Cross Country Ski & Snowshoe Swap Nov 2 at Fahnestock State Park’

Let it snow – Kick off the XC Ski & Snowshoe Season  
As the Hudson Valley hillsides change color and the leaves cover up the summer hiking trails, local outdoor enthusiasts’ attention will turn to the winter sport season.
To kick the season off and support cross-country ski and snowshoe fans in the area, the Fahnestock Winter Park’s 4th Annual Cross Country Ski & Snowshoe Swap Fundraiser will take place Sat., Nov 2 from 9 am to 1pm at Fahnestock State Park’s Taconic Outdoor Education Center (TOEC).
Do you have cross country ski gear or snowshoes that have not been used lately?  Consider selling them on consignment.
Are you interested in upgrading equipment? Used or new XC skis, poles and boots will be available for purchase form previous seasons at discounted prices.
For those not familiar with a Ski Swap – if you have Nordic gear or accessories in gathering dust in storage it is a chance to sell the equipment.  Bring them to us and we will help you tag and price your items for consignment.
New for the 2014 season is the total renovation of Winter Park bathrooms.  Next to be upgraded will be a newly designed Acorn Café, and rental building. The Stillwater Lake loop is also being upgraded with resources provided by a recreational trail grant.
Do you have a question or would like to make arrangements to drop items off before the Swap or receive a Ski Swap Equipment form?  At your convenience call 845.265.3773 or email paul.kuznia@parks.ny.gov
If you cannot drop equipment off before Swap, gear will also be accepted the morning of the event from 8-9am. Light snacks and beverages will also be available.
TOEC is located in Putnam County within Fahnestock State Park at 75 Mtn. Laurel Lane, Cold Spring, NY 10516. Facility directions:  htttp://nysparks.com/environment/nature-centers/3/details.aspx.

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The Adirondack Mountain Club Laurentain Chapter released its 2013 weekly fall schedule.

North Country Now, link to original post

The Adirondack Mountain Club Laurentain Chapter schedule is as follows:

• October 6 the club will climb Noonmark Mt. An almost-High Peak with spectacular views of the Great Range, near St. Hubert’s. six miles of rough terrain, 2,200 feet of gain. Steep, but slow pace. Strenuous. Contact John Barron 315-613-828-2296 or johnbarron@sympatico.ca

• October 12 the club will climb Furnace Mt. To avoid the crowds on Columbus Day weekend, we’ll climb a little mountain few know of, off the Red Tavern Road. About six miles RT and 900 feet elevation gain. Moderate. Contact Armond Spencer 315-379-1383.

• October 13 there will be an afternoon “Kids Pirate Hike” on Red Sandstone Trail. A joint event with Nature Up North. This three mile walk on mostly level ground includes a hot dog and marshmallow cook out midway along the trail (all food provided). A little known band of Pirates from the Caribbean lost their gold along this trail. Learn the legend and look for their treasure. Along the way we’ll learn about frogs, beavers, hydropower, the history of the region and more. Limited to 24 participants. Contact Blair Madore madorebf@potsdam.edu or 315-265-0602 to reserve your spot.

• October 19 climb Debar Mt. Named after Quebec native John Debar, renowned hunter and 19th century guide, start from Meacham Lake state campground through beautiful forest, past kettle holes at gentle slopes except for the final half-mile, which is quite steep. 7.4 mile RT, with over 1600 feet of climb. Strenuous. Great views to the west. Contact David Trithart 315-265-8117 or dtrithar@twcny.rr.com

• October 24 participants will climb in Malone and watch snow geese return. Not just for birders. We’ll travel to Malone to watch a spectacular evening display as the Snow Geese come back to the Salmon River for the night. It’s an easy walk in the park, We’ll plan to stop for dinner on the way home. Easy. Contact Ann Spencer 315-379-1383.

• October 25-27 there will be a Stone Valley Trail work weekend. There will be many SUNY Potsdam Students involved, therefore, we are primarily in need of crew leaders that know the Stone Valley trails, and/or have experience with trail maintenance and construction. Projects will include: trash clean-up, trail marking, bridge building, mountain bike trail construction, clipping brush, and trail maintenance. Please contact Mark Simon by October 14th simonm@potsdam.edu or 315-262-2571 if you can lead a crew or would like to participate.

• November 2 there will be a bike ride on the St. Lawrence River. We’ll try for one last bike ride along the St. Lawrence River, from a scenic overlook to Kring Point Park and back. The round trip total is 28 miles. Moderate. There are shorter options, contact the trip leader for details: Tom Ortmeyer tortmeye@gmail.com or 315-265-8219.

