Champlain Area Trails (CATS) will host a trail opening hike on the new Spirit Sanctuary Trail in Essex, NY, on Saturday, November 27th at 10 am.
The Spirit Sanctuary Trail is a one-mile there-and-back trail that begins on Cook Road, about 1.3 miles west of NYS Route 22 in Whallonsburg. It goes through the new “green” cemetery, then along a forested little ridge overlooking a wetland and connects to the popular CATS Black Kettle Trail. Hikers can continue on this 1-mile loop trail with beautiful views, cliffs, big trees, and a scenic brook and then return through the Sanctuary.
Spirit Sanctuary is a 3-acre private burial ground on property owned by the Eddy Foundation, a conservation organization that preserves open space for the welfare of people, plants, and animals. The Sanctuary’s descriptive materials state that the cemetery allows “the deceased to naturally become a part of the earth and nourish a forever-regenerating forest. It is, and forever will be, a place of protected habitat for native plants, birds, and other animals. Visitors to Spirit Sanctuary will experience life in its many forms and be comforted by the great circle of existence.”
To be buried there, a family or individual reserves a burial site ahead of time, and by willing a portion of their estate to a pre-approved conservation group, the burial charges are considerably less than conventional burial costs with the modest fee covering administrative and management costs, including burial itself.
Champlain Area Trails will be opening the trail with a guided hike on Saturday, November 27th , at 10 am. To sign up, email Emily at emily@champlainareatrails.com.
For more information about Spirit Sanctuary, visit their website.
For more information call (518) 962-2287, email info@champlainareatrails.com or visit CATS website.
Photo of hikers on the new trail at Spirit Sanctuary provided.
Leave a Reply