Lime Hollow Center for Environment and Culture
Since 1993, Lime Hollow has offered the Central New York region the path less traveled and captured the hearts of both young and old. Here, culture, education, recreation and appreciation of the environment interweave to create endless opportunities for all to explore, connect with and discover the ceaseless wonder of nature. So come, visit, walk the trails and embark on your journey through Lime Hollow's secluded woodland forests, open meadows, and wetlands. 
Description: Only two miles from the city of Cortland, the nature preserve 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: a classic kettle-hole bog, vernal ponds, "kettle" ponds, and spring-fed fens. Ten miles of trails make exploration easy, and interpretive exhibits at the Visitor Center and along trails answer most questions. Also on site, and used by Lime Hollow, is the federal Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science. LHCEC offers day programs to schools, grades K through eight, and runs school-vacation camps for kindergartners through 8th graders as well. The annual newsletter "Woodland Whispers," and a full schedule of education and public programs teach and entertain both members and visitors within the preserve and along the shore of adjacent Chicago Bog. LHCEC opened a $1 million Visitor Center facility located on McLean Road in May 2007. The new Visitor Center boasts a stunning central exhibit space, a bird education room, several modular educational displays, gift-shop functionality, staff offices, and numerous "green building" features. Outside, the center features a creek-side bird sanctuary - and, a key new addition to the center - a "Trail for All" designed to give people with disabilities easy access to one of the center's groomed trails.
Viewing Information: Several loop trails starting at the Visitor Center and the Environmental Education Center fit every interest and ability. Since 1977, 182 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals have been recorded. At Cattail Pond near the Education 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 hooded 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 hawk 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, LHCEC is just over two miles southwest. A new Visitor Center is located at 338 McLean Road on the left just after the Lime Hollow Road-McLean Road intersection.
Closest Town: Cortland
Ownership: Lime Hollow Center for Environment & Culture and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Telephone: (607) 662-4632
Size: 375 acres
