Our Nature Preserves

Diamonds must contain a highly desirable ecological system and have improvements such as a trail system, parking and signage including good public access for people. Diamonds are the properties STC recommends people visit.

Emeralds may contain a highly desirable ecological system but may lack the many improvements found in the Diamonds including good public access.
Austin Wildlife Refuge
Bigsby Drumlin
Carpenters Brook Meadow
Cases' Landing
Cherry Valley Preserve
Elbridge Swamp
Fen at Silver Lake
Friendship Woods
Heron Marsh
High Hickory Wildlife Sanctuary
Indian Hill
Snake Swamp
South Meadows Nature Area
Tracy Lake
Whiskey Hollow

Pearls will have value for habitat, uniqueness or other features, but may lack a major ecological system, improvements and public access.
Beacon Pond
Brickyard Falls View
Broad Road Heights
Butternut Swamp
Canterbury Woods
Carpenters Pond
Cheney (Rte 81)
Cicero Swamp
New! Emerick Road Preserve
Granby Woods
Green Heron Swamp
Herbert Luke Sanger Wildlife Preserve
Holdridge Habitat Woods
Lake Forest Preserve
Lockwood Properties
Mason Hill
New! Rathburn Wildlife Sanctuary
Pumpkin Hollow
Robert G. Hildreth Esker
Robert's Woods
Rosewood Wetland
Snow Creek Ravine
South Onondaga Marsh
The Pastures
Tobias Shaver Nature Preserve
Towpath Road

Oswego County Nature Preserves

NEW! Find our Nature Preserves* with Google Earth
Just download and unzip the file below
  (27KB)
If you have Google Earth installed, you can and double-click on the kmz. files and let Google Earth fly you to our preserves If not, you will need to install Google Earth first (a free download)

*Please note, boundaries and locations are only approximate.

STC’s Nature Preserves are open to the public free of charge year round from sunrise to sunset. We do not allow hunting or collecting of any kind on our properties

Our Hunting Policy

Diamonds

Baltimore Woods
Size: 182 acres
Location: Town of Marcellus
Classification: Diamond
Trails: Yes
Our brightest Diamond was purchased with the help of The Nature Conservancy, Baltimore Woods was STC's first nature preserve. This area includes fields, successional and mature forest, and many brooks and springs. Baltimore Woods Nature Center manages an extensive trail system, and leads programs here on a regular basis.

Camillus Valley Natural Area
Size: 246 acres
Location: Town of Camillus
Classification: Diamond
Trails: Yes
This preserve is nestled between NY 174 on the west and the railroad embankment on the east from Martisco Station north to the Village of Camillus and encompasses almost all of the property therein. Almost 2.5 miles of Nine Mile Creek, one of the premier trout streams in Central New York, lies within the property. There are some formal walking trails through the property but anglers know how to get to their favorite fishing holes! Besides fish, there are numerous birds and mammals on the property and the number of plants is astounding. This is truly a site of biodiversity!  At Martisco Station, the Central NY Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society has historic railroad cars on a siding and the former railroad station now houses their museum. The museum is open to the public on Sundays from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm or by appointment; to make an appointment, telephone Al Kalfelz at 315.488-8208 or email. To access the property between Martisco Station and the Village of Camillus, there is a parking lot just north of the tunnel under the railroad on the east side of NY 174 and there is another parking area further north on the east side of NY 174 where the shoulder widens out. You may also enter the property by parking near the railroad museum and walking north.

Old Fly Marsh
Size: 77 acres
Location: Town of Pompey
Classification: Diamond
Trails: Yes
This preserve contains a 45 acre marsh and pond that is a regular resting spot for migrating waterfowl. Old Fly also includes a mature forest with a wide variety of plants. A teaching amphitheater and bird blind were built by Eagle Scouts.  Cub Scout Pack 115 actively maintains the mulched trails, boardwalks, and lookouts.  To get to Old Fly Marsh, from US 20 at Pompey Center, head south on Cemetery Road (Cemetery Road is just east of NY 91) for about two miles and turn left onto No.5 West Road. The parking lot is about 1/4 mile east of the intersection on the north side.

