Winter Walk Around Beaver Lake

FEBRUARY 11, 9:00 AM-NOON AND FEBRUARY 12, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM – Beaver Lake Nature Center. Join us as we explore the many trails available at Beaver Lake Nature Center. 

Unless we get totally bombarded with snow, BLNC boasts at least 3 of their trails are likely to be open – even in February. The tree coverage along the trails is so dense that even during the snowy winter months some of the trails are walkable. 

Another option might be to bring your own cross-country skis where you’ll have access to even more trails. Snowshoes are also approved. You can use your own or rent them for $5 per hour.

The usual Folksmarch rates will be in place, but we are pleased that BLNC has graciously offered to waive their typical $5 parking fee.

Don’t forget…it’s that time of year when you’ll want to motivate yourself (and get a good deal) by purchasing a 2023 Annual Membership Pass or a Yearly Passport membership card. The price for these has remained the same for 2023. The $40 Annual Membership Passincludes a Yearly Passport card (regularly $10) and all 12-monthly walks ($4 per walk). That’s a savings of $18 per person!

Find out more in our February 2023 Folksmarch Footnotes newsletter.

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Destiny Empire Trail 5K

JANUARY 14, 9:00 AM-NOON AND JANUARY 15, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM – The weather forecast for Folksmarch weekend calls for low 30s and snow, but if you’re up for an outdoor walk in winter, the Empire Trail follows a path that should be clear.

If you are not up for the weather and temperatures, the mall offers a decent alternative. Walking the perimeter of all floors is conveniently 3 miles [Syracuse.com article] [Step to It at Destiny USA]. The indoor walk is also potentially more accessible and easy to modify if you can’t or don’t want to do the whole 3-mile walk. We hope to see you there!

Folksmarch will once again be setting up on the first floor of the Canyon area of the mall near the entrance to Dick’s Sporting Goods. Don’t forget…it’s that time of year when you’ll want to motivate yourself (and get a good deal) by purchasing a 2023 Annual Membership Pass or a Yearly Passport membership card. The price for these has remained the same for 2023. The $40 Annual Membership Pass includes a Yearly Passport card (regularly $10) and all 12-monthly walks ($4 per walk). That’s a savings of $18 per person! Got kids? What a great way to get them outdoors and walking! Get them their own Children’s Annual Membership Pass and all 12-monthly walks for just $20 (ages 6-18).

Walking into Destiny

JANUARY 14, 9:00 AM-NOON AND JANUARY 15, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM – Destiny USA provides some of the best options for mid-winter walking in CNY. For those who like to stay warm, traveling the perimeter of the 4 retail floors of the mall is about a 5K walk. Others, who prefer to brave the winter elements, have the option of walking to the Inner Harbor area and a portion of the Creek Walk and Empire State Trail, weather permitting.

Folksmarch will once again be setting up on the first floor of the Canyon area of the mall near the entrance to Dick’s Sporting Goods. Don’t forget…it’s that time of year when you’ll want to motivate yourself (and get a good deal) by purchasing a 2023 Annual Membership Pass or a Yearly Passport membership card. The price for these has remained the same for 2023. The $40 Annual Membership Pass includes a Yearly Passport card (regularly $10) and all 12-monthly walks ($4 per walk). That’s a savings of $18 per person!

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Skaneateles 5K

DECEMBER 10, 9:00 AM-NOON AND DECEMBER 11, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM – Join us for our December Folksmarch. The check in table will be at St. James Episcopal Church on Route 20. The walk route will take your down the main street of Skaneateles where you can stop by various shops. The Dickens Christmas is 12-4 Saturday and Sunday.

See the route map (PDF) and instructions for turn-by-turn directions.

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Wrapping Up the Year in a Holiday Village

DECEMBER 10, 9:00 AM-NOON AND DECEMBER 11, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM – Join us as we wrap up 2022 in a walk through a charming Holiday Village. Skaneateles is always a fun place to visit but can be especially magical at holiday time.

Our Folksmarch will be taking place during the Village’s 29th presentation of Dickens Christmas. The festival runs every weekend in December on both Saturday and Sunday from Noon – 4:00 p.m. So get your Folksmarch walk in and then stick around for the fun! Grab a coffee, a treat, and do some shopping.

Thanks to St. James Episcopal Church for providing space for Folksmarchers to sign-in. The church is located at 96 E. Genesee St., (a/k/a US Route 20) Skaneateles, NY 13152. Restroom facilities will be available during our walk hours and parking is available across the street at the First Presbyterian Church. We appreciate both the churches for allowing us a place to check in and park. They also make a great start and end point for our walk!