• November 10 there will be an annual meeting and fall pot luck will be held at the First Presbyterian Church on at the park, 17 Park St., Canton. Bring a dish to share and your own tableware. Arrive at 5 PM for supper to start promptly at 5:30. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Bill Kirchgasser, Professor of Geology, Emeritus, SUNY Potsdam, who will present “Lines, Planes, and Curves of the Adirondacks: A Geologist’s Perspective”. Contact John Barron johnbarron@sympatico.ca or 613-828-2296.

• December 7 there will be an early season ski, snowshoe, and hike at Higley Flow State Park. Kids, grandparents, and dogs are invited on our annual two to three mile romp. We’ll finish with a campfire at the Warm Brook Lean To with hotdogs, hot chocolate and marshmallows provided. Easy walk. Contact Blair Madore madorebf@potsdam.edu o r315-265-0602.

• December 14 there will be a snowshoe hike at Indian Creek. Celebrate winter with an easy snowshoe or hike of about 2 miles at Indian Creek Nature Center, just outside of Rensselaer Falls. We’ll finish with free s’mores and cocoa. A fun event for kids. We have snowshoes to loan. Level 1, easy. Dress in layers. Contact Ann Spencer 315-379-1383.

• December 14 there will be a cross-country skiing outing will be at Whiteface Toll Road. This was an annual event for the chapter for many years. Whiteface often has snow when the low country is bare. This is a very strenuous climb of five miles one-way. Ability to ski in crusty and wind-swept snow is essential. Conditions can be harsh, and participants must dress for cold and wind. Very strenuous. Contact David Trithart 315-265-8117 or dtrithar@twcny.rr.com

• December 21 climb Mt. Marcy on the solstice. At 5,344 feet this is the highest of the High Peaks. This one is for experienced winter climbers. Dress in layers, balaclava, goggles, gloves/mittens, micro spikes/crampons, snowshoes, insulated water source and a determined spirit! With a long exposed summit windchill can be big factor. Heavy snow and or high winds will cancel. Very strenuous. Contact Brian Baston 315-600-1282 or brian.b.goode@gmail.com

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Adirondack lands around the Essex Chain of Lakes open to public recreation

By Brian Nearing, Times Union, link to original post

For the first time in more than a century, thousands of acres of Adirondack land around the Essex Chain of Lakes is open to the public for hiking, paddling, skiing, fishing and hunting.

Held for years by the Finch Pruyn timber company, the lands were opened for public access Monday under an interim plan by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

In August 2012, the state bought 69,000 acres of former Finch lands from The Nature Conservancy, which had bought it from the timber company. With the opening of the Essex portion, about 22,000 of these acres are open to public recreation, which permits day use, but not overnight camping.

Motor vehicle access to Essex lands is open on Cornell Road and on the Boots to Cornell Road. Cars and trucks are allowed to drive on Cornell Road from Woods Road to a gate on the Boots to Cornell Road. A parking area allows access to Deer Pond.

Paddlers may portage canoes and kayaks about a quarter mile to Deer Pond. From there, a half-mile portage reaches a put-in on Third Lake. Paddlers can travel by water to explore First, Second, Fourth, Fifth and Seventh Lakes of the Essex Chain.

Members of private hunting camps that held leases with Finch retain rights that permit motorized access not available to the public, and also have one-acre exclusive-use envelopes around their camp buildings.

A map of the Essex Chain Lakes tract is available online at http://bit.ly/1fGv8Pf

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Temporary Sole Source for Common Man Guidebooks

Kayak Thousand Islands

The publisher of the Common Man outdoor trail & paddle guides for NY, FL and VT has had a major webpage meltdown. As a temporary sole source, the webpage at www.RogerFulton.com has become the backup and the only current online source for most of the Common Man trail guides. The only glitch is that this web page can’t take credit cards, but can accept cash, checks or money orders by mail.

Ski – Lake George

Common Man Books are a great source of trail information for Lake George, Saratoga Springs, the 1,000 Islands,and Adirondacks fire towers. Many of the links in this blog to Common Man books will be dead. Click here instead.

Bike Saratoga NY

Paddle Lake George NY

Roger Fulton
Phone; 386-956-6089
email: Roger@RogerFulton.com
Webpage: http://www.RogerFulton.com.

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The Great Bear Recreation Area near Fulton NY Is Latest Addition to Volkssporting Itinerary

Oswego County Today

The Great Bear Recreation Area near Fulton has been added to the series of self-guided walking tours along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail National Scenic Byway.

