Five Rivers Environmental Education Center

Welcome to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center! We are a living museum comprising over 450 acres of fields, forests, and wetlands. Welcoming spring, be on the look out for migratory birds returning north, new plants starting their growth journey, and tree buds bursting into leaves.

• Visitor Center: open Monday through Saturday from 9 AM to 4:30 PM, except state holidays
• Public restrooms: open daily 8 AM to sunset at the Guided School Program building
• Trails: open daily sunrise to sunset
  • View calendar of events and programs
• Fee: Free
• Contact Information:
• Visitor Center: 518-475-0291 (Phone) or 518-439-8044 (Fax) or [email protected]
• Enforcement Matters: 1-833-NYS-RANGERS (1-833-697-7264) or 911
• Location: 56 Game Farm Road, Delmar, Albany County
• Map: Five Rivers Trail Map (PDF) || Google Earth || DECinfo Locator

Located in the Capital District/Albany area, the center provides a variety of easily accessible programs and services for individuals, families and organized groups. In recognition of outstanding interpretive programming, the National Park Service has designated Five Rivers a National Environmental Study Area. There are over 10 miles of trails for your enjoyment, see Exploring Five Rivers Nature Trails for more detailed trail information.

Watch a clip about Earth Day at Five Rivers and check out other clips on DEC's YouTube Channel.

Education Programs

Five Rivers offers a wide variety of regularly scheduled public programs and events. Upcoming programs can be found at Five Rivers Public Programs and Event Schedule.

Programs are free of charge unless otherwise noted. Dress for the weather! Organized groups (e.g. youth/civic groups) wishing to participate in any of these programs must call well in advance to make special arrangements.

We also offer Guided Lessons and Special Programs throughout the year. A fee is charged for these lessons to cover the cost of running the program.

We welcome people with disabilities to all of our programs. If you call ahead to let us know your specific needs, we will be happy to learn how we can best serve you.

Services that we offer include:

• Public programs, guided walks and demonstrations on a variety of environmental and natural history topics
• Teacher workshops, school site consultations and professional advice
• Workshops providing in-depth coverage of environmental topics and outdoor skills
• Guided lessons for schools and youth groups
• Self-guided opportunities
• Teacher Resources Loan Library offering posters, books, videos, curriculum guides and biological specimens
• Access to programs and facilities for people with disabilities
• Naturalist Intern Program - a training internship available to those seeking professional experience in environmental education

The interpretive programs and guided school lessons promote awareness, knowledge and appreciation of New York State's environment year-round. With over 10 miles of trails for exploration, Five Rivers fosters discovery, spiritual refreshment and physical fitness through wholesome outdoor recreation. Enjoy hiking or snowshoeing the trails, observing wildlife, and picnicking. Dogs and other pets are not permitted.

The Friends of Five Rivers is a volunteer organization that supports environmental programs at the center.

With 10 miles of trails and 450 acres of forests, fields, and ponds, we offer the perfect location to Love Our Lands as you practice sustainable recreation. While you are out enjoying the spring weather and practicing social distancing, try out the 5 Rivers Trail Scavenger Hunt (PDF). You can use this scavenger hunt anywhere outdoors, or at another park you visit, not just here at Five Rivers!

Reminder: No pets (including animals on or off leashes, or horses) allowed on the property or trails, except trained service dogs and miniature horses helping their companion.

New York and federal law require service dogs to be allowed in public places, but this does not include emotional support animals. A service dog is trained to do tasks for a person with a disability and the tasks must be directly related to the person's disability. Emotional support animals provide comfort, companionship, and a sense of safety for their owners, but are not trained to perform specific tasks for their owners and are not considered service animals. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and New York State law, public places are not required to allow emotional support animals. DEC regulations concerning the use of environmental education centers prohibit pets on center grounds except by written permission.

Featured Activities

Visitor Center

The Visitor Center is open Monday through Saturday from 9 AM to 4:30 PM, except for state holidays. The grounds and trails are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Public restrooms are available daily from 8 AM to sunset at the Guided School Program building. Public programs and events are listed on our schedule. You may contact us by calling 518-475-0291 or emailing [email protected].

Enjoy stimulating exhibits, including a live owl and an observation beehive; scan the busy bird-feeding area from the viewing area; and chat with our friendly staff. Classroom, accessible restroom facilities, and a modest gift shop are also available.

An accessible bathroom facility is also located next door to the Visitor Center in the comfort station for the Guided School Program building and is open every day from sunrise to sunset.

Naturalist Intern Program

The Naturalist Intern Program is a training internship available to those seeking professional experience in environmental education. Each intern will receive training in the mission and role of the DEC environmental education bureau, a wide variety of center programs, the operations and activities of a center, principles of environmental interpretation, and natural history of New York.

Accessible Features

Directions

Five Rivers Environmental Education Center is located in Delmar, NY, at 56 Game Farm Road. See Google Maps and enter your address for step by step directions to Five Rivers. The property is located at 42.608676°N, 73.889757°W.

