This Cache is placed as part of the New York State Park Saratoga/Capital District Regional Geocache Challenge. There are 52 geocaches hidden within 16 state parks and historic sites in this parks region, and geocachers finding 35 or more will be eligible to enter their names in a drawing for valuable prizes. The first 75 people to find 35 or more caches will receive a special geocache challenge coin. If you are interested in taking up the challenge, you can pick up a geocache passport at any of the participating parks and sites or download it at www.nysparks.com
This cache contains a unique stamp which must stay with the cache. Use this stamp to stamp your passport. This stamp is NOT a trade item. Some of the items in the cache are park souvenirs and do not need to be replaced with a trade item.
Take Route 2 to Grafton. Parking for this cache is at the Shaver Pond Center, which is off Shaver Pond Road and not accessible via the summer or winter park entrances. You will see a sign for the Shaver Pond Center on Route 2. Follow Shaver Pond Road 2 miles up and the parking area is on the right.
Grafton Lakes State Park is known for its water, so each of our geocaches is offering you views of the park’s beauty along our many shores. We hope you’ll be inspired to come back and try the fishing, have a picnic or perhaps paddle a canoe for an afternoon.
Shaver Pond offers picturesque views and cool, clear waters. This is an ecologically significant lake within the park and on the Rensselaer Plateau because it is “oligotrophic,” which means low-nutrient. This rare condition means it has less algae and plant growth but more oxygen, making it excellent habitat for fish like Trout who require well-oxygenated water. If you’re a bird lover, listen for the rattling call of Belted King Fisher or look for the majestic flight of a Great Blue Heron over the pond.