Members of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail and Finger Lakes Volkssport groups met recently at Great Bear Recreation Area to enjoy the scenic trail system. You can do it also as a self-guided walk any time.

The Great Bear Walk, organized by the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Volkssport Association and Friends of Great Bear, is the first of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Walks to be entirely “off-road” as it follows well-marked woodland trails.

Volkssporting in German is “the sport of the people.” The Great Bear Walk joins a series of walks created by the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Volkssport Association along or near the 518-mile Great Lakes Seaway Trail National Scenic Byway which parallels Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River in New York and Pennsylvania.

The walks are family-oriented and targeted to those who enjoy outdoor physical activity in which people of all ages and fitness levels can participate.

Participants may purchase a pin designating the Great Bear Recreation Area Volkssport Walk by completing the information on the start card for the walk at Great Bear.

The Great Bear Springs area is comprised of more than 400 acres in the city of Fulton and town of Volney. The name is based on a Native American legend in which a young brave was attacked by a large bear near the springs.

The property also contains the historic Oswego Canal guard lock number 2 and towpath that were a part of the original Oswego River Canal.

After completing the walk, participants have the option of purchasing a collectible pin depicting the bear for which the area is named.

“The area has more than eight miles of natural trails over rolling terrain, and is ideal for walking, cycling, cross-country skiing and snow shoeing,” said Richard Drosse, coordinator of the Friends of Great Bear. “The Great Bear Walk was developed with the option of either a 3.1 mile or 6.2 mile route, and is sanctioned by the American Volkssport Association.”

The walk is open to all, and there is no charge except for Volkssporters wishing to earn credit or for those interested in purchasing the pin.

In May, a group of 18 walkers from the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Volkssport Association and the Finger Lakes Volkssport Club met in Fulton to christen the Great Bear Walk.

“The Great Bear Walk makes an excellent addition to the series of Great Lakes Seaway Trail Walks, and we’re confident it will serve as an important means to attract visitors to the region,” Great Lakes Seaway Trail Volkssport Association President Daryl Giles said.

To get started, go to the Riverside Inn located at 930 S. First St. in Fulton and ask for the Great Bear Walk box at the front desk. Participants may purchase a pin designating the Great Bear Recreation Area Volkssport Walk by completing the information on the start card for the walk at Great Bear.

Walkers can then sign in and pick up the walk directions. Oswego County also hosts a sanctioned Volkssport walk near Fort Ontario. The walk is headquartered at the Quality Inn and Suites, 70 E. First St., Oswego, and commemorates the 1814 British Naval attack on Fort Ontario. The walk can be done in 5 and 10-kilometer routes.

For more information on the Great Bear and Oswego 1812 walks, and the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Volkssport Association, visit www.seawaytrail.com/volkssport

To learn more about the Great Bear Recreation Area and Friends of Great Bear, visit www.friendsofgreatbear.com

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A first look at the St. Lawrence County Multi-Use Trail System

by Claire Woodcock, North Country Public Radio, link to original post

The St. Lawrence County Recreational Trails Advisory Board has been working for some time to create a sustainable community-linking system throughout the county. Last week, community members had their first look at maps of the trail route.

Last Thursday evening, more than 100 people gathered in the Colton-Pierrepont Central School auditorium to learn more about the St. Lawrence County Multi-Use trail system and what it will mean for the community. The more-than-200-mile system is called “Blazing Trails,” and will extend from Franklin to Lewis Counties. The trail will be multi-season and multi-use, and open to snowmobilers, ATV users, mountain bikers, horseback riders, hikers, cyclers, cross country skiiers, dog sled users, and snowshoers. The committee hopes to extend the trails further with smaller trails diverging from the main tracks.

County Trail Coordinator Deb Christy says the multi-use trail system will promote tourism in the North Country, benefitting local businesses that have struggled to remain open.

Christy said that the system will showcase the County’s beautiful natural setting. “We want all our area people to get out and enjoy our great outdoors. I mean we have beautiful assets in the North Country, and we feel everyone should get out and be able to use them in whatever manner they choose to use them.”

Christy and others said the formation of the trail system is expected to help new and established local businesses expand and succeed in the community, and to attract travelers from outside the area. “We worry about the economy in the North Country,” Christy said, “and we want to be able to bring more dollars into our small businesses to keep them going year round. We hate seeing businesses close right and left and we want them to be able to stay and have sustainable income all year, not just part of the year.”

