Brief Hike Description

This is a 7-mile (long hike) or a 2.2 mile (short hike) rated moderate. We will hike the Interloken Trail in the Finger Lakes National Forest.

Both hikes begin and end at the Searsburg Road trailhead for the Interloken in Hector.

Depending on trail conditions, this will either be a bare boot hike, or you may need microspikes. If we get significant snowfall, snowshoes may be the gear of the day.

Dress in layers for the weather, wear sturdy, waterproof hiking boots, bring water and a snack or sandwich. 

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

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

Hike Description

This is a two part, SHORT & LONGER 7 mile hike in a 2 + 5 format. It features dense forest, open meadows and rolling farmland, and passes by Teeter and Foster Ponds. The trail is an official spur of the Finger Lakes Trail and also encompasses a short segment of the multi-state North Country Scenic Trail. There is ample parking at the Searsburg Rd./ Interloken Trail juncture. 

The terrain is easy with a 2+5 option. The first part of the hike heads north from Searsburg Rd. to Teeter Pond, then back to Searsburg Rd. Those who only want a 2 mile hike can leave the group. Please let the hike leader know you are leaving. The +5 second part of the hike will proceed south to Foster Pond, then return to Searsburg Rd.

Bring sufficient water and a sandwich or high energy snacks.

This area was a forested hunting territory for the Iroquois people 250 years ago. Just 100 years ago, it was nearly treeless, the result of logging, farming, and grazing practices by Euro-American settlers. Today it is a mix of second growth woodland, pasture and lots which are in a transition from pasture-to-woodland. The cellar holes, stone walls, artifacts, and other material evidence of the former residents of this area are an unwritten reminder and historical record of their lives. They are protected by Federal Law. There are a number of archaeological sites on lands managed by the Finger Lakes National Forest, most from the post-Revolutionary period.

Prior to the European rediscovery of eastern North America, Native Americans lived in this part of New York for more than 10,000 years. The Iroquois are the last in a series of Indian cultures to have lived here, and two of the six Iroquois Nations’ homelands border the Forest. The lakes around which much Indian life took place now bear their names: Cayuga and Seneca. 

Depending on trail conditions, this will either be a bare boot hike, or you may need microspikes. If we get significant snowfall, snowshoes may be the gear of the day.

Dress in layers for the weather, wear sturdy, waterproof hiking boots, bring water and a snack or sandwich. 

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

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