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Shindagin Hollow
Quick Bits
Quick Bits
Main Activities - Hike, Bike
Distance - >20 miles of trails (5318 acres)
Quiet - Very quiet
Surface - dirt, rock, roots,
Elevation - Some steep sections
Pets - permitted
Address - Towns of Candor and Caroline, New York
In a Nutshell
In a Nutshell
Many miles of trails in this large secluded New York State Forest. A haven for mountain bikers and hikers that includes part of the Finger Lakes Trail.
Location and Parking
Location and Parking
There are multiple parking areas as well as shoulder parking on some of the seasonal roads. Take care using GPS Apps as many will take you on seasonal roads and some are rougher than others. I enter the area from the Candor, NY area by taking 96B north from the intersection in Candor of 96B and 96. Follow 96B for 4 miles and then turn right onto Prospect Valley Road. Follow Prospect Valley Road for about another 4 miles where it will become the gravel Shindagin Hollow Road. About 0.8 miles after it becomes gravel, you'll see a parking area on the right near the intersection with another seasonal road, Gulf Creek Road. Though, as mentioned, there are other parking areas with which I'm not as familiar.
The above map is to the parking area near the FLT on Prospect Valley Road/Shindagin Seasonal Road. See your App for other parking areas.
More details
More details
At over 5000 acres, I have only explored a small portion of the Shindagin Hollow State Forest. Known to mountain bikers as the "Shinny" it is a haven for them. While not the official definition, I think of a "hollow" as something between a gorge and a valley. In the case of Shindagin Hollow, it is the Shindagin Hollow Creek that flows through the heart of the forest, generally flowing north to south. There are some small falls along the creek. Three roads, some seasonal, also run north-south through the forest. From western most to eastern most, they are: Braley Hill Road, Shindagin Hollow Road, and South Road. The Shindagin Hollow Road runs along portions of the same-named creek.
The bike trails are marked red, blue, or yellow and are mostly west of the Shindagin Hollow Road. A lot of work has been put into those trails by the bikers over the years. The Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) cuts through the forest mostly east-west for about five miles. This section of the FLT is maintained by the Cayuga Trails Club. Bikers are not permitted on the FLT. The high point, Bald Mountain, at 1870 feet, is located in the northwest corner of the forest and accessible by trail. There are also snowmobile corridors in the area. In total, there is just over twenty miles of trails.
Even though it is a large State Forest, I tend to run into others there. As mentioned earlier, the mountain bikers utilize it a lot. Also, with the numerous parking areas, I've seen a number of primitive campers and often see someone at the lean-to on the Finger Lakes Trail. There is a lot of room to explore. The woods are a great mixture of tree species and the terrain varies to make it very interesting. Add in some of the seasonal and rural roads for open skies.
Links of Interest
Links of Interest
Shindagin Website - mostly focused on biking, but has great resources.
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