Finger Lakes National Forest

Children enjoy swimming in Foster Pond.

An old stone fence from an abandoned farm survives.

Autumn in the forest.

The 16,200-acre Finger Lakes National Forest is the only national forest in New York and offers plenty of room to roam between Seneca and Cayuga lakes in the beautiful Finger Lakes region.

Though considered small for a national forest, it contains a wide diversity of habitats such as grasslands, shrub lands and coniferous and hardwood forests.

The forest was created from land that has a long history of varied use and ownership. These lands were part of the traditional homeland of the Seneca and Cayuga nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Later, veterans of the Revolutionary war cleared the land for production of hay and small grains such as buckwheat. The farmers prospered until the mid-19th century, when a series of events occurred that devalued their crops and land.

By the 1930s, it was evident that farmers could no longer make a living from the land and were causing environmental damage as they overworked fields.

More than 100 farms were purchased by the federal government in the area now known as the Finger Lakes National Forest.

The USDA Soil Conservation Service initially managed the newly acquired federal land, named the Hector Land Use Area. They stabilized the soil by planting trees and developed pasturelands. In 1983, the Hector Land Use Area became the Hector Ranger District of the Green Mountain National Forest. The name was changed to the Finger Lakes National Forest in 1985.

Farms, vineyards, numerous small wineries and other small business enterprises characterize the area surrounding the national forest.

The cities of Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton are within a two-hour drive of the forest. Visitors find spacious pastures, cool ravines, ponds, wildlife and scenic forest roads. Primary access to the forest is off State Route 414. The ranger station is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, and also on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during summer.

There are more than 30 miles of interconnecting trails, including the 12-mile Interloken National Recreation Trail and four miles of the Finger Lakes/North Country National Scenic Trail. Two acres of blueberries are cultivated next to the Blueberry Patch Campground. Horseback riders can enjoy their own campground designed for horse users and there is also a large group campground near Potomac Pond.

The forest is very family-friendly with fishing ponds, berry picking, lakefront access to Seneca Lake and remnants from historic homesteads.

More than half of the state's breeding bird species are found in the diverse habitats found on the Finger Lakes National Forest. White-tailed deer, wild turkey and kestrels are commonly seen on the forest.