This Sunday we will be doing a hike at the Wesley Hill Nature Preserve on Gulick Road in the town of South Bristol (Naples mailing address). We will meet at the parking area on Gulick Road. Plans for a social gathering following the hike will be announced just prior to the hike, weather permitting and following social distancing guidelines. Please bring lawn chairs if you have them. Check out a history of the Wesley Hill property visit on the Finger Lakes Land Trust website.
The Climber hike will travel south from the parking lot along the red trail for about 8/10 mile until you arrive at the green trail. You will then turn left (west) on the green trail and climb down to Briggs Gully. This is a challenging downhill hike and poles are recommended. We will rest for about 15 minutes at the gully before climbing back up the green trail back to the Gulick Road parking lot. The entire distance for this hike is about 2 miles with a significant climb on the way back to the parking lot.
The Naturalist/Tourist hike will head west from the parking lot on the red/green trail, then turn onto the red trail where the trails separate and head toward the pond. Follow the red trail past the pond, turn left, then right to pick up the orange trail until you arrive at the yellow trail’s split (about 1.39 miles at this point). Turn left at the split and follow the yellow trail to the red trail and turn left onto the red. Follow the red trail back to the pond and the parking lot. This hike is about 2.3 miles in total. There are gentle climbs, some small stream crossings, and great overlooks of the gully. There may be some slippery, muddy spots so poles are recommended.
Directions:
From Honeoye: take route 20A east through Honeoye to East Lake Road. Turn right onto East Lake Road. (If coming from Bristol or points east, it’s a left onto East Lake Road). Take the first left, on CR 33, then the first right onto Pinewood Hill which becomes Gulick Road. Travel about 5 miles to Wesley Hill Parking Area on the right side. Parking lot can fit about 10 vehicles; the rest of us can park on the side of the road (it’s paved).
From Springwater: Head north on Rte. 15A toward Hemlock. Just before Hemlock, turn right on Rte. 20A. Follow Rt 20A to Honeoye and then follow the directions above.
From Naples: From the southern end of Naples, head west on Co Rd 36. Follow Co Rd 36 for 1.2 miles to the first right turn on Gulick Rd. Follow Gulick for about 7 miles. The parking area is on the left.