ithacahikers

Wednesday, August 19

Porter Hill To Hines Road on the FLT

Hike report by Jim

Six hikers and one dog met on Porter Hill Rd for an out-and back hike on the FLT. This particular hike isn’t listed on our hikes list but instead stitches together parts of some of our other regular hikes such as the Bock Harvey Preserve and the Woodard Rd FLT hikes into its own hike.

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

Weather conditions during the hike were good; temperatures were warm and we had a regular breeze through the trees and sunny conditions while we were crossing the open fields.

After a quick group photo, the hikers set off into the woods, soon reaching the border of the Bock Harvey Preserve. We bypassed the blue blazed trail to the lean-to and the yellow blazed side trails, continuing on the FLT until we exited the Preserve and entered the first of several open fields that alternate with smaller wooded sections before the Trail reaches Rockwell RD. The Trail was somewhat overgrown in places and the lower portions of the open fields (which have been mowed about a month ago, so they were easy hiking) were water-logged and a little muddy. The mud is a normal state of affairs in those places, so it was no surprise.

After reaching Rockwell Rd we did a short roadwalk until we re-entered the woods opposite the campground. A little mud in the lower parts of the trail again here, but nothing too bad. This section of Trail is one we normally hike as part of the Woodard Rd hike, and we don’t always get close to Rockwell Rd on those hikes. The Trail snakes along a nice creek for a long while during this part of the hike before it gradually turns in the direction of Hines Rd. When I solo hike this section I often find deer and other wildlife here, but we weren’t that lucky today.

We set a good pace during the first part of the hike and as a result we arrived at Hines Road about ten minutes earlier than I expected. At Hines Rd two of the hikers and the dog chose to roadwalk back to their cars, while the remainder of the group crossed Hines Rd and continued on the FLT, hiking the portion of the Trail that was a recent re-routed section last summer.

At the hour mark we turned around and re-traced our route, in the process running into another Ithaca Hiker who had arrived at the trailhead late and had unsuccessfully tried to catch up with the group. The group arrived back at our cars at the normal time.

For those hikers who are tracking their FLT miles towards an FLT50 or FLT100 patch, todays hike included 3.7 FLT miles.

Saturday, August 22

Lick Brook from Townline Road

Hike report by Nina F.

Thirteen hikers and one dog met along Townline Road to hike Lick Brook Natural Area, a gorgeous hike that overlooks the gorge on the outbound part of the hike and follows the gorge on the way back up. After descending to the bottom we stopped at the waterfall, which was pretty much a trickle at this time of year but very pretty nonetheless. We continued walking to the train tracks through a grassy field before turning around and backtracking to the waterfall and ascending the many stairs (a more than 500 foot climb) back to the cars. Some hikers continued the short loop on the other side of the road for a full two hour hike on a pretty day. 

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, August 23

Kennedy State Forest

Hike report by Kathy K

Fabulous hike in Kennedy State forest was enjoyed by 12 hikers and 1 dog. Welcome to new hiker Emily!

Ferns, trees, small stream crossings, gentle ups and downs, big trees, mossy logs, soft dirt/pine needle trails to walk on, bit of drizzle and some sunshine,..  Perfect except for “ground bees” that several encountered.

Thanks to Jim who created this route (hike #40-5) with part of the Spanish Loop starting near Adams/Owego Hill Road going north to the FLT, northwest on FLT to the start of the Ukraine Loop, then 3/4 of the Ukraine loop heading south until Owego Hill Road, ending with a short road walk back to the cars. 

And many thanks to Alex and Michelle Gonzalez who maintain and create trails in this forest; the trails are well marked!!

Wednesday, August 12

Sims-Jennings Preserve at Cayuga Cliffs, Lansing

Hike report by Margaret F.

