Arnot Forest
Tuesday 05/28/2024 4:00 pm
Hike rating:
Event/Trailhead location:
We will caravan to the Arnot Forest parking area on Irish Hill Road. It’s about a 15- min. drive from Tioga State Bank to that parking area. Information about carpooling is given below.
Carpool:
Carpool Meeting Time: May 28, 2024 3:45 pm
Carpool Meeting Place:
Park on Main Street at the parking spots in front of the Masonic Temple. The pin on the map for the Tioga Bank, Newfield is for navigating purposes only (click for map). Do not park in the bank’s parking lot.
Hike Leader: Gundy Lee
Contact:
Hike leader contact information will be sent in the email acknowledging that you have registered for this hike.
Hike Details:
Brief Hike Details
This is a 4-5 mile out-and-back hike in Arnot Forest rated easy.
We will hike gravel roads in Cornell’s Arnot Forest.
Hike meetup is the Tioga State Bank, Main Street, Newfield. We will caravan from the bank parking lot to Arnot Forest.
Dress in layers for the weather, wear sturdy hiking boots, and bring water.
If you will have trouble navigating to the meetup location, contact the hike leader at the adddress above.
Check this space the morning of the hike for any changes or a cancellation.
Detailed Hike Description
This hike is an easy out-and-back hike approximately 4.5 miles long. The Arnot Teaching and Research Forest is located in the hilly, forested Southern Tier region of New York State.
We’ll meet at the Tioga State Bank on Main Street in Newfield and drive up to Arnot Forest together.
If you are driving from Ithaca, head south on Route 13. Exit onto Main Street in Newfield. The Tioga State bank is in downtown Newfield, at the intersection of Shaffer Road and Main Street, about 1/2 mile from the Route 13 turn off.
The “Arnot” is owned by Cornell University and managed by the Department of Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is the largest actively managed forest owned by Cornell. A significant logging operation concluded in the Arnot a couple years back, and it has affected the landscape.
In spite of the logging, the Arnot still boasts significant natural areas. In addition to 2,400 acres of mature forest, the Arnot includes some 100 acres of open land (grass and goldenrod), 1,345 acres of old fields, saplings, brush, and pole timber, 170 acres of softwood plantations, 40 acres of sugarbush, 20 acres of field campus, 10 ponds, and Banfield Creek. More than 400 species of vascular plants and 135 species of birds, in addition to numerous amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, inhabit the Arnot. Approximately 100 contiguous acres of grassland are maintained to provide habitats for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.
There are no maintained hiking trails in the Arnot. However, old used and unused roads are great for hiking.
Dress in layers for the weather, wear sturdy hiking boots, and bring water.
If you will have trouble navigating to the meetup location, contact the hike leader at the adddress above.
Check this space the morning of the hike for any changes or a cancellation.