High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Visited August 20, 2021

High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Conklin Gully: Corner of Route 245 and Parrish Road, Naples, NY

70 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit 9:40 AM - 11:35 AM, muggy

No restroom facilities

Dogs on leash are welcome. Wesley stayed home because of the anticipated heat and miles I was planning for the day.

I would allow 2 hours or more to explore the East Rim Trail that took me upstream and the Blue Trail that connected me to the West Rim Trail that brought me back down the other side of the ravine back to the parking area. My route was 3.3 miles of what seemed mostly uphill walking with many areas that had steep drop offs. I would not want to attempt this if the trails were slippery and muddy. This trail provided a variety of views and I really enjoyed it. I would love to visit it again in the fall when it is not so hot and muggy. Once I left the parking area, the only sounds were of the water and cicadas. For those who live closer to this beautiful area, there is a section of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) just beyond the trail area I explored according to the signage at the parking area. Because of the inclines and declines, walking poles may be helpful for this walk. This is not a trail for flip flops, but then I think very few are.

I wore long pants but shorts would have been okay since I stayed on the trail.

The dirt trails that were were mostly single file. I only passed two people the entire time I was hiking. They were going in the opposite direction.

Mosquitos were persistent in the muggy weather despite the long pants, hat, and reapplications of bug spray.

No cost for parking.

Parking: Dirt lot on Route 245. I passed other small parking areas during my search for this lot. A few of the nearby roads on the way were not paved.

While on the trail, I saw snails, millipedes, a chipmunk, robins, blue jays, and woodpeckers. I saw sycamore, cherry, maple, and oak trees, poison ivy, Queen Anne's lace, clover, milkweed, asters, and goldenrod.

High Tor is part of the 2021 WNY Summer Hiking Challenge. For more information, visit: https://outsidechronicles.com/challenge.

For more information about the park and trails: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24439.html.

Nearby:

Town of South Bristol Scenic Overlook, 7083 County Rd 12, Naples, NY 14512

https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm1AHR_South_Bristol_Overloo

Giant sycamore at the parking area. I entered the trail just to the right of this sycamore. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Gravel parking area on corner of Route 245 and Parrish Road has room for 10+ vehicles. Google Maps did not bring me here but it brought me close enough that I could find it. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

View from the parking area. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

View to the left as I hiked up the steady incline. There are many steep drops at the trail edge. There is a chipmunk in the center of the image. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Steadily on and upward. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Tree @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Many trail markings @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Asters all along the path on the way up @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Yes, it goes up some more. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Good summer for millipedes @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Trail conditions...not bad considering the rains this area had; twenty-four hours ago there were flash flood warnings for the area. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

The sound of the roaring water accompanied me for most of the hike. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Queen Anne's lace @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Clover @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Ferns @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Creek crossing @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Trail Markings @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

I turned left here to explore a bit and then returned to go up. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Curled-up millipede @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Bridge @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

I passed these stairs, explored a bit, then returned to go up then and followed the ridge back to the parking area. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Trail @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Big tree @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Poison ivy near the road entrance and exit of the trail but I did not notice any during the rest of the hike. I chose to use the road to get back to the car because the crossing looked a bit tricky with the recent rains. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

@ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Someone lost their electronic dog leash. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

On a low water day, this could be a fun crossing back to the parking area. @ High Tor Wildlife Management Area, Naples, NY

Scenic overlook of CDGA Lake nearby on County Road 12

Scenic overlook nearby on County Road 12

Map at the parking area

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