Woodchuck Hill Field & Forest Preserve
Size: 95 acres
Location: Towns of Dewitt and Manlius
Classification: Diamond
Trails: Yes
This preserve was donated to STC by Beryl R. Digney and The Nature Conservancy. The property boasts a mixed deciduous hardwood forest and a stream that contains wetland plant species. Also present are many mammals and birds. Because the bedrock is exposed at various places, fossils may be found if you look close enough! A wide, mulched, well marked trail over a ½ mile long has been built for easy walking.  To access the property from Woodchuck Hill Road, find the driveway that is 1.6 miles east of Maple Drive and 0.5 mile west of NY 92 past Lakeview Drive and Cranberry Lane. Look for the STC property sign on the south side of Woodchuck Hill Road next to the driveway. Proceed down the driveway past the stables on your left and park in front of the STC sign.
 

Emeralds

Austin Wildlife Refuge
Size: 16 acres
Location: Towns of Manlius and Pompey
Classification: Emerald
Trails: No
This preserve contains a tributary of Limestone Creek. Donated to STC by Willard and Barbara Lipe, the property is located behind the Edwards Falls Dam on Pompey Center Road and, although scenic, access is difficult.

Bigsby Drumlin
Size: 19 acres
Location: Town of Onondaga
Classification: Emerald
Trails: Yes
This preserve was donated to STC in 1982 by Mary Ormsby Bigsby in memory of her son, Gerald William Bigsby. Its main feature is the drumlin that dominates the property and provides a panoramic view of Syracuse. The property hosts a variety of animals and plants including hundreds of conifers planted by the Bigsby family. Trails are well maintained.  Access is via the parking lot of the Taunton Memorial United Presbyterian Church at 4326 Fay Road. From the back of the parking lot, look for an opening in the trees at the base of the drumlin; that's where the trail begins. Please do not interfere with any of the church activities while in their parking lot.

Carpenters Brook Meadow
Size: 12 acres
Location: Town of Elbridge
Classification: Emerald
Trails: No
This preserve is accessed from NY 5. It contains a portion of Carpenters Brook.

Cases' Landing
Size: 75 acres
Location: Town of Manlius
Classification: Emerald
Trails: No
This preserve was donated by the Case family in 1993, access is through Poolsbrook Road.

Cherry Valley Preserve
Size: 47 acres
Location: Town of Lafayette
Classification: Emerald
Trails: Yes
This preserve nestles In Tully Valley at the foot of Bare Mountain and fronts on US 20 west of I-81 near Cardiff. A section Onondaga creek runs through, it also contains a small pond and has some unmarked walking trails.  

Heron Marsh
Size: 92 acre
Location: Towns of Cicero and Clay
Classification: Emerald
Trails: Yes
This preserve was acquired through a number of purchases and donations from 1975 till 1987. This property contains one of the main drainage channels that flows into the Stanley J. Hamlin Wildlife Management Area and hosts a wide variety of waterfowl during the fall migration. It is accessed from either Lawton Road or Caughdenoy Road. There are no parking lots available. The one trail is not marked but is more accessible from Lawton Road. Enter the property through the opening in the trees just north of Chateau Lane past the last house.

High Hickory Wildlife Sanctuary
Size: 92 acres
Location: Town of Spafford
Classification: Emerald
Trails: Yes
This preserve located along Richard Road uphill from and adjacent to Lourdes Camp of the Roman Catholic Church. High Hickory was donated to STC in 1989 by three doctors: Margaret L. Wilson, Mary Ellen Trimble and Barbara R. Rennick and provides a spectacular view of Skaneateles Lake. The property contains four streams and a man-made ½ acre pond; one of those streams has formed a picturesque series of small falls, chutes and rapids. The property contains 41 acres of mixed forest and 46 acres of open fields. Many species of birds are present due to the diversity of habitat. The entrance to this property is located on Richard Road across from the Droppa residence. There is no parking lot and vehicular entry onto the property is not allowed. Please park very carefully on Richard Road.

Indian Hill
Size: 37 acres
Location: Town of Pompey
Classification: Emerald
Trails: No
This preserve contains a small stream, an overgrown Hawthorn orchard, almost impenetrable shrub areas and woodlands. A former Native American settlement was located in the area. It provides nesting habitat for many birds, including Wild Turkeys and Red-tailed Hawks and winter habitat for a flock of hardy American Robins. Access is by Trout Lily Lane extended off Pompey Center Road. Entrance is on the right at the end of the currently unpaved road.
 

