Suppose you want to take a walk or a hike in our area. There are LOTS of places where you can do it. We have the Finger Lakes Trail system, state and county lands… we’re really blessed with opportunities.
*But sometimes the great places to hike are a pain to get to, depending on the time you’ve got available. So here are two GOOD places to walk or hike, outside the urban spaces, that are easy-on/easy-off trails.
*(1) Sperr Park, on Kahler Road near Big Flats, has the easiest trail… the former rail trail is straight as a die and almost perfectly level, except for a humpback where it crosses the road. Off east of Kahler Road, the Big Flats Trail runs through wooded space, and trees form a vaulted bower overhead as you stroll along. Here you might find chickadees, robins, grackles, and wood thrushes.
*Cross the road and you walk through the little park space and along the pond. I’ve found beaver and muskrat work in there, plus of course there’s plenty of waterfowl and also such water-loving birds as red-winged blackbirds.
*If you want to divert off the trail, you can cross a wooded causeway between the two ponds, then either double back, or circle the smaller pond. If you’re lucky you might spot a kingfisher, while in the west pond there are often great blue herons and other wading birds. Herds of turtles lounge on both sides when the sun shines warm.
*Back on the main trail, your walk takes you past the pond on one hand, and brush or meadow on the other. I often see American goldfinches here, and occasionally bluebirds – not to mention the geese and other birds in the pond and wetland. While this is a good walk, and an easy walk, some people might find it a strain on their attention span. Once along the second pond the terrain and the vegetation don’t change much, and you can look straight ahead down the trail about as far as the eye can see. No problem, though… when you’ve had enough, just turn around and walk back.
*WHAT’S NEARBY: Big Flats, Arnot Mall, the Consumer Square area, Harris Hill Park.
*WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: (a) You must approach from the north – the little humpbacked bridge on the south is still out. (b) Kahler Road has its own exit on I-86. (c) An existing space was developed and named for Trooper Andrew J. Speer, who confronted and was killed by two bank robbers here. He wounded them both, leading to their prompt capture.
*(2)Keuka Lake Outlet Trail, from Penn Yan (on Keuka Lake) to Dresden (on Seneca Lake) is also a rail trail. There’s a little more upping and downing than there is on the Big Flats Trail, but not much. There are several different surfaces – dirt, gravel, asphalt, boardwalk – and none are truly challenging. On the other hand, it’s a lot of fun.
*In this case there are several sites at the Penn Yan end where you can park the car and step right onto the trail. You’ll be walking along the Outlet, which drains Keuka Lake into Seneca Lake, and thence up to Lake Ontario. Pioneer prophetess Jemima Wilkinson sent disciples up to spy out the land where she was thinking of founding her own Jerusalem. Those were water-power days, and the scouts instantly recognized the industrial potential of the Outlet. So did Jemima, who came with the rest of her followers.
*The trail runs beside the Outlet, along the old railbed, which itself ran along the track of the even older Crooked Lake Canal. There are pools where you can watch ducks, and spots where you can stand to watch falls or rapids pounding away. There are also traces of the old industrial and canal infrastructure, making this to some extent a historical walk.
*You may not spot the beavers, but keep an eye peeled for their work. Squirrels and woodpeckers play in the trees, frogs peep or croak the summer long, butterflies flit around, snakes and turtles bask in the sun. Given that a good part of the trail lies in Penn Yan, at times it seems like a (narrow) public park… families with small kids, teens on bikes, Old Order folks taking short cuts to and from the store, joggers, bird watchers, people walking dogs… you name it. Some long-distance folks are really concentrating, but otherwise I’ve found it a friendly smiling place.
*Even though a mile or so of trail lies pretty much within Penn Yan, most of it’s overgrown enough that you’d still think you’re in the woods… and where that’s NOT the case, you get an interesting water-level view of the village.
*WHAT’S NEARBY: Penn Yan, Keuka Lake, Yates County Fairground (west end), Dresden, Seneca Lake (east end).
*WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: (a) There are stretches where uncivilized people have used the slopes leading down to water level as a junkyard, so at least if the leaves are down you may see litter, tires, appliances. (b) There are spots where the trail crosses a street or road, but the traffic’s not heavy. (c) Yates County History Center has some very interesting exhibits on Jemima Wilkinson. (d) Apart from a couple of outhouse/latrines, there are really no “facilities.” There’s a seasonal ice cream shop at the Dresden end – hikers find it very welcome!