hike #21

#21   The Abbott Loop east from Michigan Hollow Road to Hill Road and beyond, Danby SF

Meet-up:  Dirt parking area on Michigan Hollow Road exactly 4.1 miles south of Route 96B in downtown Danby.

Don’t confuse this with the northern hiker parking lot on Michigan Hollow Road, which is 2.4 miles south of 96B, and which gives access to Diane’s Crossing.

Click here to see the Google Maps page showing the location of the trail head, and the directions and driving time from the Ithaca library.

Click here and scroll down to see a topo map that shows this eastern leg of the loop in detail.

Paper or digital maps of the Finger Lakes Trail and Abbott Loop may be purchased from:

About Finger Lakes Trail Maps and GPS data

Map sheets M17 and ” The Abbott Loop” depict the trail sections of this hike.

This isn’t a flashy trail like the two Abbott Loop legs that run west from Michigan Hollow Road steeply uphill to The Pinnacles look-out.  But it’s great exercise in a typical lovely Danby SF setting, with lots of very picturesque pine tree action.  We climb pretty vigorously from Michigan Hollow Road steadily uphill to Hill Road, a gain of 500 feet.  At Hill Road we have two choices.  We can stay on the Abbott Loop, which heads downhill and then goes through some quite wet areas on the way to meeting the regular FLT.  Or we can get onto Hill Road and walk on this; it’s a very pleasant woods road.  This option is a lot easier and drier, though not as interesting. Part of the fun of this trail segment is knowing that we’re walking on a section that doesn’t get much use, since it doesn’t go anywhere exciting, and it’s used mainly only by hikers doing the complete Abbott Loop circuit.

More information about the Loop, including still photos and a Youtube video, may be found at:

Abbott Loop Trail | Trails Less Traveled | Central NY (trailslesstraveledny.org)

Last edit 01/2023 JFR

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