This Sunday’s hike will be at Stony Brook State Park off route 36 just south of the village of Dansville. The East and West rim trails along the creek are closed for the winter so we will be hiking the snowmobile trails on the east side starting from route 36 about 500ft back north from the lower park entrance.We will be climbing up hill untill we get to the upper end of the park and then head west, coming down the west side wooded trail back to the lower parking lot.

     Most of this trail goes through forest with moderate uphill climbs. The upper park is mostly flat with a steep westerly down hill climb back  to the lower parking area. For those who don’t want to climb back down, car pooling from the upper park exit can be provided.

Hiking poles are recommended and good treaded footware are suggested. Bow hunting is permitted within the park, so orange clothing is also recommended.

The after-hike social will be at the Sunrise Resturant on Main Street downtown Dansville. There is plenty of parking in the rear.

Directions: Meet at the main parking lot inside the park from the Lower Park Entrance.  Click on the map above to see the parking area.  Click here for directions to the entrance.

Thank you for checking the Springwater Trails website. Generally Springwater Trails leads a two hour hike starting at 2:00PM on Sunday,  (during the months of June, July and August, we start at 4:00) and this spot provides details about the hike.  We are taking this week off to enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend.

You can keep up with our planning for the Winter Season of Springwater Trails hikes.  Check on the preliminary schedule.  If you want to help plan a hike this winter please contact our Winter Hike Coordinator at [email protected].

Springwater Trails is building a public hiking trail around the town of Springwater.  We are setting up a committee chaired by our Trail Master, Rick Henchen, to plan the details of this trail and to work with the DEC, and with other landowners in Springwater to continue the work on this trail.  If you are interested in serving on this committee, please contact us at [email protected].

Finally, please check back here next week for information about our hike at Stony Brook Park.

This Sunday is a trail building date for Springwater Trails.  We will continue the work done from Schribner to Giles in September when rain and the threat of more rain caused the climbing crew to retreat from the far hill.

Most of this trail goes through forest, which means that clearing of fallen branches is a constant part of trail maintenance.  Bring loppers for small trees and branches, and gloves for hauling branches off of the trail.  Check the weather for appropriate foot wear but expect to complete a three mile hike with a climb of 260ft up and back down.

We will split into two groups to hike the trail from each end.  The climbers will start from the house, walk the beautiful new trail that was cut into the hill in September, then across the creek and up the hill.  The new trail begins where the orange tags leave the logging road half-way up the hill.  At the top of the hill, the trail crosses through the hardwood forest until it heads back down to the stream and out to the road.

The tourist group will carpool up Giles Rd to the other end of the trail.  After a stroll down to the creek, this group will start clearing trail while headed up to the top of the hill.  This will be the most challenging part of the hike, as the group looks for, and critiques the switch backs that Rick and Mark laid out.

Both groups will appoint a recorder and will carry yellow caution tape to be used to mark parts of the trail needing summer work to improve the experience.

When the two groups meet, they will be able to choose a central route back to the house, or they may continue to inspect the work of the other group on the main trail.  During the social at the house, the groups will report on their suggestions for the trail.  Please bring a dish to pass and your own beverage.  Coffee and tea will also be available.

Check the website for updates prior to the hike, so you will know the status of Schribner Rd and the snow.

Directions: During the winter, please approach from Tabors Corners, since the west ends of Giles Rd and Schribner Rd are both closed in the winter.  Good directions are available here. You may park on the road near the Giles/Schribner intersection or in the driveway, depending on the amount of snow we have this week.