South Meadows Nature Area
Size: 27 acres
Location: Village of Tully
Classification: Emerald
Trails: Yes
This property borders the Village's Cummings Park off Grove Street. There is a stream that runs along the northern boundary of the property. Adjacent to the stream we have shrub swamp with lots of dogwood and alder, pockets of emergent marsh and floodplain forest with maples and ash. Progressing to the southeast up the hill we have scrub shrub/forest fringing open field areas that are moving toward old field succession with lots of asters, goldenrod and milkweed. Trails have been cut that move from floodplain forest/wetland to scrub shrub/forest to the open field areas. The open field paths provide panoramic views across the valley looking toward the surrounding hills to the north. Tully Action Group adopted this property and cut trails and build boardwalks where necessary. Several Eagle Scout projects have added greatly to the established trails. To get to this gem from NY 80, turn south at the traffic signal in the Village, proceed one block and turn left onto Onondaga Street; continue to the end of Onondaga Street. Turn right onto Grove Street and over the railroad tracks. Park in the Cummings Park parking lot on your left. Walk up Grove Street over the stream and the trail head will be on your left.

Tracy Lake
Size: 72 acre
Location: Town of Tully
Classification: Emerald
Trails: Yes
This preserve contains Tracy Lake and surrounding marshes. It also contains a large portion of the adjacent Mud Pond. This property was made possible by a grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation obtained through the office of State Senator James DeFrancisco. To get to this property from I-81, take EXIT 14 TULLY. Drive west on NY 80 for one mile to Gatehouse Road and turn left (south) onto Gatehouse Road. The road on the right (north) of the intersection is Tully Farms Road. Look for the Tracy Lake sign at the entrance on the left and park on Gatehouse Road.

Whiskey Hollow
Size: 43 acres
Location: Town of Van Buren
Classification: Emerald
Trails: Yes
Located along Whiskey Hollow Road, a hard packed gravel and unpaved road that runs between West Dead Creek Road and Perry Road. This property boasts large stands of mature woods. The south facing slopes contain trees found normally much further south. These deep woods provide nesting sites for many bird species and the National Audubon Society has named the Hollow an Important Bird Area.  To get to Whiskey Hollow from NY 690 North, exit for NY 31 West, Jordan. This is the first of the two Baldwinsville exits and is south of the Seneca River. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left onto NY 31 West which is also Downer Street. From NY 690 South, exit for NY 31 West, Jordan. This is the second of the two Baldwinsville exits and is south of the Seneca River. At the bottom of the ramp, turn right onto NY 31 West which is also Downer Street. Continue straight on NY 31 passing East Dead Creek Road on your left and straight through the flashing traffic signal where NY 31 turns south. Cross over the long bridge. After the town highway garage at the end of the bridge on your right, the road curves left and becomes West Dead Creek Road. Stay on West Dead Creek Road going south. After you pass Conners Road, continue for almost one mile; the next road is Whiskey Hollow Road on your right. Look for a log cabin house on your right just before Whiskey Hollow Road; it sort of sneaks up on you! Turn right onto Whiskey Hollow Road which becomes a hard packed gravel road. The property is posted with STC signs and straddles the road although not for the entire length. You may park along the edge and walk in where the signs are. The spring where people fill up their water jugs is on the STC property. The left or south side of the road is normally very wet with the creek and seeps. The right or north side is much drier with ridges and valleys. The trails are not formally marked but they are visible.

Pearls

Beacon Pond
Size: 13 acres
Location: Town of Cicero
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve was donated to STC in 2003 by the O'Brien & Gere Companies. Located between Beacon North Business Park, East Taft Road, Great Northern Boulevard and Totman Road in the, the property contains a pond, two islands and surrounding wetlands. Access is from the business park. 

Brickyard Falls View
Size: 8 acres
Location: the Towns of Pompey and Manlius
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve runs along one bank of Limestone Creek downstream from Brickyard Falls. It is accessed at the end of Farley Lane but parking on Farley Lane is limited and very difficult.

Butternut Swamp
Size: 42 acre
Location: Town of Dewitt and the Village of East Syracuse
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
Butternut Creek meanders through the preserve.  Accessed at the back of a new industrial park just east of I-481 fronting on Kirkville Road , two sides of the property are adjacent to I-481 and the Dewitt railroad yards.

Canterbury Woods
Size: 21 acres
Location: Town of Lysander
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve contains flooded woods and wetland between Smokey Hollow Road and behind the homes on Chaucer Circle.

Carpenters Pond
Size: 20 acres
Location: Town of Pompey
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is made up of four separate parcels. The largest is ten acres between No. 5 West Road and Carpenters Pond donated by Jean Maxwell. The other three parcels were bought at County auction. A seven acre parcel is located at the end of Pond Road.

