Go Finger Lakes is a project of the Finger Lakes Land Trust.
We are a nonprofit in Upstate New York, and we bring you this free web site for two purposes: recreation and conservation.
Outdoor Recreation
You can use Gofingerlakes.org as your guide to the best spots for hiking, biking, paddling, and outdoor recreation across our 6,000-square-mile area. Use the interactive map or browse the list of locations. Before you hit the trails, please read safety information and disclaimers.
The site was created to serve outdoor enthusiasts in Rochester, Syracuse, Canandaigua, Skaneateles, Geneva, Ithaca, Binghamton, Cortland, Corning, Elmira, and everywhere in between. We encourage you to “go over the ridge” and explore fantastic trails that await you in the next lake valley to your east or west!
Nature Conservation
We also invite you to view the region holistically – as a connected ecosystem of priceless lands and waters worthy of permanent protection. Our natural areas are vulnerable. The threats are real and intensifying. With so many beautiful places lost every year, we ask you to help us protect more lands and waters forever.
Please join the Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT). Since 1989, together with our members and partners, the FLLT has permanently protected thousands of acres of forests, gorges, wetlands, lakeshores, and farmlands. You can visit our 45+ nature preserves that are free and open to everyone.
Become a Member >CONTACT US | VOLUNTEER!
You can help us build trails and come to our public events. You can also protect your private land forever. Keep up with regional conservation through these free publications: our monthly email newsletter, our quarterly print newsletter, and our regional conservation report.
Creating the site
To produce Gofingerlakes.org, the Finger Lakes Land Trust drafted a list of the best publicly accessible recreation areas by consulting staff and board members along with guide book author Tim Starmer. We engaged project partners including public agencies and nature centers for photos, maps, and GIS data. Please read disclaimers and safety information regarding the maps.
Volunteers
The web site came alive thanks to our volunteer photographers. Just about every photo on the site is from the Finger Lakes region – mostly from volunteers! Among the volunteers who supplied substantial photographic content for the original release are (in alphabetical order) Matt Champlin, Lang Elliott, Chuck Feil, Melissa Groo, Bill Hecht, Rob Howard, Steve Knapp, Brian Maley, Nigel Kent, Chris Ray, Marie Read, Tom Reimers, and Tim Starmer. Finger Lakes Land Trust volunteer Robin Hinchcliff collected and organized data about each location to prepare for writing and production. The great effort of these volunteers is advancing conservation in the Finger Lakes by helping us communicate with a wide audience. Sign up to volunteer.
Trail Writer
Finger Lakes native and veteran hiker Tim Starmer, author of Five Star Trails: Finger Lakes and Central New York, wrote the experiential blurbs for about 60 of the locations. He contributed photos from his hikes and a 3-part natural history of the region.
Sponsors
The site was created with generous support from the Fred L. Emerson Foundation, Tompkins County Tourism Program, the John Ben Snow Foundation, and New York’s Environmental Protection Fund and the NYS Conservation Partnership Program, administered by the Land Trust Alliance. The Finger Lakes Land Trust is actively seeking sponsors who can help us keep the site free for everyone – offering a valuable public resource that acts in support of tourism, recreation, conservation, and quality of life. Learn how your company can help.
Web Team
Communications consultant Jeff Katris (contact) led the effort as project manager, providing direction on strategy, content, design, and production. The site was produced in collaboration with AWP.
About the Finger Lakes Land Trust
The Finger Lakes Land Trust was founded in 1989 to protect forests, farmlands, gorges, and shorelines in a 12-county region of New York. As of 2024, we have saved over 33,000 acres by creating public nature preserves and helping landowners to conserve their beloved properties. We are a small nonprofit organization supported by members. You can become a member and volunteer. Our mission:
To conserve forever the lands and waters of the Finger Lakes region, ensuring scenic vistas, local foods, clean waters, and wild places for everyone.
The Finger Lakes Land Trust is accredited by an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance. The accreditation seal is a mark of distinction in land conservation. It is awarded to land trusts meeting the highest national standards for excellence and conservation permanence.
