The Normansville area is a great place for a quiet walk along the Old Yellow Brick Road and the Normanskill Farm Hiking Trail. 

On the Albany side of the Yellow Brick Bridge, opposite the hamlet of Normansville, is a parking lot for the Normanskill Farm Hiking Trail. From the parking lot, the historic walk begins at the bridge where one can see remnants of the yellow brick road that once crossed this bridge.

The 200 year-old road is one of the few of its type left in the nation. A walk along the road takes one back to the dawn of the motor age.

Heading north from the bridge, the Yellow Brick Road climbs the hillside. This portion of the Yellow Brick Road is still open to vehicular traffic. Fortunately, the bumpy, cobblestone road only sees  light, local traffic. 

In the picture on the left, Joe Algaier, Bethlehem Town Historian, and Darlene Bell from the Normansville Neighborhood Association, begin the walk. At their feet are remnants of the 
Yellow Brick Road.

At the top of the hill is the Whipple Bridge. The bridge crosses a gully and was placed on the National Registry of 
Historic Places in 1971.

From the Whipple Bridge, there is a scenic view to the north. One finds it hard to believe that this walk is inside the city limits of Albany.

The walk continues down a pathway on the west side of the gully. At the base of the pathway is the beginning of the Normanskill Farm Hiking Trail.

The Normanskill Farm

In 1630, an early settler called "the Norman," leased the water privileges of what was then called by the native Americans, "Ta-wal-sen-tha." The 
"Val of Tawasentha," in Longfellow's poem Hiawatha, is the Normanskill Valley. The Norman erected a mill farther east from here, towards the Hudson. Thereafter, Dutch settlers referred to the stream as the Norman's Kill.

Prehistoric native American encampments have been identified along the Normanskill in this immediate vicinity. The ruins just beyond the parking lot kiosk, along the trail, are from a 
saw mill and ice house, both of which date from 1800's. The site has been farmed at least since the 
1800's. The farm came to be known as the Normans Kill Dairy Farm about 1900...

(Normansville Hiking Trail Marker)

A short distance along the pathway are the remains of the Pappalves Ice House.

The river passes by the remains of the ice house. In the river, remains of the dam and other obstacles can be seen that helped harvest ice from the frozen river during winter months.

The walk concludes with a return 
to the hiking trail and the parking lot. However, one may wish to walk further west and enjoy a picnic lunch at one of the many picnic areas along the trail before returning to the parking lot.