Cheney (Rte 81)
Size: 47 acres
Location: Town of Tully
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
Donated to STC by Lee and Margaret Cheney, this preserve is adjacent to I-81 and is inaccessible from US Route 11A. It is totally landlocked.

Cicero Swamp
Size: 73 acres
Location: Town of Cicero
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is surrounded on three sides by the 3,787 acre Cicero Swamp Wildlife Management Area and is completely landlocked. The only public access is through the wildlife management area and Cicero Swamp.

Emerick Road Preserve
Size: 36 acres
Location: Town of Lysander
Classification: Pearl*
Trails: No
The Preserve is located off of the north side of Emerick Road, about mile due east of Beaver Lake Nature Center, in the hollow between Emerick and Church Roads.
The new preserve boasts a wide range of landscapes, including open meadows, early successional forest, wetlands, and groves of mature hemlock.
Eagles and osprey can frequently be seen from the property as they fly between the nearby Three Rivers State Wildlife Management Area and Beaver Lake Nature Center. The preserve is also host to many species of wildlife including deer, foxes, and coyotes, among others.
Our access is through a 15 foot wide easement on Emerick Road. At this time, the
access is unmarked and somewhat difficult to find.
*all new preserves are classified as Pearls

Green Heron Swamp
Size: 30 acres
Location: Town of Clay
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is composed of both natural and man-made wetlands. Access is from Stearns Road between Meltzer Park on the north and Cherry Heights on the south.

Herbert Luke Sanger Wildlife Preserve
Size: 23 acres
Location: Town of Onondaga
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is located on the north side of Amber Road, and along The Lockwood Properties and Pumpkin Hollow creates a conservation block of over 115 acres. The property was donated to STC by Carl W. Kohls and Doris Louise Kohls in 1994 and named in memory of their uncle. Access is difficult.

Holdridge Habitat Woods
Size: 21.5 acres
Location: Town of Marcellus
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
Holdridge Habitat Woods is accessible from Seal Road. This property contains mixed hard woods upland on the western and eastern edges with a stream running north-south through the property with wetland shrub swamp and fresh meadow along the sides of the stream corridor. The area is crisscrossed with white tailed deer trails and the stream wetland area is very good habitat for wildlife

Lake Forest Preserve
Size: 103 acres
Location: Town of Cicero
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
Lake Forest Preserve is off of Muskrat Bay Road and is one of STC's least accessible properties, but no less important as a preserved natural area. Its 103 acres provide habitat for a variety of animals, birds and migrant waterfowl in a heavily wooded marshy area within the flood plain of Oneida Lake. The first 57 acres were donated in 1985 by a neighborhood association formed by landowners whose properties all backed up to an unusable area of wetland swamp. They enjoyed the natural area and wanted to keep it that way. In the year 2000 the Humane Society of the United States Wildlife Land Trust gave their 46 acres to STC. The wetland is marked by a sign on Muskrat Bay Road where a small strip of land provides access. However, the area is not suitable for ordinary hiking although the local steward does traverse it during the winter when the ground is frozen. The entrance to the property is on Muskrat Bay Road opposite Oneida Lake about 1000 feet north of the intersection of Muskrat Bay Road and Beach Road. It is only five feet wide; look for the sign shown here.

Lockwood Properties
Size: 83 acres
Location: Town of Onondaga
Classification: Pearl
Trails: Yes
This preserve contains mixed woods with cross country ski trails. The property consists of five separate distinct parcels three of which are landlocked and the other two are accessed from Amber Road and Stevens Road.

Mason Hill
Size: 90 acre
Location: Town of LaFayette
Classification: Pearl
Trails: Yes
This preserve was a donation from George and Mary 'Bobbie' Earle in the, this is located on the west side of what was historically known as Mason Hill; hence the name of the property is Mason Hill.  In fact, Eager Road was formerly known as Mason Hill Road.  If you need some aerobic exercise, this is the property to visit.  The Mason Hill property starts at a steep walled stream ravine at the western edge and mounts up slope to a rocky ridge on the eastern edge . The majority of the gradual slope is filled with open fields, second or third growth forest and old maple trees along the hedge rows and fence lines.  There are at least two created ponds and a number of maintained trails and old roads crisscrossing the property.  It contains great songbird and raptor habitat especially towards the upper eastern ridgeline.  It is accessible from Eager Road.

