A huckleberry over my persimmon.

July 19, 2010 6:34 PM

Where can I pick huckleberries in New York State that is accessible by public transportation and hiking?

The NYT reports that in 1884 and 1897 there were enough huckleberries in the state to make collecting them a profitable enterprise, but where are they today?

I grew up picking huckleberries in the mountains of Oregon, freezing them and making pancakes with them all winter and would like to do the same here in NY, so ideally they should be the sweet-tart variety that are desirable for eating without noticeably large seeds.

The above articles mention the Gunks and also Ulster, Orange, Sullivan, and Greene counties. I'm looking for locations accessible by a combination of public transportation and hiking from New York City. I'd prefer to take a train over a bus and don't mind hiking up to 10 miles round trip.

posted by jardinier to science & nature (2 answers total)

I don't know where any of these places are, but why don't you contact the county agricultural extensions in those counties for a starter?
posted by toodleydoodley at 5:03 PM on August 3, 2010

Cornell operates cooperative extensions in those counties, but they focus on agriculture. This is a question of local knowledge of wild plant locations. In the case of eastern Oregon, for example, people in each town are familiar with the wild picking locations nearest to their community. I was hoping the same would be true of New York state, assuming there are still huckleberries growing in the state. But they may not be interested in sharing those locations in such a public forum. : D

This article makes me think it might be worth looking around Sam's Point.
posted by jardinier at 8:24 PM on August 5, 2010