Lick Brook – Finger Lakes Land Trust

Difficulty // Difficult

Activities // Hiking, Snowshoeing, Cross-country Skiing, Running

Distance // 2.2 miles

Features // Scenic vistas, Waterfalls & Gorges, Unique wildlife viewing, Dog-friendly (on leash)

Route Type // Out and Back

Estimated hiking time // 53 mins

Open year-round.

Hunting allowed, use caution.

Surface types // Earth

Trail markers // orange blaze, white blaze, blue blaze

Pull on your hiking boots and follow the trails along the rim of Lick Brook gorge and through the forest at the Finger Lakes Land Trust’s Sweedler and Thayer Preserves. Taken together, these two preserves provide an excellent example of the area’s geologic history and ecological systems. The effects of ice age glaciers can be seen in the multiple waterfalls that splash down along Lick Brook on its journey to Cayuga Lake, including one that is nearly 140 feet tall.

The Sweedler and Thayer Preserves contain more than 2 miles of hiking trails on 155 acres that are part of a contiguous block of conserved lands that also include two state parks, the Land Trust’s Tapan Mitra Preserve, and a Cornell Botanic Gardens Natural Area. A large portion of this landscape is covered by lofty Eastern hemlock and white pine trees, but different species of oak and maple thrive, as well as the less common cucumber magnolia and mountain maple. On a spring day, listen for the flute-like song of the hermit thrush and the black-throated green warbler, or tread softly through a fresh fallen snow to find the tracks of wild turkey, red fox or deer.

Lick Brook gorge is owned by the Finger Lakes Land Trust, Cornell Botanic Gardens, and a private landowner whose land is protected by a conservation easement.

The trails can be accessed from a Land Trust trailhead on Town Line Road, another trailhead on Sandbank Road, or from the Tapan Mitra Preserve located off of Route 13.