Lime Hollow Center

Explore the ups and downs of "kame and kettle" topography on loop trails leading down into bog and fen. Near the Visitor Center, approach Cattail Pond at a beautifully interpreted blind with life-size paintings of aquatic wildlife most often seen here.

Description: Only two miles from the city of Cortland, the Center lies within and is named for an open valley from whose marl ponds early settlers extracted agricultural lime. The valley's "kame and kettle" topography, formed beneath glacial ice sheets, supports four other distinct freshwater habitats: an acid heath bog, vernal ponds, "kettle" ponds, and spring-fed fens. Three miles of trails, both self-guided and with a guidebook, make exploration easy, and both live and graphic exhibits at the Visitor Center answer most questions. Also on site, and used by the Center, is the federal Tunison Fish Laboratory. LHNC offers day programs to schools, grades K through six, and runs school-vacation camps for 3rd though 6th graders. The quarterly newsletter "Woodland Whispers," and a full schedule of education programs, teach and entertain both members and visitors within the Center and along the shore of adjacent Chicago Bog.

Viewing Information: Five loop trails, from the 0.3 mile Sunset Trail to the 1 mile Brookside and 1.5 mile Mill Pond Trails, fit every interest and ability. Since 1977, 182 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals have been recorded. At Cattail Pond near the Visitor Center enjoy some of the best wildlife viewing from the beautifully interpreted blind. A good sampling on a spring walk will include Canada geese, mallards, black and wood ducks, and hood mergansers. Great blue and green heron feed throughout the growing season, joined by American Bittern in summer and great egret in the fall. Look for signs of beaver and muskrat. The rare spotted salamander migrates from woods to ponds each spring. Kestrels and red-tailed hawks hunt all year. Watch for rough-legged in the winter and sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks in the woods during the warmer months. Listen at dusk for great horned, screech and barred owls, and watch for flying squirrels. Turkey, ruffed grouse, deer, skunk, and red fox, like the owls, are year-round residents.

Directions: From Cortland in Central New York, Lime Hollow is just over two miles southwest. Follow Route 13 South toward Dryden. Look for road signs and take Gracie Road North to the Nature Center parking area on the left.

Closest Town: Cortland

Ownership: Lime Hollow Center for Environment & Culture and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Telephone: (607)758-5462

Size: 115 acres