Start & finish at the parking area on Monkey Run Road.  The hike is a 5 mile, figure 8 loop with each loop being about 2.5 miles long.  In the first loop, we hike NE along Fall Creek on a red-blazed trail and then turn right onto a orange-blazed trail, the Cayuga Trail, which joins and coincides with the Dryden Rail Trail for about half a mile before turning off and returning to Monkey Run.  Anyone who wishes to do a shorter hike may end their hike here.

In the second loop, we continue heading east on the Cayuga Trail toward Varna.  Near Fall Creek the Cayuga Trail continues eastward but we will turn right and head westward.  We are now back on the red-blazed trail which will take us back to our cars at Monkey Run.

The Cayuga Trail, which runs along the north and south sides of Fall Creek, was first cut in 1964. Since then, it has been rerouted, enhanced and lengthened many times. Today it is over 10 miles of campus trail that is probably the most heavily trafficked hiking trail in Tompkins County. Trail maintenance and improvement is shepherded by a productive collaboration of our club’s Trails Committee and the trusty staff of Cornell Botanic Gardens.