Fred J. Cusimano Westside Overland Trail
From Point A off Hannum Road
to Mount Pleasant/Titus Roads Parking [Point G] in Mayville
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Visited January 21, 2023
Visited January 21, 2023
Address: I used Google Maps to get to the trail head: Point A - Fred J. Cusimano Westside Overland Trail, Hannum Road, Mayville, NY.
Google Maps did not offer up the parking on Mount Pleasant Road so I referred to the downloaded PDF to find the large parking lot at the corner of Mount Pleasant Road and Titus Road. In the winter, it appeared that the only road access to the lot is off of Mount Pleasant Road.
Parking: Room for 5+ cars, dirt parking lot at Point A; Large parking lot for 30+ vehicles at Mount Pleasant Road.
29-32 degrees, no significant breeze, 10:00 AM-3:40 PM
No restroom facilities available
The trail is free.
Leashed pets are welcome but I left Wesley home today.
The trail has a natural surface interrupted by occasional wooden bridges.
I walked 11.7 miles on natural trails with up to four inches of snow; the trails had sections of mud and/or standing water both of which had some areas that were over four inches deep. The ground was not frozen as I hoped. The trail was quiet except for the sound of water, birds, and a few vehicles passing on the nearby roads.
The trail was well marked with blue metal markers for the first few miles. This section is well maintained. The rest of the trail had blue blazes. Some were faded and they were not as frequent as the blue metal markers at the beginning of the trail. There were sections in Mount Pleasant where the trail overlaps with a snowmobile trail and another section that overlaps and intersected with the Rails to Trails. In fact, I came out on a road where the signage made me realize that I was on the Rails to Trails and had left the Overland Trail which came out on the same road just a short distance to the left of the Rails to Trails so I was able to rejoin the Overland Trail.
I would not recommend a stroller for this hike.
The only people I saw the entire time I was on the trail were two men who were exiting the trail as I was starting. Except for a section in Mount Pleasant of less than a mile, there were other boot tracks and dog tracks on the entire trail. Since we had fresh snow during the previous night, I assume they had used the trail earlier the same day.
I did not see any trash while on this section of trail.
No mosquitos today.
I saw people prints, dog prints, deer prints and coyote prints. There were ground pine, fern, blackberries, and a variety of tree species including staghorn sumac, oaks, birch, beech, hemlocks and maples. I scared off one deer and some large-winged birds; I heard their winged takeoff but did not see them. I saw a chickadee and heard its beautiful song just before the end of my hike. I saw and heard a few other winter birds in the same area but they did not sit still long enough for me to identify them.
The trail webpage for closure or notices to check before visiting: https://hikechautauqua.com/west-trail/
The PDF map can be downloaded from: https://hikechautauqua.com/map/west-trail-map/.
Point A
Point A Parking
The "road" we came up to get to the Point A parking
Point A Trail Head
I did not follow the signs for the loop. I turned left to stay on the main trail.
The sign says: CHQ-R2T
Below it is one of the blue medallions that clearly (and often) marked the first few miles of the trail.
This is the trail
Did not turn left here--trail closed
Went this way
Scared a deer away around here
No horses beyond this point
Turned (or went straight) onto the Rails to Trails and lost the Overland Trail for a little while
On the Rails to Trails
Came to Summerdale Road which is on the PDF map.
Rails to Trails info
Overland Trail came out on Summerdale Road just to the left of where the Rails to Trails came out. (Phew!)
This is where I should have come out onto Summerdale Road
Summerdale Road
Had to follow Summerdale Road for a ways
Not to the left
Do you see the small brown sign? Yeah, I almost missed it, too.
Signage soon after entering the woods again
There is a bridge down there.
The bridge viewed in the picture above
Another bridge
Had to walk across the edge of this field
A few markers to lead the way
Thankfully that was not the trail...but wait.
Nettle Hill Road crossing. There is parking here.
The parking is across the road. Fits 10+ vehicles?
The parking area to the left as I approached the trail entrance
Tree with a view
Walked another section of road
This sign was easier to spot than the photo indicates.
Ferns
Yes. This was the trail. The water was over four inches deep. Good way to test the waterproof boots.
Sleeping blackberries
Very few blue markers along this section. But many yellow POSTED signs on the right to give a sense that I was still on the right path
Yep. The trail goes down there.
I turned back to show the steps that led down to the bridge.
Yes. That is the trail.
The yellow front of that white sign backing is below.
The trail goes this way and merges with a snowmobile trail for a ways.
Snowmobile Trail/Overland Trail
More mud
The lean tos.
Closer view of hte lean tos
This wetland was a delightful surprise and it is very close to the parking lot on Mount Pleasant Road. It can be seen from the road when going north after leaving the parking lot.
As I approached this area and was leaving the wooded trail, there were birds singing and flying around.
Staghorn sumac
At this point, the trail continues on but I turned left and took the trail to the parking lot.
Titus Road is where I ended today. Looks like there is some road walking before I pick up the trail next time.
Trail that leaves the main trail to access the Mount Pleasant Road parking lot (Titus Road is seen to the right)
The parking lot at Mount Pleasant Road (People who walk the entire trail in one go may not even see this because a side trail access it.
View of the access trail entrance with the Mount Pleasant Road parking behind me.
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