On July 10 & 11 we’ll try a new spot, Labrador Hollow Unique Area located on Labrador Road (no road number) in Tully, NY. Maintained by the Department of Environmental Conservation, the 1,474-acre conservation area is located in both Onondaga and Cortland Counties. Dogs on a leash are permitted. The area also allows hunting, fishing– they have a boat launch on the west end of the pond–and almost 5 miles of trails. The DEC website states: “Labrador Hollow’s topography is responsible for its unique character. The area is located in the middle of a valley running north to south that was dug out by glacial movement….Massive ice sheets from the last glaciation episode…retreated from the area approximately ten thousand years ago. They left behind numerous sedimentary deposits and superficial features, some of which filled with water and are now called the Finger Lakes, while others became known as valleys. The floor of Labrador Hollow’s valley is only about one-half mile wide, but its walls rise abruptly for several hundred feet.”
We check in next to Labrador Pond, a shallow pond that supports several warm-water fish species and aquatic vegetation. There is a very nice handicapped-accessible boardwalk of about one-quarter mile that is well worth a visit, as is Tinker Falls which is down Rt. 91 about 1.2 miles and which has a small parking lot opposite the entrance to the Falls – 2nd parking pull-off with room for about 15 cars, after you see the Cortland County sign. There is also a small lot for handicapped parking on the left (Tinker Falls) side of the road. The parking lot next to the Cortland County sign is a bit larger and is close to the Tinker Falls lot (in case the Tinker Falls lot is full).
There is no shelter, but we will have a sign-in table at the far end of the parking lot close to the portapotty enclosure and the path to the boardwalk. Another option for bathroom facilities could be the Burger King at the end of the Tully exit ramp, or the Circle K which is located on the left side of the road shortly after you turn onto Rt. 80, next to the entrance ramp to 81 N.
Directions From Syracuse, take Rt. 81 S to exit 14 (Tully), then go left onto Rt. 80 E for about 12 miles (past Apulia Station) to Apulia, right onto Rt. 91 S for about 2.7 miles, right onto the road into the Unique Area (no sign stating it’s Labrador Crossing Rd.) at the 2nd sign for Labrador Hollow, and the 1st left into the parking lot. From the other direction on Rt. 80 W, it would be a left turn onto Labrador Crossing Rd. not far after the sign for Onondaga County.
CNY FOLKSMARCH 