11 hikers and 1 dog met at Sims-Jennings Preserve at Cayuga Cliffs | Finger Lakes Land Trust on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 9:30AM. This is hike #54 – ithacahikers. All the variations of this preserve were on display that morning. The initial meadow crossing featured a great variety of wild flowers. The yellow blazed trail out and back was cool and shady. The field loop was in bloom with a broad variety of plants and ripening black berries. The group was lucky to include some experts on plants (and particularly which berries were inedible!). After watching some ravens at the vista overlook, the group followed the blue blazed Danny’s trail up and down near the small waterfall and cliffs before returning to the parking lot. In this small area, several hikers decided to do their own route to return earlier or later than the 11:30AM .

Saturday, August 15

Shindagin Hollow State Forest, Brooktondale

Hike report by Anne Becker

On Saturdays 8/15 fourteen hikers and one dog set out on a picture perfect morning for a hike along the gorge in Shindagin. The first turn onto the trail greeted us with sopping wet chest high weeds, but we got through those quickly and into the high canopy. The creek was still running nicely from last Wednesday’s rain. Further along the trail we encountered more evidence of the Wednesday storm and had to make our way around a large blowdown.

The famous gold slipper also seemed to have gone missing from its perch along the trail, and may have been hiding under the recently fallen branches. A team of trail-art experts will remedy this soon!

We returned by way of the long uphill roadwalk in just over 2 hours. A good time was had by all.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, August 16

Finger Lakes Trail from Comfort Road

Hike report by Leigh Ann

Fifteen hikers and two dogs on leashes met where the FLT crosses Comfort Rd. for a 4.4-mile out-and-back hike heading north. Earlier in the year, this stretch of trail is often muddy, but there was very little mud today. Today was maximum summer, even though it wasn’t hot. The fields we passed were tall with golden grass and many-colored wildflowers, and the sun through the leaves at the edges of the fields looked like stained glass. High clouds drifted in as the hike went on. We returned to the cars exactly two hours and 575 feet of elevation gain after we started.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Wednesday, August 5

Robinson Hollow State Forest

Hike report by Greg

Ten of us gathered at the north end of the Finger Lakes Trail section of Robinson State Park for an out and back hike. Our walk was pleasant and uneventful on this well blazed trail. A few comments about the trail; not complying just saying –

A couple downed trees crossed the trail.
A few bramble patches need trimming.
A short board walk over the swampy part of the beaver damn would be a welcome improvement to this trail.

Sunday, August 9

Sapsucker Woods, Ithaca

Hike report by Margaret F.

Eleven hikers gathered at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (hike #62) on a steamy Sunday morning, August 9^th, for a hike through Sapsucker Woods.  The greenery in the woods and fields was lush and conditions were much less muddy than our last hike here in March.  However, the group did not see many birds or other wildlife this time.  The group elected to avoid some of the typically marshy areas to preserve dry feet and clean shoes. 

Wednesday, July 29

Cascadilla Gorge Trail and Cornell Campus, Ithaca

Hike report by Mark Sussman

On Wednesday, July 29^th, nine hikers and 2 dogs met for a hike up Cascadilla Gorge, across the Cornell campus, around Beebe Lake to the Herb Garden, then down Tower Road to Libe Slope and Llenroc. One of the highlights was seeing a Bald Eagle sitting on a log in Beebe Lake.

We finished in a bit under 2 hours. Aside from a fine cooling mist at the beginning of the hike, we avoided rain. The group definitely seemed to enjoy the route.

Saturday, August 1

Bob Cameron Loop, Connecticut Hill, Newfield

Hike report by Nina F.

Fifteen hikers and four dogs met to hike the Bob Cameron Loop of the Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area. This lovely hike features a small gorge, switchbacks, and pretty hemlock forests complete with abundant ferns, moss and pine needles covering much of the path. The hike begins along Tower road, where you briefly along the Fingers Lakes trail before turning to follow the orange blazes that denote the Bob Cameron Loop Trail. The total distance for this hike is 2.8 miles, with 465 feet of elevation gain. Since the trail is slightly shorter than the club typically hikes, we finished a few minutes early, allowing a little time for socializing before people departed.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, August 2

