Brief Hike Details

This is 2.5 mile loop hike rated moderate. If the group opts for more mileage, we will do the loops twice, making it a 5 mile hike.

There is a steep ascent going downhill and a similar uphill ascent on the way back. Elevation gain approximately 500 feet.

Bring sturdy hiking boots or shoes, water and hiking poles.

This is tick season. Bring insecticide if you use it, wear a long sleeved shirt, long pants, gaitors or tuck pant legs into your socks. Check for ticks after the hike.

If you will have trouble navigating to the trailhead, contact the hike leader at the address above.

Check this space the day of the hike for any changes or a cancellation.

Detailed Hike Description

Our destination this week is the Richard B. Fischer Old Growth Forest in Newfield.

The route includes the blue, red and yellow loops. The trails here are quite short, a total of 2.5 miles, with a total change in elevation of 500 feet. The hike back up the hill is rigorous and steep. 

From the Cornell Botanic Gardens website: 

Majestic, magical, inspirational, with trees over 150 feet tall, this site is a sanctuary in every sense of the word. This area is the best of the few remaining examples of pre-European settlement forest in the region. This old-growth forest is notable not only for the extreme size of many individual trees, but also for the very high number of tree species, at least 23, of canopy size. Among these is yellow oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), a locally rare species. 

2.5 miles of trail pass through a continuum of land use history from meadow to successional forests of different ages to old-growth forest. Along clearly blazed trails, hikers can easily pick out a couple dozen hemlocks, oaks and shagbark hickories that could be 150 years old or older. We also get a glimpse of the wetland at the bottom of the hollow, part of which has recently been added to the preserve. Find trail routes on the mobile-friendly website ithacatrails.org. 

David Bandler ’55, a Cornell alumnus and emeritus professor of Food Science, and his wife Lenore expanded this natural area by donating the 17-acre Bandler Family Tract in 2015 and the 42-acre Bandler Family Forest in 2017.

The parking area for Fischer is small and located just off NY Route 13; please do not make a U-turn on Route 13 as the highway is busy with fast-moving traffic. Instead, to reach the parking area, go south on Rt. 13 and pass Luella’s Space on the right. Continue another 1/2 mile until you reach the top of the hill and the exit for Newfield. Turn left onto Main Street, as if heading to Newfield. Make a U-turn on Main Street and head back downhill until you reach the parking area for Fischer, on the right as you head downhill.

Bring sturdy hiking boots or shoes, water and hiking poles.

This is tick season. Bring insecticide if you use it, wear a long sleeved shirt, long pants, gaitors or tuck pant legs into your socks. Check for ticks after the hike.

If you will have trouble navigating to the trailhead, contact the hike leader at the address above.

Check this space the day of the hike for any changes or a cancellation.