Brief Hike Details

This is a loop hike of about 6.2 miles rated strenuous. There are some steep pitches. If you struggle on the uphill stretches, you might want to join us another time.

We will hike from the preserve parking area along a series of interconnected trails in the Steege Hill Nature Preserve, in the Town of Corning.

The parking area at Steege is currently snow covered and icy. We strongly recommend carpooling from Ithaca. Four wheel drive vehicles recommended.

Carpool meets at 9:00 am at EMS Ithaca. Trailhead meetup 10:00 am.

The hike begins and ends at the parking area on Steege Hill Road in the Town of Corning.

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

If conditons warrant it, microspikes or snowshoes may be the gear of the day. Hiking poles highly recommended.

Today our adventure takes us to Steege Hill Nature Preserve, one of 50 preserves owned and managed by the Finger Lakes Land Trust. The land trust oversees the protection and conservation of over 100 conservation easements and now has over 30,000 acres under protection. Note we have a 45 minute drive one-way to the trail-head from Ithaca to the Town of Big Flats.

From GoFingerLakes.org: hundreds of millions of years ago, this land was part of the Great Catskill Delta Plain.  More recently, glaciers gouged their way over the flat landscape. Rushing water over the past 10,000 years has further changed the landscape, carving numerous glens and ravines on its way to the Chemung River. Five such ravines on the preserve provide a cooler, moister habitat than is typical of the rest of the preserve.  While much of Steege’s forest is dominated by southerly species such as oak and hickory, you’ll find trees more typical of a northern forest — hemlock, maple, birch, and beech — in the glens.

At the Steege Hill Preserve you can witness first hand the results of what happens when conservationists and the community band together to conserve our natural lands.

In the 1970s, much of Steege Hill was damaged by such extensive logging that the town of Big Flats shut down the operation and passed New York State’s first local ordinance to regulate logging. Slowly, but surely, the forest is healing. While old logging roads and clearings have been invaded by various non-native plant species such as autumn olive, honeysuckle, and multiflora rose, the native vegetation is coming back in all its variety as well. Wild blueberries are prolific here.

In perhaps another 100 years, it will have returned to its former glory. In the meantime, just one walk through it will convince you of this land’s beauty and recovery.  Since some areas were not logged, you can compare these with the logged portions, and track the changes as time goes on.

Eastern Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Horridus), endangered in New York and very rare in our region, are present in the preserve. These ecologically important and mercilessly persecuted animals are by nature unaggressive and want to stay out of our way.  They will be hibernating this time of year, so we won’t see them.