Potato Hill State Forest, Caroline

Hike report by Leigh Ann

Nine hikers and two dogs on leashes did part or all of this 4.25-mile hike on the FLT. The route went from Level Green Rd. through the new Finger Lakes Land Trust Summerland Preserve. We turned around to return when we reached the new sign at the eastern edge of the Summerland Preserve, which is about 0.2 mile away from where the FLT begins to go steeply down to 79. Weather forecasts for at least a week had predicted rain for this morning, and it pounded about an hour before the hike started. Although it didn’t rain on us, there was certainly a lot of water on the trail. The huge field at Summerland was golden with tall grass, and the air was clear enough to see Endicott if you knew what direction you were looking.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Wednesday, July 22

Finger Lakes Trail from White Church Rd., Brooktondale

Hike report by Kathy K

8 hikers and 1 dog met at the parking area 4 miles south of Brooktondale area, where the FLT crosses White Church Road.

Lovely day for the classic hike #24: a big T-shaped out-and-back hike.  FLT west across the field to the old railroad path, a mile south on FLT to end of White Church Rd where it ends at Coddington Rd, turn around and go north on the railroad path about 2 miles (a mile past the turn to the field)  to Ridgeway Rd (second mile is no longer part of FLT after it was rerouted), then back a mile to the path to the field and our cars

Very pretty scenery and views of the swamps next to the trail. But the paths is all somewhat overgrown with invasive honeysuckle and wild rose and ,,, Jim will reach out and find out who/if the trail is being maintained; some of us may go do some pruning…

The rail trail portion will eventually become part of the Coddington Valley Rail Trail as it gets completed from Burns Road to White Church  Rd. We did peek at the path heading north from Ridgeway Road. It’s been covered in water for years now; will be interesting to see how the rail trail gets connected there.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Saturday, July 25

Finger Lakes Trail through Lower Treman

Hike report by Leigh Ann

Sixteen hikers and two dogs on leashes did all or part of this annual 5.25-mile, pre-cookout hike. This circle route starts at the parking lot for the Tappan Mitra preserve off of 13, goes west on the FLT to the picnic shelter (to bypass the campground), and cuts over to the Treman south rim trail. From there, it goes west to the bridge near the base of Lucifer Falls, crosses the bridge, and takes the gorge trail all the way to where it ends at the parking lot for the lower falls. Then we walk back to the FLT on the road that leads through the campground and take the FLT back to the cars. This hike has about 775 feet of elevation gain and takes about 2 hours 15-20 minutes to do, depending on how many stops we make. But this slightly longer hiking time works great for arriving at the cookout at noon.

Here are some pictures I took at the cookout:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/gDBk8HJAoTp7WUKy7

Roger and Gunilla, thanks for opening your home and your gorgeous lands to the hikers for yesterday’s cookout, to the many people who helped with set up, cooking, and clean-up, and to the many new and old friends who were there. It was a beautiful day for this cookout, too: no thunderstorms or smoke.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, July 26

Roy H Park Preserve to Hammond Hill State Forest, Dryden

Hike report by Nina F.

Eleven hikers and four dogs met at the north parking lot of the Roy H. Park Preserve to hike out to Hammond Hill State Forest. Fun fact: Roy Park provided a grant to hike leader (Nina) for bat research that she and husband/co-hike leader Steve conducted many years ago on Rafinesque big-eared bats in Virginia. Mr. Park apparently was a bat enthusiast.

The beginning of the hike is gorgeous, taking you along boardwalks above the marsh before leaving the Preserve and moving into the state park, where we followed the red DEC trail marker discs. The trail is lovely there as well, with pine needles covering the path and nice pine trees throughout.  After a mile and a quarter, we crossed Hammond Hill Road to continue on more wooded trails. After checking with everyone’s schedules, we walked a slightly longer than usual route, so the hike ended about 15 minutes late and was over five miles. Luckily, the trail was shady for most of the hike, which was helpful as the temperature climbed.

There are a fair number of people who use this trail system and we passed quite a few other hikers and dogs.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.