Champlain Area Trails Invites Community to Celebrate Winter Solstice

Champlain Area Trails (CATS), an accredited land trust, invites the public to celebrate the winter solstice with a candle-lit walk at its Essex Quarry Nature Preserve on Thursday, December 21st, between 4 pm and 8 pm. After the walk, visitors can explore Essex businesses such as the Barn Door Tavern and the Essex Ice Cream Cafe. This event aligns with CATS’ mission to create trails, protect land, connect people with nature, and promote economic vitality.

Founded in 2009, CATS has built 78+ miles of trails, protected 983 acres, and hosted numerous hikes and events, attracting thousands of visitors to New York’s Champlain Valley. The Essex Quarry Nature Preserve, a former limestone quarry, is CATS’ latest land protection project. CATS transformed the quarry into a nature preserve and public recreation area with hiking, walking, and skiing trails.

The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. To celebrate, CATS will place battery-operated candles in luminaria bags along a designated section of the Essex Quarry Nature Preserve for a self-guided luminaria walk. A mile-long loop trail will be lined with hundreds of luminarias providing a warm glow to guide visitors on a peaceful winter’s night stroll.

“The winter solstice is a perfect time to connect with nature,” said Chris Maron, Executive Director at CATS. “A luminaria walk is a simple but memorable way to observe this celestial event. We invite everyone to bundle up, bring a flashlight or headlamp, and join us for an enchanting evening at one of the Champlain Valley’s hidden natural gems.”

The Essex Quarry Nature Preserve is at 2215 Lake Shore Road in Essex, New York. The event is free, family-friendly, and open to all. Visitors can park at the preserve’s parking lot and follow the signs to the trailhead. Upon arrival, guests will need to sign in and complete a waiver. The trail terrain is easy, and snowshoes will be allowed if weather permits. Those looking for a post-hike gathering can meet at the Tavern or Ice Cream Cafe by the blinking light in Essex. For additional information, please visit champlainareatrails.com or call 518-962-2287.

Champlain Area Trails (CATS) is a non-profit organization, begun in 2009, which creates and maintains hiking and cross-country ski trails in the Champlain Valley that link communities, connect people with nature, and promote economic vitality. In its short history, CATS has developed 35 miles of trails that when added to existing trails, gets it half-way toward the long-envisioned goal of a 30-mile trail loop between Westport and Essex. CATS will extend its trails to neighboring towns and eventually connect them to trails in the Adirondack Mountains, Vermont, and Quebec. Learn more on the CATS website.