Many ATV users attended the meeting, and most seemed in favor of the trail system as a whole. However, there was some dispute over how the motorized vehicle users and hiking and skiing enthusiasts would share the land and continue to enjoy their differing recreational activities. At the meeting, several community members expressed their unease about noise and fumes from the ATVs on the new trail, which prompted some ATV owners to grumble and walk out of the meeting.

By the end of the summer, the first part of the trail is expected to open to the public in Colton, Pierrepont, Parishville, and Hopkinton, connecting St. Lawrence and other neighboring counties.

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Northern New York Trails

Click here for a resource on Northern New York Trails: Mainly Jefferson County, NY and surrounding areas – Mountain Biking, Hiking, Trail Walking, Cross-Country Skiing, Camping, Nature Trails/Preserves, Parks with Trails, and Historical Trails

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Snowlink – a resource for those who love to play in the snow

SnowSports Industries America’s consumer website, Snowlink.com, can help consumers plan a weekend getaway or a weeklong vacation in the mountains to play in the snow.

SnowSports Industries America (SIA) created Snowlink.com, a FREE resource for consumers to research everything they need for heading out to their favorite local resort or planning a family mountain vacation. Snowlink provides an introduction to skiing, snowboarding, cross country and snowshoeing, tips on shipping your gear, this season’s style trends, a women’s-only section, a resort and retail finder and much more.

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Up to date map of the groomed ski trails at Harriet Hollister

Ski trails at Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area

High in the hills, between Canadice Lake and Honeoye Lake, Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area has the premier cross-country ski trail network in the Finger Lakes Region, with trails groomed by the N.Y.S. Section V Ski League. Here, courtesy of the Rochester Nordic Ski Club is pdf file up-to-date map of the groomed ski trails at Harriet Hollister:

Snow Trails guidebook

For other places to cross-country ski or snowshoe throughout Central & Western New York State, download a copy of the ebook Snow Trails.

Also, click  here for the Rochester Nordic Ski Club newsletter which lists the  mileage for each trail at Hariet Hollister:March 2013 RNSC Newsletter

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9 Favorite Cross-country Ski Trails in Monroe, Wayne, and Ontario Counties

It’s winter – time to plan for some fun in the snow. If you live in or near Monroe, Wayne or Ontario Counties, there are trails nearby that provide opportunities for a quick evening moonlit ski or a longer weekend outing. Here are 10 of my favorites.

Monroe County
1. Mendon Ponds Park in Mendon has 20 miles of groomed trails for all levels of ability. The trails wind among the eskers, kames and kettle ponds of this glacially sculpted landscape. It’s a popular winter playground for avid skiers.
2. Powder Mills Park in Pittsford is another hilly park with 8 miles of marked, groomed trails.
3. For less hilly terrain, try Webster Park along the shore of Lake Ontario. It is the beneficiary of lake effect snows. Escape into the wilderness in the middle of suburbia on a myriad of loop trails.
4. Genesee Country Nature Center in Mumford is great for families. There’s a small entrance fee, but you’ll find 4.5 miles of easy, groomed trails, a warming hut, and restrooms. Plus you can rent skis or snowshoes on site.

Ontario County
5. Canadice Lake Trail parallels the west shore of Canadice Lake with gorgeous views for an easy 7.4 mile round trip. For more of a challenge, try the side loop trails up the steep hillside.
6. Cumming Nature Center is a week-end family favorite with amenities and equipment rentals. It offers 15 miles of groomed trails. There is a small entrance fee.
7. Skiers’ Mecca is Harriet Hollister State Memorial Recreation Area south of Honeoye Lake. This park sits at high elevation and promises snow cover when the rest of the area is barren. The 20 miles of trails are groomed by volunteers from the N.Y.S. Section V Ski League and are used for ski races. The trails wind through pristine woods and one trail offers a panoramic view north over Honeoye Lake.

Wayne County
8. Casey Park in Ontario offers a 1.8-mile round trip on a flat trail along the shore of a lake that formed in an old iron ore quarry. The more adventurous can continue around the lake on the hilly, narrow north shore trail with gorgeous views down to the lake.
9. Blue Cut Nature Center sits between Newark and Lyons. Here you’ll find 2 miles of easy trails through the woods and along a marshland. The trails are free, but don’t expect amenities.

When you head out to ski, it’s helpful to have a guide specific to winter such as the local guidebook “Snow Trails.” The guide describes which parking areas are plowed in winter, which roads remain unplowed and become part of the ski trail network. You’ll also learn how each trail is rated in terms of beginner, intermediate and expert runs, and which trails are too narrow and steep and are best left for adventurers on snowshoes.

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