland in 1972.
During the spring and summer months, be observant when hiking. Both timber rattlesnakes and copperhead are known to occur in the area. Also, ticks are common and they may carry Lyme disease.
Flora
From Dr. William F. Standaert and Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
Trees:
Shrubs:
Vines:
Herbs:
Rushes:
Sedges:
Grasses:
Ferns and Fern Allies:
Courtesy of Frank Bonanno, Vince Plogar, and John Lampkin.
Pipevine Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Falcate Orangetip, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, American Copper, Striped Hairstreak, Coral Hairstreak, Acadian Hairstreak, Edward's Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Hickory Hairstreak, Brown Elfin, White M Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed Blue, Spring Azure, Summer Azure, Great Spangled Frtillary, Meadow Fritillary, Aphrodite Frittilary, Pearl Crescent, Baltimore Checkerspot, Question Mark, Eastern Comma, Mourning Cloak, Compton Tortoiseshell, American Lady, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Red-spotted Purple, Viceroy, Northern Pearly Eye, Appalachian Brown, Little Wood Satyr, Common Ringlet, Common Wood Nymph, Monarch, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Hoary Edge, Southern Cloudywing, Northern Cloudywing, Dreamy Duskywing, Juvenal's Duskywing, Horace's Duskywing, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Swarthy Skipper, Least Skipper, European Skipper, Cobweb Skipper, Peck's Skipper, Tawny-Edged Skipper, Northern Broken Dash, Little Glassywing, Delaware Skipper, Mulberry Wing, Hobomok Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, Broad-winged Skipper, Dion Skipper, Dun Skipper, Dusted Skipper.
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Pearl Crescent (Photo by Alan Wells). |
Birds
Bird List from First Sunday Walks (pdf)
The open field across from the footbridge is an excellent viewing location for displaying woodcocks at dusk beginning in mid-March. During spring, yellow-billed cuckoo may sometimes be found in the apple trees at the parking area.