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

Love this place! Awesome horses, staff and views!! I went there to go horseback riding and I never…read moreleft. Now I volunteer there and I love it!

We spent Fathers Day going on a horseback ride and had a blast. We didn't spring the extra money…read morefor a private ride, but maybe next time. It's not bad riding with other people, but it does slow things down a bit (a woman in the other party didn't drink enough water and had a hard time). They were super accommodating to my 8 and 12 year old, the horses were a perfect temperament for beginner riders and the staff was very friendly and helpful. Can't say enough great things about this place, we'll be back.

Absolutely loved this place but unfortunately it no longer is open to kayak rentals. The family…read moremoved and it is only for use as a private boat launch now.

Very friendly owners. Kayak rentals reasonable and different types from beginners to experts…read more Slightly long paddle to Oneida Lake but well worth it. The creek paddle is full of wild life from frogs, turtles, ducks, geese, cranes, and even cows out in a pasture. The boaters pay attention to the rules of "no wake." There are two restaurants you can paddle to as well for lunch and then paddle back. Better yet, bring your own lunch and enjoy in your kayak. I've been 3 times to Stone Creek Marina and will visit again.

One of my all time personal favorite nature spots…read more A quiet, soul-soothing spot where you can reconnect with nature! Labrador Hollow is a hidden gem. As someone who loves the outdoors, I was drawn in by the open fields, the peaceful trails and the kind of stillness you don't find just anywhere. The boardwalk trail through the wetland is stunning. It's an easy, family-friendly walk, but there's a sense of wildness that makes you feel far from everything. My kids loved spotting frogs and dragonflies, and I loved how the trail encouraged them to slow down and really look at the world around them.

Love this place! I've been here several times and love hiking here! The trails are all marked and…read morethe views are super scenic. I would definitely come back here again and hike more!

Nice, easy trails. Little bit of elevation change but nothing to hard. Beautiful walk through the…read morewoods and not too busy at all.

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.

This was an absolutely GREAT place to visit for a hike! The 11 miles of trails are really well…read moremarked with maps regularly placed along the trail with little "YOU ARE HERE" bubbles. Great Bear is relatively flat with some ups and downs and a number of one-person wide foot bridges. The River's Landing Loop and the Whiskey Island trail go by the Oswego River, which is beeeeautiful. Near the parking area there is a wheelchair friendly loop called The Apply Trail. The park is multi-use- open to hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers, horse riders, snowshoes, cross country skiers, swimmers, and fishers. There didn't seem to be any specific activity allotted trails when I was there I would recommend keeping your eyes peeled and ears listening, especially for mountain bikers in the warmer months. There are maybe one or two picnic tables near the map kiosk and benches throughout. It's not necessarily a "picnic area" kind of park. On that note: I didn't see any bathrooms or porta potties. Maybe I missed them? Just something to keep in mind. I'll update this review if I find them on a return trip or someone reading may happily correct me. A small unpaved parking area can be found at the intersection of Hawthorne Rd, Rt 57, and Great Bear Road.

This could be a great place to run and bike and walk and let your dogs frolic and do the same…read more There's plenty of room for multiple parties to let their dogs roam free and to wander around while giving others some space. You're always going to bump into entitled people who want everything to be their own way so watch out for them. (you know, the people who think they are self-appointed junior police cadets of everyone else's business, etc. because they don't have any personal happiness). But the main concern here is boatloads of ticks. My canine companions were swarmed with them. At first I didn't notice because of their coat color, and then I realized in the car that the one I could see from the driver seat had a ton of hitchhikers walking all over their face and body. Of course then in the car I found some crawling on the seats etc. Kind of makes you wish you didn't live in upstate New York. Harrowing amounts of ticks. Beware.

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.