ithacahikers

Wednesday, September 23

Finger Lakes Trail South of Boylan Rd., Newfield

Hike report by Jim

Five hikers met at the junction of Boylan and Hulford Roads in the Town of Newfield for an out and back hike on the Finger Lakes Trail.

This is a modified version of hike # 55 which I altered after pre-hiking the route described in the linked hike description because I didn’t like the current state of the footpath between Connecticut Hill and Boylan Roads after that section was logged a year or two ago.

Today’s hike was planned for a short FLT hiking window between the early antler-less deer season last week and the start of bow hunting season on October 1^st.

Today’s hike took place entirely on FLT map sheet M16. Map sheets in either paper or electronic formats may be purchased through the Finger Lakes Trail Conference at Purchase Individual Maps – Finger Lakes Trail Conference. Sale of the map sheets helps to defray the on-going costs associated with trail maintenance.

I arrived at Boylan Rd to find the town highway department grading the length of the dirt portion of Boylan Rd with graders, tractors with rakes and rollers. The other arriving hikers were able to park along the wide grassy shoulder of Hulford Rd without incident.

After a short road walk on Boylan Rd the hikers turned southerly onto the FLT. The Trail first crosses an open field, which had been mowed in the recent past, so the grasses there were very short. The footpath enters the woods and remains under canopy for the remainder of the hike except for a short previously logged section near Cabin Rd and a couple of small meadows which the Trail skirts the edge of.

Trail conditions were generally good, with dry footpath, no stream crossings and only a few smaller blowdowns lying across the Trail which were easily stepped over or around. Temperatures were pleasantly cool, the sun was out during the hike, and we were greeted by cooling breezes as we returned to the open fields bordering Boylan Rd.

Elevation changes are minimal throughout the hike.

The logged portion near Cabin Rd has grown up since the last time I hiked this Trail section. Immediately after that area was logged, the affected hillside had the appearance of a moonscape. A couple of years after that logging operation, the Trail now passes through a mowed area surrounded by small saplings that conceal any remaining logs or other logging debris.

The hikers arrived at Cabin Rd without incident. Randy O and Nancy L suggested that we take a few minutes to look for some mushrooms they had observed in the area on their last hike there. The group only found a couple of very past-their-prime mushrooms.

After turning around and beginning to re-trace our route the various hikers opted to stop and look at various fauna, trees and other natural things that the group was passing by. We noticed an apple tree still bearing fruit, and several hikers availed themselves of an apple or two before resuming their hike.

By the time we arrived at Boylan Rd the highway department was wrapping up their roadwork, leaving us with a much-improved seasonal dirt road surface compared to what had been there previously.

For those hikers tracking their FLT miles for a 2026 FLT 50 or FLT 100 patch, today’s hike included 3.4 FLT miles.

Saturday, September 26

Fillmore Glen State Park, Moravia

Hike report by Nina F.

Twenty hikers and two dogs met at Fillmore Glen State Park in Moravia for a fall hike in a gorgeous state park. We made a quick stop for a photo at the bottom of The Cowsheds Waterfall, before ascending a set of stairs to head up to the Gorge Trail. Walking this direction allows for the best views of the gorge and waterfalls. At the top of the Gorge Trail we headed to the North Rim Trail and took a right for an out and back/lollipop portion along the Waterfall Loop Tail for a final waterfall view, before descending down the North Rim Trail back to the parking lot. The North Rim Trail is lovely in its own right, with tall Eastern Hemlocks along the winding trail. The hike was two hours and we were just shy of four miles.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, September 27

Dryden Rail Trail from Dryden Village

No report was submitted for this hike.

Wednesday, September 16

Trail Maintenance day

Report by Jim

This fall we tried something new by scheduling a trail maintenance day on a Wednesday instead of a Saturday.

While we did have seven hikers meet for today’s work, we will be returning to scheduling future regular trail work for weekends in order to get a bigger turn-out.

