Camillus Forrest Unique Area is indeed a unique and truly an unexpected bit of land tucked away in…read morelil ol' Camillus NY. I spent half of my life in this area and never knew such a place existed... If you, too, are unaware, then it's time you explored this little gem. We stopped by on a very random, cloudy, and cool weekday afternoon. The parking area held a couple of cars but has plenty of spots for more. At the edge of the lot, we found a map highlighting several different trails ranging in difficultly. We opted to keep it light to start and took a simple loop which saw some beautiful landscape. after running into a fellow hiker and his dog, who frequent the trails, we decided to keep going, as per the hikers rec. Let me tell ya -- if you keep going up, you'll find yourself with some unexpected and lovely views of Camillus and beyond. I would definitely not call myself a hiker, but I'm so glad we decided to keep going, totally worth the journey. And just a reminder that as you climb the elevation to find those views.. its down hill back to the parking lot.

As newer trail walker this was a great experience! I did have a hard time following the postage but…read moreI didn't really mind. Beautiful views and very peaceful

Went for a walk with friends and we started at the Spencer street entrance and walked to the Most…read moreand came back. It was about a 3 mile walk. You have to follow the markers and the yellow line on the path. At one point we got turned around but found our way back to the path. We found this walk very enjoyable and the path was well kept with nice scenery. We are going back to walk the other way from Spencer to Destiny mall next week.

Such a nice little escape within the city of Syracuse. I love how the scenery and landscape changes…read morethroughout the walk. If really makes you feel like you are in a city but also in nature. Even though there is one small section that smells like stinky sewage, the rest of the walk is extremely pleasant.

A local treasure. For runners, dog walkers or perambulators, the trail around the pond is excellent…read moreand well kept. Plenty of sun and shade depending on where you are. I especially enjoyed the beautiful bench looking out over the water at the end of the path. There is also a large grassy area for families to play frisbee, or have a picnic lunch. There is even a small playground for little kids.

This is a very nice park. There are athletic fields, a basketball court, and playground equipment…read morefor the kids, but the trails are the real draw. Very well maintained and picturesque. A nice place to walk. I'll be back!

Extremely well marked trails, lots of options for hiking, biking, and snowshoeing. Just be careful…read moreon the trails near the lodge for horse droppings!

Highland Forest Park is at its best in the Winter time when it provides some of the best XC skiing…read morein the US. It is located in the snow belt that is directly below Syracuse, NY. The typically cold winters make for a great XC ski experience. On the weekends the shorter loops can be a little crowded but the longer loops tend to provide more solitude since they require the skier to be in good shape before attempting. Trail Access used to be free but the Onondaga County Parks department started charging several years ago. The charge is minimal and it is well worth it.

Funny story- I accidentally ended up at Long Branch (LB) Park when I was suppose to be at another…read morenearby park. There was a huge event occurring for a good cause so we decided to hang out for an hour or so. Parking is ample. There are 3 shelters in the park and appear to be well maintained. All 3 shelters and bathrooms are in close proximity to each other and the parking lot. There is quite an incline from the parking lot to the shelters, note for accessibility. There is a small toddler friendly playground near the shelters and a couple short walking trails. The wooded areas have tall, mature trees flanking the trails. There are nice views of the nearby river. The only detractor for me is that no matter where you are in the park you can hear the traffic, either from the nearby road or the thruway. It takes away from the atmosphere. Also the one lane LB bridge that goes over the river is in very rough shape, drive slowly so as to not damage your vehicle and for general safety. Overall, a nice area for a gathering. Please note: LB Park is not Onondaga Lake Park. :)

Super interesting to learn about the Erie Canal at this "heritage park" that is also a bit of a…read moremuseum. Nearly eight years to construct, it was completed in 1825 and linked Albany New York with Buffalo, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. It was the greatest engineering accomplishment at the time, some 563 miles of canals across the state. But as times changed and canals were no longer the most efficient method of transport, much of the Erie Canal has been abandoned. Steamships and later more modern barges go around New England along the Saint Lawrence Seaway. And then it switched to railroads and later, trucks on superhighways like the one I used to get here. This parking area is for passenger vehicles and RVs only. Trucks are not permitted. There is a four hour parking limit. [Review 1535 of 2024 - 451 in New York - 22558 overall]

"Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal." Can't get that song out of my head while I'm here. (You can find…read moreit on y'all tube: https://youtu.be/gIIM1mHfJ0U ) The first question that seems to come up when I talk about abandoned locks is "Why was it abandoned and where is the water?" Without going into an elaborate history of the Erie Canal (tough for me to do) the original "Clinton's Ditch" was "4 and 40," that is, 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide, which soon became too small. The Erie Canal was widened to "7 and 70," that is, 7 feet deep and 70 feet wide and in many places was moved. This is one of those cases. This lock was built as a part of the newly widened Erie Canal and used until about 1917 when the canal was widened once again, and also rerouted to the north which bypassed Port Byron entirely. Lock 52 was abandoned, now preserved for your enjoyment. You can access the lock as a rest area on the eastbound New York Thruway at mile marker 309 but if you're not on the superslab, you can access the lock from NY 31 (Rochester Road) in Port Byron. There is a museum and display inside the building you can check out before (or after) you access the lock itself. The museum is not a comprehensive history of the canal system in New York, which is probably fine for those of short attention spans or those who are itching to get back on the Thruway and make time. There is an incredible model of the lock that was created for the 1893 Columbian Exposition (the "White City") in Chicago. For some reason, the model is a mirror image of the prototype. Just the same, viewing the model gives one a mental image of how the locks worked in the halcyon days of the Erie Canal. Just outside the door is a three-sided kiosk with three interpretive panels that describe the lock, tell you about the original canal system and how it is currently configured, and what the canal meant to the town of Port Byron. The lock is an interesting juxtaposition of 19th Century transportation technology with 21st Century communications technology. In other words, you can download an app to your cell phone and access audio descriptions of points in the lock and the historical park. With the app, you can be your own docent and virtual tour guide! As you walk up the trail that was the towpath, you'll find a collection of buildings that were a part of the Port Byron lock environment. You'll find a tavern, a blacksmith shop, and a mule barn. Animals were well cared for on the Erie Canal, the animals were a key component on the canal. From that spot, you can observe the original canal leading up to the locks. Note the ashlar stone lining the canal. There was a dry dock across the way, it was filled in after the canal was relocated in 1917. Incidentally, there was originally only one lock here, the shorter of the two. It was "twinned" with a larger lock so barges coupled together could lock through without the delay and expense of being untied to lock through separately. It also allowed eastbound traffic to lock through while while westbound traffic could lock through at the same time. Don't rush out to see it just yet. First of all, it's open limited hours. The museum is seasonal and I might have been the last guest of 2020. (I was there late in the afternoon on Halloween, the last day of the year.) The museum will reopen on April 1, 2021 and hopefully we won't need masks anymore.

Absolutely beautiful area of Syracuse. The old brick facory buildings refurbished into office,…read moreretail and apartments. The Square is beautifully landscaped with several trees lining the streets and several lovely flower gardens. The creekwalk also passes behind Franklin Square. Wish this area had more restaurants and retail.

This square is such a beautiful place in Syracuse. We went in April and enjoyed the tulips all…read moreblooming, as well as the Magnolia and other flowering trees. I went back in mid-May and was delighted to find a huge blooming Japanese wisteria! It's a beautiful, tranquil square. When things are blooming, it is THE hot spot for photo shoots.

This park is so lovely! And much bigger than I expected it to be…read more Situated along Owasco Lake, there are beach areas, a dog park, sizeable pavilions, a boat launch, and all sorts of spaces (the Merry-Go Round Playhouse Theater is also located in this park). My one complaint? There could certainly be more / better signage. When looking for the bathroom recently, the first closed one (over by Merry-Go Round) directed you to the large pavilion on the main (other) side of the park. When there, you were directed to actually use the bathrooms at the little league field (up near the entrance back on the other side of the park). Also, for newcomers who are trying to find the dog park or whatnot, some extra signage would be helpful (the dog park is kinda tucked away). TL;DR Very much enjoyed my recent visit here - I'll be back! :)