Get in Touch with Nature this Spring
Flowers are starting to bloom and the birds are singing, spring has finally arrived! Time to grab your walking shoes, clean the cobwebs off your bike and hit the trails and parks. Cayuga County offers an impressive number of places to get in touch with nature and pump some fresh air into your lungs as you explore new spots.
So let’s start exploring, below are a few places you will want to check out. Still want more? With three state parks, in our county the opportunities to get out & enjoy nature in Cayuga County are endless.
Check out our new interactive map and discover new places to explore!
- Auburn- Fleming Trail – This trail is located between Rt 34 in Town of Fleming and Dunning Ave in Auburn, NY, the trail is 1.6 miles long and is great for biking, hiking or dog walking.
- Bear Swamp State Forest – Bear Swamp State Forest is located off NY Rt. 41A near Sempronius, NY, it is 13 miles of multi-use trails for hiking, biking, snowshoeing and x-country skiing.
- Fillmore Glen State Park – This park is located on Rt. 38 one mile south of the Town of Moravia, this park is full of beautiful views and waterfalls. They have multiple trails that are good for hiking.
- Cato – Fair Haven Trail – A 14-mile, one-way multi-use trail from the Village of Fair Haven to Village Cato. You can get lunch on either end of the trail.
- Cayuga Community College Nature Trail – This trail is located on Franklin Street in Auburn. NY behind Cayuga Community College. A great short one-mile loop trail that is great for hiking, biking, and dog leash walking.
- Erie Canal Recreational Trail – This trail is great for hikers, bikers, snowmobilers and x-country skiing. Part of the greater New York Canalway Trail system, you can access it in Weedsport at the Centerport Aqueducts and go to Port Byron at Schasel Park.
- Cayuga Village Recreational Trail – The trail starts in MacIntosh Park in the Village of Cayuga, it is 2.5 miles long with lakefront views, great for hiking.
- Emerson Park – The park is located on Rt 38A Auburn, it has 1 mile of lakefront and 2 miles of riverfront. Plenty of trails for walking and biking.
- Fair Haven Beach State Park – This park is located on Rt. 104A in Fair Haven, it is 823 acres in size, offering plenty of space for hiking, biking, snowmobiling, x-country skiing, and snowshoeing. There are a few hiking trails including the Lakeshore Trail which features a walk along the shoreline below towering bluffs.
- Hojack Trail – Built on remnants of the Hojack Railroad. Cayuga County maintains the 8.5-miles of trail, which intersects the Cato–Fair Haven Trail south of Fair Haven. The trail is used by snowmobiles in winter, equestrians, bicyclists, and hikers in the summer.
- Long Point State Park – Located on Lake Road in the Village of Aurora. A great location to enjoy 4.5 miles of hiking trails. One very interesting item about the park is the abundance of what are called Odin stones, Hag stones, Fairies or Witch stones or, in geological terminology, concretions. These stones with the small holes in them were treasured by ancient peoples. There is a belief that if one looks through the hole, one will see beings not visual to the physical eye – perhaps a witch or fairy. Sleep with one under your pillow and you will not have nightmares. One ancient story is that Odin changed into a worm and slipped through a stone to escape death – thus the hole and that one name.
- Sterling Nature Center – Located on Jenzvold Road off Rt. 104A, it is a1400-acre park with over 10 miles of hiking trails and 2 miles of Lake Ontario shoreline