Capital Hills in the winter

Capital Hills tree late day sun

We stopped by Capital Hills in Albany to walk for a few minutes today.

The city's municipal golf course is closed for golf for the season -- which means it's now open for walking, dogs, sledding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and other winter outdoor fun.

The course is a beautiful tract of hilly acres alongside the Normans Kill on the city's southwest edge. And it's fun to explore the various trails during the winter months. Be sure sometime to check out the old course that sits in the center of the front nine -- it's so serene after a blanket of snow.

Capital Hills is a dog wonderland during the winter, where they can trot around off leash and play with other dogs. It's a wonderful amenity, but please be responsible about it. That means making sure your pup will be polite with other dogs and people. And, yep, you've gotta pick the up the poop.

See also: It's winter. Your dog has pooped. What now?

Comments

I'm very happy that this facility is open to everyone when it's not golf season. There's the occasional gripe about whether the city should be "in the golf business" but really, this course's accessibility in the winter underscores how valuable it is as a public good.

Jeter and I have been there quite a bit as it is his favorite winter place to frolic. It's a wonderful asset to Albany, but I do kind of wish there was a way to charge nonresidents to take advantage of this city maintained wonderland. Maybe a winter parking pass or something for a nominal fee that could benefit Albany-based initiatives?

@Silvia - I hear you about non-city residents being charged a fee. I don't mean to be a Scrooge about this wonderful natural resource, but we city residents are now being hit with a $90 trash pick up fee to help close the city budget. Why not charge non-residents a very small fee for using our municipal golf course for winter fun?

This topic has come up before noting that we Albanians have to pay to utilize some of the suburban parks, such as in Guilderland.

I had to pay $10 parking and $14 pool entry fee for my kids to swim for a few hours in Guilderland's public pool last summer...just sayin...

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For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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