Pumpkin Hollow
Size: 11 acres
Location: Town of Onondaga
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is separated into two areas. The one acre area fronts on Gardner Road whereas the other ten acre area is landlocked.

Robert G. Hildreth Esker
Size: 15 acres
Location: Town of Manlius
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is accessed from Kinderhook Road. The property contains a glacial esker and was donated to STC by Robert G. Hildreth's widow, Faith.

Robert's Woods
Size: 62 acres
Location: Town of Manlius
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is wooded and contains a NYSDEC designated wetland. The property is on Myers Road.

Rosewood Wetland
Size: 13 acres
Location: Town of Cicero
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is located behind the houses on Smith Road and Rosewood Circle. Access is from Smith Road. It contains a stream and some marsh.

Snow Creek Ravine
Size: 7 acres
Location: Town of Skaneateles
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve was donated by Richard and Janet Besse and is accessed from NY 41. Access is restricted by the abutting property owners.

South Onondaga Marsh
Size: 6 acres
Location: Town of Onondaga
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve lies at the intersection of Hogsback Road and Lords Hill Road (Route 80). It contains a wetland and the West Branch of Onondaga Creek forms the northern border of the preserve.

The Pastures
Size: 20 acres
Location: Town of Cicero
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
One of STC’s newer acquisitions is the 20 acre natural area in Cicero which is part of The Pastures housing development. Donated by, Michael Bragman, this wooded swamp is bordered on two sides by Cicero Swamp State Wildlife Management Area, thus extending the habitat for birds who nest in meadows as well as those amphibians and mammals who frequent wooded swamps and open areas. Access to this new preserve is limited at present and there is no trail system; work will begin this year to make this natural acreage more accessible, especially to the residents of The Pastures.

Tobias Shaver Nature Preserve
Size: 37 acres
Location: Town of Clay
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is named after a tobacco grower who bought this property in 1873.  Located on VerPlank Road, the preserve contains grasslands, a stand of pines and some woods. The property was donated to STC in 2000 by Tobias Shaver’s great, great granddaughter.

Towpath Road
Size: 22 acres
Location: Town of Elbridge
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve contains one bank of Carpenters Brook. Access is off McDonald Road and the Old Erie Canal Towpath Road.

Oswego County Preserves

Fen at Silver Lake
Size: 91 acres
Location: Town of Oswego
Classification: Emerald
Trails: No
This preserve contains a fen and many fen related plants and animals. This is the only STC property managed by a stewardship committee. Dr. Peter Rosenbaum of Oswego State University chairs the Fen at Silver Lake Management Committee. This very active group is composed of residents who live on or near the lake and researchers of various disciplines. They are all dedicated to protecting the pristine nature of the lake and surrounding wetlands while still enjoying water recreation. Vehicular access is extremely limited.

Granby Woods
Size: 24 acres
Location: Town of Granby
Classification: Pearl
Trails: No
This preserve is located off NY 48; this is composed of wetlands interrupted by upland ridges.  The property was given to STC in 2005 by brothers Gordon and Leon Wilber and their sister Ann Mahoney.   

Rathburn Wildlife Sanctuary
Size: 50 acres
Location: Town of Oswego
Classification: Pearl*
Trails: No
The property is located west of Rathburn Road and east of County Route 7 and is lies 2 miles north of our Fen at Silver Lake Nature Preserve and 1.5 miles upstream from the Rice Creek Field Station of SUNY Oswego.
About 60 % of the property is in the Furnisse Wetland, a tributary of Rice Creek; beaver activity has helped increase the acreage of emergent wetland over the years. Most of the remainder of the property is hillside, covered in shrubs and second-growth forest. The preserve has no road frontage, but has deeded easement to Rathburn Road.
*all new preserves are classified as Pearls

Snake Swamp
Size: 41 acres
Location: Town of Oswego
Classification: Emerald
Trails: Yes
This preserve is located between Snake Swamp Road and Lake Ontario. This property was originally owned by Save Oswego County (SOC) and was deeded to STC in 1998 when SOC merged with STC. The property contains a flooded shrub swamp created by a beach barrier bar separating it from Lake Ontario. Numerous bird species have been found. To reach the property, head west for 0.5 mile on Lake Shore Road (aka Snake Swamp Road) from the intersection of Cemetery Road (aka Cobblestone Road) and Lake Shore Road past the last house on the north. At the end of the lawn of the last house, the woods commence. After about 30 more feet, a narrow trail leads north to the shore of the lake and the barrier beach.