Because of today’s smaller turn out I chose to not split the group up as I normally do and instead focus on one section of the Cayuga Trail.  The hikers focused on pruning back the very overgrown part of our trail section between Route 13 and the new bridge that Ithaca Hikers assisted Cayuga Trails Club in building a couple of years ago. Because our spring work day earlier this year focused on a trail re-route, today’s trail section has not been cut back in a year, and it shows by the amount of overgrowth.

We also re-blazed today’s section of trail as there were many very faded blazes or long trail segments missing blazes. I mis-judged how many hikers are needed for that task; in the future we will have at least two people re-blazing the trail on our work days.

After the group returned to our cars we met at Shippers and Brewers for lunch.

Today’s hikers agreed that we will hold another trail workday this fall when there’s a hike that has been cancelled so that we can try to complete some of the tasks we couldn’t finish today.

Saturday, September 19

Sims-Jennings Preserve at Cayuga Cliffs, Lansing

Hike report by Nina F.

Seventeen hikers and two dogs met to hike at Sims-Jennings Preserve in Lansing. Although there was only one first-time hiker with the Ithaca Hiking Club, we had many people who don’t join us often or hadn’t hiked with the group in a while, so it was especially nice to see some less familiar faces. It was a lovely day, with mild temperatures, abundant fall colors, and plenty of sunshine.

Sims-Jennings has several interconnected trails featuring a mix of landscapes and views. We started with the relatively flat out-and-back section through the woods, which crosses a small bridge over a pretty stream. Next, we walked around the large fields, which were absolutely stunning in their fall colors. We also saw numerous monarchs and enjoyed several views of Cayuga Lake from the top of the fields.

From there, we took the small loop overlooking the gorge and lake before finishing with the larger loop, which is quite steep—first downhill and then back up! Hikers had the option to depart before the final loop, but most stayed for the longer route. We wrapped up the hike at 11:45.

Sunday, September 20

Black Diamond Trail from Gorge Road

No report was submitted for today’s hike.

Wednesday, September 9

Fischer Old Growth Natural Area, Newfield

Hike report by Kathy K

4 hikers met on a muggy day for an excellent hike through the trails that weave around in the beautiful woods of Fischer Old Growth Forest- passing by big trees, across small streams, up and down medium hills, walking by a field, ….

We hiked the beginning part of the red trail to the memorial, then over to do the yellow loop, back to do the red loop (counter clockwise), then repeated the yellow trail in the other direction, finally back up and to the blue trail through the field, and to the cars. In 1 hour 50 minutes. (repeating the red loop in the other direction instead would have been right about 2 hours)

I’d recommend this for people looking to hike on their own too, or with visitors etc. (keep an eye on hunting however- it’ll be happening there next week for instance).  It’s close to downtown Ithaca. The trails are well marked once you get down the field, you can make it longer or shorter by choosing your route, repeating sections if you want a longer hike. 

Saturday, September 12

Shortened Van Lone Loop, Connecticut Hill

Hike report by Nancy Lorr

14 hikers and one dog gathered at the Van Lone Loop parking on Gulf Road on a perfect September morning with blue skies and a comfortable temperature. We started on the Finger Lakes Trail along the Cayuta Lake outlet also known as the Gulf. The creek was relatively low but not dry. After a little more than a mile, we arrived at the creek crossing. The waterfall was dry but at least the creek crossing was easy. Shortly beyond we turned up off the FLT on an old carriage trail. It took a rather steep rise and leveled off, following the side creek from above. Next we walked through a grassy meadow and arrived at the upper part of Van Lone loop. Not far from this junction we could see the foundation of an old schoolhouse serving a community of the past. From there we headed back first recrossing the side creek and then climbing further up Van Lone Hill. The trail finally fed into the upper terminus of Gulf road which descended steeply to our cars.

