Finger Lakes National Forest, Hector — Six different hikes
This is a wonderful large and deserted area of mixed forests and fields and gently rolling terrain that sits on a high ridge and provides occasional views of Seneca Lake in the distance. It’s a little farther from downtown Ithaca than some of our other local hikes, so we don’t hike here as often as we would if it were closer — but it’s a series of hikes that are well worth the drive.
Our five hikes within the national forest include:
- Potomac Road trails in the east central part of the forest
- Gorge Trail in the southeast part of the forest
- Finger Lakes Trail east from Logan Road (CR 4) to Burnt Hill Road and beyond
- FLT west from Burnt Hill Road to Satterly Hill Road and beyond
- 4772 Picnic Area Rd. Junction of the Interloken and Burnt Hill Road trails
- 2799 Parmenter Rd Lodi, NY
There’s a great map of the forest published by the US Forest Service, which administers the park — the map clearly shows all the trails, streams, ponds and roads, and it’s a pleasure to use, IMO — click here
You may also purchase paper or digital copies of an Interloken Trail map from the Finger Lakes Trail Conference at: About Finger Lakes Trail Maps and GPS data. Proceeds from the sale of these maps supports the Finger Lakes Trail Conference.
Speaking of maps, here’s an overview map of the south-central area showing the satellite view — if you click to change to the map view you can see contours and street names — you need to enlarge the map to see the terrain. This will help you get a better idea of the extent and scope of the national forest.
Hike # 42 -1 Potomac Road trails
Meet-up: Parking lot on Potomac Road just north of the Potomac Group Campgrounds. There are several parking lots fairly close together — look for our cars — don’t sit there if you don’t see any other hikers. Click here to see where the group campgrounds are and the approx. location of the parking lot on Google Maps.
There are several ways for hikers coming from Ithaca to reach Potomac Rd
Option one is to take Route 227 in the village of Trumansburg, turn right on Searsburg Rd, and then after several miles turn left onto Potomac Rd. Here’s another map view that opens on the downtown area so you can see the road configuration — it’s not that obvious where Potomac Road starts.
Option two- you can also get to Potomac Rd via Reynoldsville from Route 79 by taking Stage Road, which is showing on the right side of the linked map. From Stage Rd take a left turn onto State Route 227 and then a right turn onto Potomac Rd.
Option three- Take State Route 96 north, turning left onto Perry City Rd. Drive for about five miles on Perry City Rd until you arrive at State Route 227. Take a right onto Potomac RD in Reynoldsville.
Hike # 42-2 Gorge Trail at Mark Smith Road
Meet-up: A couple of minutes north of Route 79 on Mark Smith Road. You’ll see what’s obviously a parking lot on the right. The road is a bit rough but don’t get discouraged, just keep going. You can see a Google Map showing the approximate location of the meet-up here. Mark Smith Road meets Route 79 about one minute after 79 intersects Route 227 coming from Reynoldsville.
This is our closest entrance to the national forest, and it’s a very nice hike. We start by climbing fairly steeply along a lovely creek and gorge for a while. After some ups and downs we reach the junction with the Interloken Trail, which gives us several options. It can be muddy along this stretch so be forewarned.
Hike # 42-3 FLT east from Logan Road (CR 4) to Burnt Hill Road and beyond in the Finger Lakes National Forest
Meet-up: Logan Road just north of the junction with Wykoff Road, and 1.4 miles north of Route 79, Burdett
When going Easterly from Logan Rd, the first half hour or so is a continuous climb that follows a gorge and streambed.
At the top of that climb hikers meet a junction with the Westerly terminus of the South Slope Trail which links to the Interloken Trail
Continuing East on the FLT takes hikers along the crest of a hill and then up and down several small rises and stream crossings.
Eventually reaching Burnt Hill Rd, hikers have several options on where to continue their hike, including the Finger Lakes Trail or a connector trail to another point on the orange-blazed Interloken Trail. Both of these options take hikers through the former Dunham Homestead farm, with evidence of the former homestead remaining in the form of several stone walls that hikers pass by.
Continuing on the Finger Lakes Trail brings hikers past the Dunham Lean-To before emerging back onto Burnt Hill Rd and points South.
Risks to be aware of on this hike include uncertain footing on sections of the trail South of the Dunham Lean-To, as the trail at that point follows an old stream bed that contains many loose stones that may contribute to fall hazards.
Hike # 42-4 FLT west from Burnt Hill Road to Satterly Hill Road and beyond
Meet-up: Burnt Hill Road off of Logan Rd, and 1.4 miles north of Route 79, Burdett Directions to the new trailhead, from Ithaca:
Directions from Ithaca:
- Take Rt 79 W from Ithaca.
- About 7.5 miles past Mecklenburg, turn right onto Logan Road (county Rd 4).
- After 1.2 miles, turn right on Wycoff Road.
- In half a mile, you’ll come to a fork. Bear left onto Burnt Hill Road.
- The FLT trailhead will be on the right in about a quarter mile. Park on the side of the road because the pull-out for parking is small.
In the past some hikers have had problems with their GPS in this area, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the written directions before you leave home.
We’ve had to recently change the trailhead for this hike due to a re-route of the FLT footpath beyond Satterly Hill Rd. This hike now starts with a downhill section of the FLT, crosses Logan RD and an open field before starting uphill through forests and orchards to a high open plateau at Satterly Hill Road with great views over Seneca Lake and to the south. To continue past Satterly Hill Road, the trail now consists of a downhill road walk on Satterly Hill Rd toward Watkins Glen due to loss of land owner permissions as of June 2024.
Much of the early part of this hike passes through an area of overgrown fields. Sometimes the trail itself can be quite overgrown. Parts of the footpath can be muddy during wet conditions, and there are sections of the trail closer to Satterly Hill Rd that local horse riders use that can be churned up. The first part of the walk, just beyond Logan Road, goes through an area of open woods that is quite pretty. There’s a large stream crossing at Tug Hollow Creek; the Melveney Bridge there has been destroyed multiple times and was recently rebuilt by volunteers of the Cayuga Trails Club. This area has a great profusion of dames rocket in late spring.
Hike # 42-5 Picnic Area Road Campgrounds, junction of Interloken Trail (northbound) and Burnt Hill Rd. trail (southbound)
42.484475, -76.796449
4772-4774 Picnic Area Rd, Burdett, NY 14818
4772 Picnic Area Rd – Google Maps
There are two parking lots fairly close together on Picnic Area Rd. Use the parking lot closer to Potomac Road.
This is a fairly flat route on what hiker Mark S refers to as the five ponds hike
Youtube video of the area:
(137) Burnt Hill-Interloken-Ravine Loop – Finger Lakes National Forest –
Hike # 42 -6 Parmenter Road
This hike is a mostly level semi-loop that starts at the northern end of the Interloken Trail and follows the trail to Teeter Pond. On the way back, we take the No Tan Takto trail through some old fields that are spectacular with wildflowers in September. We then cut back to the Interloken to return to our cars.
We meet at the parking area on Parmenter Road in Lodi. Point your GPS to 2799-2491 Parmenter Rd, Lodi, NY 14860.
Directions from Ithaca:
- Take Rte. 96 north past Trumansburg, and make a left on County Rte. 143.
- Take that road approximately 5 miles to the stop sign.
- Make a right on Townendsville Road (ahead is a seasonal road).
- Take that approximately 1 mile to the first intersection, and make a right onto Parameter Road.
- The parking area is approximately 0.3 mile on the left.
Finger Lakes National Forest – Teeter Pond (youtube.com)
Last edit 09/ 18/2024 JFR