The Paul Smith's College VIC (Visitor Interpretive Center) in Paul Smiths, New York, offers 6 miles of interpretive trails and 8 miles of backcountry trails that showcase the natural beauty of the Adirondacks and provide unparalleled opportunities to view, hear, photograph, and enjoy nature. The trails weave through woodland and marshland, by ponds, brooks, and bogs. Many of the trails are surfaced for easy walking. Many have trail-side signs explaining natural and manmade features of the landscape.

Explore the Adirondacks: Bird Walks and Nature Walks

The 3,000-acre Paul Smiths VIC contains every habitat type found in the Adirondack Park with the exception of alpine vegetation. Included on the property is a 60-acre marsh, five ponds, several brooks and swamps, bogs, fens, and varied forest types, most notably northern boreal forest. The trail system traverses a variety of habitats with extensive boardwalks through wetland ecosystems and provides scenic vistas of St. Regis Mountain and Jenkins Mountain.

The Paul Smith's College VIC is also a birdwatching haven and has attracted birders from throughout the region. Heron Marsh (accessible from the Barnum Brook Trail, the Heron Marsh Trail, the Shingle Mill Falls Trail, and the Forest Ecology Trail) is home to a variety of water birds. Many birds can be seen and heard near the VIC parking lot, including a wide variety of warblers. The VIC also hosts the annual 2012 Great Adirondack Birding Celebration (GABC), featuring birding trips, lectures, and workshops.

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