View Nancy and Randy’s photo album.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, September 13

Eastman Hill Rd at the Tioga/ Tompkins County Line into Eberhard Nature Preserve

Hike report by Leigh Ann

Thirteen hikers and one leashed dog had a fun time on this hike, which turned out to be prettier than I expected because the top of the hill was misty. This also meant it was rather humid. Hikers joked that it felt like their skin was plumping up. Speaking of funny things, someone had put a plastic zombie hand in the hikers’ register near the western entrance to the Eberhard Preserve. May be Jim Rolfe? (grin). He had signed in earlier that morning on his way over the hill from Coddington to 96b and back. That’s a lot of real estate to travel, and our paths didn’t cross at the same time today. The 13 hikers and one dog arrived back at the cars nine minutes early after about 4.2 miles and 650 feet of elevation gain.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Friday, September 4

Seneca Lake

Hike report by Mark Sussman

Our usual Wednesday hike was modified into a planned paddle. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate on Wednesday, so I rescheduled for Friday September 6.

Six paddlers met at the Watkins Glen Paddle Launch for a 10:33AM push off.  I discovered that the formerly free parking was now $8 requiring lots of cell phone effort – but nobody seemed to mind.

The weather was perfect and we soon crossed the south end of Seneca Lake, and arrived at the Lucky Hare Brewery/Marina. There is a very easy take out right next to the restaurant. 

The food, drinks and view were all very enjoyable. After lunch we took off and paddled down the Watkins Marina channel where we were hoping to spot an eagles nest, but we didn’t locate one before we decided to turn around. We paddled back to our put-in, loaded the boats on the cars, and all agreed that it was a fun outing.

Saturday, September 5

Logan Hill Nature Preserve, Candor

Hike report by Nina F.

Nine hikers and three dogs met in the parking lot of the Candor, NY junior-senior high school to hike the Logan Hill Nature Preserve on a really gorgeous September day. The hike is beautiful, crossing the 348 acre nature preserve through fields (filled with stunning golden rod), forests and wetland. This hike has it all! Fun wildlife sighting: Towards the end of the hike we flushed a woodcock (which was especially exciting to the two bird dogs on our hike).

History of Logan Hill follows. One of the hikers personally knows the Darlingtons, who donated the land.

Betsy and Dick Darlington bought 300 acres of land atop Logan Hill in 1972, and in 1990, donated the first ever conservation easement held by the Land Trust. Betsy, Dick, and their daughters, Lois and Jean, wanted to ensure the permanent protection of their family’s property and generously donated 285 acres to the Land Trust in February of 2015, creating the Logan Hill Nature Preserve. The remaining 15 acres are still owned by the Darlingtons and are protected through a conservation easement. The Land Trust added an additional 63-acre parcel in 2020 which includes hilltop forest and steep north- and east-facing slopes above the village of Candor.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, September 6

Hill Road and Curtis Road, South Danby

Hike report by Leigh Ann

Thirteen hikers met at the corner of Curtis and Hill Roads for this 4.2-mile road and woods hike. After the week of often heavy rain we’ve had, no walk through the woods was mud-free this weekend, but the weather was very nice for today’s hike. We headed south on Curtis to the FLT, headed west on the FLT to Hill Rd., and took hill Rd. south to the Abbott Loop. Then we headed east on the Abbott Loop until we returned to the FLT, and then retraced our steps back to the cars. 

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Wednesday, August 26

Roy H Park Preserve

Hike report by Jim

Fourteen hikers and one dog met in the parking lot of Roy Park Preserve South for a hike of the various blue, white and orange blazed trails there. This is hike # 67-5 on our list of regular hike locations: Hike #67 – ithacahikers.

Weather for the hike was very good; as I drove to the trailhead the morning temps were cool and a mist hung over the small ponds I passed on Irish Settlement Rd. By the time we were done with the hike the skies were a sunny clear blue with large white clouds and temps had warmed up considerably.

