Map from Google Maps. The Hemlock Forest area is the park area (darker green) on the right. The orange lines show the trails and the marker is at the location of the parking area.
Of particular interest to me are the ecological communities present within the park and surrounding areas and the 2009 Park Master Plan includes a map of Park's ecological communities (You can view it here). Overall, Spa State Park is more developed than many others, but it also incorporates forested areas and a number of significant wetlands including an unusual Perched, Swamp White Oak, swamp.
The designation of ecological communities is based on both the landscape and the plant and animal communities that are present. The New York State Natural Heritage Program (run by the Department of Environmental Conservation) maintains a list of the community types found in New York State and where examples of those communities can be found. It's worth noting, however, that the classification of ecological communities is far from cut-and-dried. That's not a criticism, both the program and the website are well done and, for me at least, fascinating. But these designations are open to some interpretation and the communities change over time. It may be that new community types will have to be defined as natural systems adapt to changes resulting from human activity.
The potential for undesirable change is raised as a concern throughout the Park master plan which calls out the presence of invasive species -primarily plants and insects- as a significant threat to the natural heritage of the park. Several aggressive invasive wetland plants are present in the Hemlock Forest area (as they are throughout the park) and these plants pose a threat to native ecological communities. Two highly aggressive non-native plants -Oriental Bittersweet and Japanese Barberry- are now the dominant plant species in several areas of the Hemlock Forest. I plan to map these locations as part of surveying the state of the forest. Japanese Knotweed, another highly aggressive invasive species, is present near the parking area and that's worth watching. Once Knotweed gets going it is incredibly difficult to control.
Additional resources and information that you might find to be helpful.
Saratoga Spa State Park Master Plan
Saratoga Spa State Park Master Plan Map
Saratoga Spa State Park Master Plan Ecological Communities Map
