Woodland Permaculture Farmstead

We are next to Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area with many miles of off-road trails. Mountain biking is prohibited along the Finger Lakes Trail, but numerous forest roads provide an extensive biking trail network. Unlike state forests, which focus on recreation and forest management, the focus here is on wildlife and wildlife-related recreation. Similarly, unlike state forests where primitive camping is allowed without permit and with few limitations, camping within the wildlife management area is limited and by permit only. There is a 9 mile road loop around Cayuta Lake. (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1317811)

Boating is permitted on nearby Cayuta Lake. The State of New York has created a boat launch site, which can be accessed from Cayutaville Road just east of State Route 228.

Cayuta Lake is a couple miles away. Bluegill, Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, and Perch are some of the commonly caught fish. Cayuta Lake is relatively clean with a watershed that is highly diverse in plant and animal species. In fact, a rare freshwater sponge has been found in the Cayuta inlet. This sponge is known in no other location other than Siberia and is the only source of food of the spongilla fly. Boating is permitted on the lake. The State of New York owns much of the scrub and swamp around the northern end of the lake and has created a boat launch site, which can be accessed from Cayutaville Road just east of State Route 228.

The Cayuta Creek/Gulf Road trailhead of the Finger Lakes Trail is two miles down the road [FingerLakesTrail.org]. In a region dominated by out-and-back hikes, the Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area boasts not one but two separate loop hikes: the Van Lone Loop and the Bob Cameron Loop. The 5.7 mile-long Van Lone Loop shares a particularly picturesque section of the Finger Lake Trail (FLT) which follows Cayuta Creek along a mostly level route free of obstructions. The trail then climbs beside a wooded stream and finally completes the loop by following sections of remote forest roads. The 2.6 mile-long Bob Cameron Loop is near the FLT, but entirely separate. The loop lies within a deep, mostly deciduous forest with the trail crossing several seasonal streams. The trail passes by an abandoned farmstead at one such crossing in a scenic glen, roughly at the halfway point. An extended excursion can be accomplished by hiking both loops and the interconnecting segment of the FLT that resembles a dumbbell. This route will traverse most of the wilderness area and provides a good challenge and some solitude for hikers.

A quiet walk down our road to the footbridge crossing Cayuta Inlet Swamp may reveal dozens of birds, animals, insects and aquatic life. The swamp inlet is continually rearranged by very active beavers. Fox, bobcat, fishers, weasels, coyote, bald eagles, owls and hawks have all been spotted recently. Connecticut Hill, across the road from Cayuta Sun Farm is the largest wildlife management area in the state, encompassing 11,645 acres. It is also one of the largest contiguous high elevation forests in the region and as such is recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by the Audubon Society. Notable bird species seen here are the Northern Goshawk, American Woodcock, Red-shouldered Hawk, and numerous forest songbirds.

Cornell Botanical Gardens published a good description of the area's vegetation: https://cornellbotanicgardens.org/explore/off-campus-natural-areas/plants-and-animals-of-cayuta-lake/

Cornell Botanical Gardens published a good description of the area's vegetation: https://cornellbotanicgardens.org/explore/off-campus-natural-areas/plants-and-animals-of-cayuta-lake/

We raise about 30 heritage breed Berkshire hogs every year. May through December they are rotated through small pastures in our ash, hickory and cherrry woodlands. We also raise several hundred heritage breed chickens in our woods and field for meat. There is also a small log-grown shiitake mushroom yard in our pine woods.