We will also do our Annual Folksmarch Membership Meeting on Saturday, 10-December at 11:00 AM. Whether you are just finishing your walk or just starting out, join us for a brief update on the year, hear some plans we have for future walks, and vote on our nominees for the board of directors. We will also serve coffee and donuts to celebrate our members.

A reminder there are 2 ways to become a member: (1) Purchase an Annual Membership Pass ($40) for 12 monthly walks, prepaying for 10 and getting 2 free. You receive a yearly passport membership card (record book), voting rights and eligibility to participate in any trips organized by Folksmarch.  (2) Purchase a Yearly Passport membership card ($10) and pay for walks separately each month. With your yearly passport membership card you do still have voting rights and eligibility to participate in any trips organized by Folksmarch.

Find out more in our December Folksmarch Footnotes newsletter.

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Walk Along the Oneida Rail Trail

As usual, Folksmarcher Lori Newcomb provided some great shots along the Oneida Rail Trail walk. It was a pretty typical CNY weekend–November 12 & 13–a little cool, a little drizzly. We hope all Folksmarchers had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and we look forward to seeing you at our December walk! Don’t forget, our annual membership meeting will be Saturday, December 10th.

Autumn on the Rail Trail

NOVEMBER 12, 9:00 AM-NOON AND NOVEMBER 13, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM

November is a beautiful time of year in CNY. Our walk this month is in the beautiful City of Oneida. The City of Oneida is in the process of developing a trail system that circles the city that combines old railroad beds and city streets. Some of the old rail beds have been paved for easy walking. The trail also has a feeder trail to the Erie Canal trail. The total trail is 8 miles long. We will have a few options for hiking. The kickoff point is the Oneida Recreation Center located at 217 Cedar Street in downtown Oneida. There is parking on the street in front of the building, in the rear of the building (use the main entrance from Cedar Street), and additional off-street parking at the corner of Cedar and Lenox Avenue a half a block from the Center. One hike option will be a leisure walk along recently paved rail trail heading west with a return route along Lenox Ave. A second option will take you along the rail trail to Du Ross Conservancy along Oneida Creek. This hike is a combination of rail trail, nature unpaved trails and streets. The weather will be transitioning from the warmer fall months to the colder winter months.so come prepared.

Find out more in our November Folksmarch Footnotes newsletter.

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October Walk in Williamstown

OCTOBER 8, 9:00 AM-NOON AND OCTOBER 9, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM

October is a beautiful time of year in CNY. If we have a sunny Autumn weekend (fingers crossed) we will be surrounded by beautiful foliage on all 3 trails at the Amboy Environmental Center (Yes, there is another Amboy – in Onondaga County, but this one is in Oswego County). The walking/hiking paths include several foot bridges over streams throughout the woods that range in difficulty from quite easy to somewhat challenging with several options.

You can expect to see many acres of wetlands, wildlife, woods, and a beaver pond observation deck. The trails are aptly named: Beaver Marsh, Trout Brook, and Woodpecker Wood.

Find out more in our October 2022 Folksmarch Footnotes.

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A Walk Along Onondaga Lake

SEPTEMBER 10, 9:00 AM-NOON AND SEPTEMBER 11, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM

Text Box: Our walk will begin at the Honeywell Onondaga Lake Visitor’s Center adjacent to the Onondaga Lake Boat Launch.  There is ample parking and restroom facilities are located within the center.  

From the deck of the center there are good views of Syracuse, Destiny and Liverpool.  Years ago, the lake was highly polluted but thanks to the work done by Honeywell and major improvements of the Syracuse water treatment facility the lake is now clean enough for fishing.  There is information in the visitor center about how the lake was cleaned up.  

We will walk along a path that is part of the Erie Canalway Trail / Empire State Trail.  The surface is nicely paved and level.  It starts out kind of noisy due to traffic on I-690 but soon veers away from the road and is quite peaceful.  When Elaine and I walked the route we saw geese, ducks, a bald eagle, and other birds that we didn’t identify.  There were abundant wildflowers along the way, there are 4 or 5 benches spaced along the route.  The round-trip distance to the foot bridge is 2.8 miles, however you can continue over the bridge if you wish. —Lee Mount, September Walk Leader with wife Elaine

Find out more in our September 2022 Folksmarch Footnotes.

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