suns along the Mohawk

 Haiku North America 2015 will be coming to Union College, in Schenectady, from October 14 – 18, 2015, attracting many of the best-known English-language poets and publishers, along with haiku lovers of all kinds. Naturally, I believe the Stockade and Riverside Park are experiences not to miss if you love nature, history, beauty, architecture, and more.  This posting is a quick introduction to Riverside Park for those planning to be at HNA 2015.

– blue heron on the Mohawk passing Riverside Park –

Riverside Park is a 7-acre park along the Mohawk River at the North end of Schenectady’s Stockade Historic District, less than a mile from the Union College campus. It offers visitors a slower pace and quieter experience than most urban waterfront parks. We plan to have a ginko stroll through the Stockade Historic District, including Riverside Park on Friday afternoon, October 16, for HNA 2015 attendees.

– map showing Union College & Riverside Park – click  on  it for a larger image – 

With open views to the west, north and east, it is a favorite spot to watch sunsets all year long, from a bench, the swingset at the playlot, or the railing of the Park’s esplanade. Often the first place to flood along Schenectady’s stretch of the Mohawk River, it is also a prime location to watch ice floes and ice jams form in that same stretch of the River:

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The following Slideshow gives you a taste of Riverside Park in October, with views of and from the Park (through photos taken over the past several years from September 30 through the first week of November; for many photos of the Park in other seasons, see this post).

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You can read about the history of Rverside Park at the website of the Schenectady County Historical Society’s library.

– click to see a companion piece “October in the Schenectady Stockade” –

 p.s. The Desmond Hotel is the designated hotel for HNA 2015. Haiku lovers should very much enjoy their koi pond.

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