Adding New Hidden Gems of the Finger Lakes Region
New Parks & Conservation Lands
If you are an outdoor enthusiast, you will not be bored in the Finger Lakes, even if you visit year after year. How do I know this? It’s easy – there’s always a new preserve, state forest land, or state park to visit that didn’t exist on your last visit. That’s another secret of this region – multiple organizations (from land trusts to state agencies), landowners, and community volunteers work together to consistently add new public access outdoor spaces to the already wide range of parks and conservation lands. That means you get the familiarity of a repeated trip to the same general region along with the opportunity for fresh adventures every visit. Another benefit of new parks and trails is that it helps dilute the human impact of outdoor activities on the landscape – more variety, more access, means visitors don’t have to stick to the same well-known gems – you can find your own favorites and they can be different every visit!
Putting Our Trust in Land Trusts
Visitors to the Finger Lakes Region benefit from the work of multiple land trusts – including the well-known Finger Lakes Land Trust. This powerhouse non-profit’s mission is “to conserve forever the lands and waters of the Finger Lakes region, ensuring scenic vistas, clean water, local foods, and wild places for everyone.” That’s a pretty big mission – and, clearly, FLLT is up to the task.
Since it was established in 1989, it has preserved more than 34,000 acres of land and water resources. In just 2024 alone, according to its website, FLLT conserved more than 2,267 acres, including its largest conservation project to date – Bad Bear Hill (just under 1,000 acres) – and a new preserve, Sims-Jennings at Cayuga Cliffs that offers new trails and lake views. Bad Bear Hill is open to the public during daylight hours with trails for hiking, trail running, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and birdwatching (mountain biking is currently only allowed on forest roads), all just minutes from downtown Corning.
As a visitor to the region, you will benefit from the behind the scenes work that has been done by FLLT to provide access to these beautiful properties. They didn’t stop there, though – they also created a free trail mapping program – Go Finger Lakes! so you can find just the right place for your hiking, biking or other outdoor pleasure! The descriptions are detailed and give you a good understanding of what you will see, what the trail is like, and other tips that help you have a terrific outdoor experience in the region. Sign up on their website for their newsletter so you can keep up to date on all their new properties, new trails, and their volunteer opportunities.
Another important land trust in the region, Genesee Land Trust (GLT), “preserves and protects natural lands and waterways that enhance the quality of life in the Greater Rochester region—providing wildlife habitat, locally grown food, and connections to nature—for everyone.” Serving the northwest part of the region, GLT offers additional opportunities for new hiking and exploration.
In 2024, GLT opened Deer Creek Woods just a short distance from Ontario Lake and a key piece in the puzzle of migrating birds and pollinators like the monarch butterfly. A beautiful new preserve with a variety of ecosystems offers visitors a dynamic, but not overwhelming adventure. In spring, wildflowers line the trail edges, and in fall the canopy turns to gold, making it worth a visit in more than one season. According to the website, “If you’re looking for a short stroll in nature, this Preserve offers sights and sounds of songbirds (especially each spring and fall), pollinators, wildflowers, and other native plants and wildlife. Offering a mix of sun and shade, this new preserve is a great one to visit for young families.” Learn more about this preserve and the GLT’s other trails/parks here.
These are just three examples of new preserves from just one year; if you’ve been to the Finger Lakes in the past, odds are there’s at least one preserve you haven’t seen yet.
Public-Private Partnerships Shine in the Finger Lakes
Whether you love small or big government, we can all agree new parks are a win!
When asked about the surprisingly fast growth of state parks and other conservation lands in the region, Fred Bonn, head of the Finger Lakes district of the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (NYSOPRHP) explained that, in 2022, the State committed to supporting the goal of conserving 30% of United States lands and waters by 2030. This wasn’t an empty proclamation – it was an important new guidepost for the state. Since then, NYS’s OPRHP and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Finger Lakes staff and their many dedicated partner organizations have been living into that commitment with gusto.
New parks and conservation areas have opened across the region, like the Bad Bear Hill property discussed above. While initially secured by FLLT and its many partners, the property is slated to be transferred to the NYS DEC to enlarge the adjacent McCarthy Hill State Forest to more than twice its current size.
Others are still in the planning and development process such as the new state lands on the shore of Cayuga Lake – a former Boy Scout camp with a half of a mile of shoreline on Cayuga Lake and access to 115-foot Frontenac Falls as well as a new state park in the heart of downtown Rochester showcasing the city’s iconic High Falls and Genesee River.
There are far too many new spaces to share in one blog post, so take this as a nudge to pick a base town, plan for a weekend or week, and build your own Finger Lakes tradition. Come to the Finger Lakes to feel like you are returning home to your favorite community – and enjoy the new and unique public spaces that opened since your last visit!