Roy Park South trails have a different feel to me than Roy Park North, which is a steady uphill climb once you’re past the boardwalk. Roy Park South is a mix of open fields and woods, with a couple of trails that lead down to the creek, a feature that is entirely missing from Roy Park North. We don’t hike Roy Park South often because the trail system doesn’t offer a full two-hour hike duration and the smaller parking area can be an issue for group hikes.

The hikers set off from the parking lot, stopping at the kiosk to review our route and take a group picture. Continuing onwards we turned onto the blue blazed trail that leads to the heart wall and our first visit with the creek. Water in the streams was flowing well today. Recent blowdowns across the footpath have been cleared from the trail. Overall, hiking conditions were generally good, with mowed paths and very little mud along our route.

The group returned to the loop, soon taking the second trail to the creekbed.

We continued on our way to the orange blazed open field loop, which ends back at the blue blazed trail. Some hikers chose to end their hike early at this time and return to their cars, while the remainder of the group chose to re-trace our route on the orange and blue loop to extend the hike duration.

Hikers arrived back at our cars about 20 minutes earlier than on most hikes.

We saw a couple of other hikers and dog walkers on the trail but otherwise had the trails to ourselves.

A warm welcome to Liz on her first hike with the group!

Saturday, August 29

Jenksville State Forest, Newark Valley

Hike report by Nina F.

Eleven hikers, including one first time Ithaca Hikers Club participant, and four dogs met in the Allison Hill Road parking lot to hike Jenksville State Forest on a lovely Saturday morning. As was suggested in the hike description, the drive to the hike, though longer than to many of our meeting spots, was as pretty as the hike itself.  Jenksville State Forest has an extensive trail system where the trails are well maintained and there is little elevation gain, so it was a relatively easy hike with lovely scenery. The remnants of old stone walls and long abandoned building foundations made for some additional interesting features. We were also rewarded a few times with lovely views of fields and farmhouses. We passed two cyclists (twice) but otherwise had the trails to ourselves. We kept up a solid pace, with the entire group ending the hike together after approximately 5 miles and exactly two hours. Everyone seemed quite enthusiastic about this hike location. 
Six hikers opted to go to lunch afterwards at the award winning Richford diner, which won the 2026 Finger Lakes Favorites Gold Award during their first year in business. The lunch was delicious.
History of Jenksville State Forest from DEC website: The forest was established between 1940 and 1945 in an effort to reduce soil erosion problems, produce forest products and provide future recreational opportunities. Most of the property was former pasture or tilled acreage that was suffering from poor agricultural practices. DEC planted this land with 837,000 pines, spruce, fir, cedar, larch and oak seedlings. The planting was accomplished in 1940 and 1941 using Civilian Conservation Corps labor. Today, Jenksville State Forest is fulfilling the vision which started in 1940. Almost 99% of the area is forested, the soils have improved, and harvesting of forest products supports all management activities, including recreation.

Sunday, August 30

Braley Hill trails south of FLT, Brooktondale

Hike report by Leigh Ann

This is a good new hike to add to our regular rotation, and this can be called the South Braley Hill Hike. Twenty-three hikers and four dogs on leashes met up at the trailhead, which is the parking pull-out about 0.1 mile north of where the FLT crosses Braley Hill Rd. Here’s the description of the hike route, which is about the same as before. Lots of people on the hike said they’d like to do this on a regular basis.

This is a new, shady hike on bike trails southeast of the FLT parking area on Braley Hill Road. It is about 4.2 miles long and has about 500 feet of elevation gain. The return leg on Blue 6 goes along a lovely stream valley. For a map showing the trail labels and distances, see here: https://www.shindagin.com/.

From the parking area, we head east on the FLT appx. 0.7 miles to Blue 3. 

Then we turn right on Blue 3 and head south (it turns into Blue 4) about 1.7 miles to where it ends at a southern point on Braley Hill Rd. 

Once we tap the road, we head back into the woods and go north on Blue 6 about 1.6 miles until we return to the FLT. 

We turn left on the FLT to go about 0.2 mile to the cars.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.