Nature Hikes at Cornell Plantations

Our Natural Areas offer countless miles of hiking opportunities, both on- and off-campus. To help you access these areas, we offer two guidebooks to our Natural Areas, and the Plantations Path Guide, which has eight loops to choose from. You can order these guidebooks on-line or purchase them at our gift shop.

Here are a few short hikes we recommend:

Beebe Lake Loop

This 3/4 –mile loop beneath the shady forest canopy around the lake takes less than an hour to complete.

Trail access points:

• East of Helen Newman Hall on North Campus
• Off of Forest Home Drive near the intersection of Plantations Road
• Off of Forest Home Drive behind Martha Van Rensselaer Hall

Mundy Wildflower Garden

Choose from a variety of trails through the garden and along Fall Creek. The trail around the garden perimeter is about a mile.

Trail access points:

• Garden entrance at the intersection of Caldwell Road and Forest Home Drive

• Trail off Judd Falls Road across from the herb garden in Plantations’ Botanical Garden

Morgan Smith Trail

Hike from the arboretum to Park Park, then choose between two trail loops. The larger loop is about a mile.

Trail access points:

Look for the Morgan Smith Trail at the east end of the Zucker Shrub Collection in the F.R. Newman Arboretum.