Brief Hike Details

Start & finish at the FLLT preserve parking lot on Appletree Point Road.  Follow red trail to lakeshore then white to Carpenters Falls. Return to parking area via short roadwork along Appletree Point Rd. 2.4 miles, 424 ft elevation gain. Overall moderate.

Wear sturdy waterproof hiking boots, and bring water and hiking poles

This is tick season. Wear light-colored, long sleeved shirt and long pants, gaitors or tuck your pant legs into your socks, and bring insecticide if you use it. Check for ticks after the hike.

Today’s adventure in hiking leads us to Bahar Preserve, owned and managed by the Finger Lakes Land Trust, and Carpenters Falls Unique Area, both located near the south end of Skaneateles Lake. Bahar is one of over 35 preserves and over 28,000 acres of natural area and landscape protected by the land trust. Note that we have a 50 minute drive each way for this hike.

This hike includes a change in elevation of 400 foot as we trek uphill. If you struggle with uphill pitches, you might want to join us another day.

We start on the short red trail in the preserve running through shady mixed hardwoods, pine and hemlock stands and paralleling Bear Swamp Creek heading downstream. The red trail ends at a small shoreline access to the lake with a nice view of the lakeshore landscape. We then head steeply uphill and upstream on the white trail, which gives us a view into the dramatic, steep-sided gorge the creek has cut over thousands of years.

Along the way, we leave the preserve and enter the adjacent Carpenters Falls Unique Area, public land. Carpenters Falls is the highlight of this hike and it is as far as we go; it is lovely and a dramatic example of a “hanging falls.” The State DEC has done dramatic work there to improve accessibility to an overlook of the falls, to improve parking, and to provide a new informative kiosk.

We will return to the cars using road-walk along little used Appletree Point Road. This part of the walk features a peaceful rural landscape through farm fields and provides a distant view of the lake and the hills beyond. Traffic is light.

There is a 50 minute drive one-way from Ithaca to the trailhead. The hike begins and ends at the Finger Lakes Land Trust parking area for Bahar Preserve on Appletree Point Road.

Wear sturdy waterproof hiking boots, and bring water and hiking poles

This is tick season. Wear light-colored, long sleeved shirt and long pants, gaitors or tuck your pant legs into your socks, and bring insecticide or natural repellent if you use it. Check for ticks after the hike.