Rules, Regulations and Outdoor Safety

Practice Leave No Trace Principles when recreating on state land to enjoy the outdoors responsibly; minimize impact on the natural resources and avoid conflicts with other users.

All users of Five Rivers Environmental Education Center should follow all Outdoor Safety Practices for the safety of the user and protection of the resource.

Drone Use on DEC Managed Lands

Pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 623, both hobbyist and commercial use of drones is prohibited at DEC's four education centers except for research or training as permitted under an approved temporary revocable permit (TRP). Environmental education centers have their own TRP process. To inquire whether a TRP can be obtained, contact DEC's Bureau of Environmental Education at (518) 402-8043. For more information about DEC drone policies, visit Drone Use on DEC Managed Lands.

Special Regulations

Visitors to DEC's environmental education centers should become familiar with the regulations governing the use of the centers as found in the New York State Register and Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York (NYCRR). Go to the Use of Environmental Education Centers page to see the regulations concerning the education centers.

Please remember that the following are prohibited:

• Bikes, skateboards, and motorized vehicles
• Collecting, releasing, disturbing or destroying plants or animals
• Collecting, disturbing or destroying cultural material
• Hunting, trapping, and fishing
• Firearms
• Pets and horses
• Alcoholic beverages
• Glass containers
• Camping and campfires

Please stay on designated trails to protect the environmental for all visitors.

Planning and Management

DEC has developed a Draft Unit Management Plan (UMP) (PDF) which describes the proposed management activities for these lands. In addition to management objectives, the UMP contains detailed information on natural features, recreational infrastructure, geology, natural and human history, habitats, wildlife, fisheries and much more.

Nearby State Lands, Facilities, Amenities and Other Information

State Lands and Facilities

• Albany Pine Bush Preserve
• Black Creek Marsh Wildlife Management Area
• Cole Hill State Forest
• Thacher State Park
• Louise E. Keir Wildlife Management Area
• Margaret Burke Wildlife Management Area
• Partridge Run Wildlife Management Area
• Thompson's Lake State Park

Gas, food and other supplies, dining opportunities and lodging can be found in the nearby communities of Albany and Delmar.

Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau can provide information about the other recreation, attractions and amenities in this area.

Numerous guide books and maps are available with information on the lands, waters, trails and other recreational facilities in this area. These can be purchased at most outdoor equipment retailers, bookstores, and on-line booksellers.

Additional information, outdoor equipment, trip suggestions and guided or self-guided tours may be obtained from outdoor guide and outfitting businesses. Check area chamber of commerce, telephone directories or search the internet for listings.

History of Five Rivers

Over a century ago, much of the vicinity around what is now the Five Rivers was covered by extensive orchards. As the Great Depression took hold, many hard-scrabble farms could no longer make ends meet. In 1933, the New York State Conservation Department purchased two of these farms to develop the Delmar Experimental Game Farm. At the time, populations of upland game birds and waterfowl were in serious decline. The primary mission of the facility was to learn more about the propagation and management of these species.

From 1933-36, the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S-72 put up buildings, fences and developed access roads throughout the property to prepare the site for game farming. CCC crews also created ponds by damming the Vlomankill, using limestone blocks salvaged from the abandoned Watervliet Lock of the old Erie Canal. In succeeding years, CCC crews created several additional duck-rearing ponds and erected several additional buildings for brooding, hatching and rearing upwards of 100,000 grouse and pheasant chicks per year. Each fall, the upland game birds and waterfowl were released on state lands throughout New York. The Canada geese that nest at Five Rivers today are thought to be descended from birds originally raised here.

In 1941, the Department established a Wildlife Research Center on site to expand on-going pathology studies, as well as to field test innovative theories in wildlife management. Techniques developed on site such as aging deer via dentition, perfecting the cannon-net and modeling wildlife populations via biometrics revolutionized the wildlife management profession nation-wide.

So as to re-direct increasing public interest away from the sensitive conservation research activities on site, in 1948 staff began developing a modest exhibition of caged wildlife in the area adjacent to the main parking lot. The menagerie came to be known far and wide as the Delmar Zoo, and firmly established the site as a vibrant educational institution. Tens of thousands of families and school group visited this remarkable collection annually. In 1970 there was a major reorganization of the Conservation Department, from which the current Department of Environmental Conservation emerged. As a result of this reorganization, priorities of the Department were reoriented and the Game Farm and Zoo were closed.

Because the site had become such an important community asset, a group of concerned citizens organized and successfully convinced the state to transform the abandoned site into an environmental education center. Thereupon, the Department developed a rustic amphitheater, a series of nature trails and refurbished a former sign shop as a Visitor Center. The new facility was opened to the public in June of 1972. It was renamed the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, a name suggested by SUNY Albany meteorologist Dr. Vincent Schaefer, to denote the five rivers which comprise the watershed within the Center's service area, namely the Hudson, Mohawk, Hoosic and Sacandaga rivers and the Schoharie Creek.