A Paddle to a Trail Between Two Finger Lakes

Hemlock and Canadice Lakes are special places here in the Finger Lakes Region. These two lakes are purposefully undeveloped, meaning there are no houses, swimming, or large motorboats permitted. The reason behind these strict regulations is that these lakes provide drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people in the City of Rochester, located 30 miles to the north.

Connecting these two pristine lakes is Rob’s Trail, an out-and-back path from Hemlock Lake that is about 3 miles and includes over 1500’ of elevation gain. Rob’s Trail, and the accompanying preserve, are administered by The Nature Conservancy and named for Rob van der Stricht, a former board chair for the organization who passed away in 2006. He was a birder, canoeist, and fisherman who loved both of these lakes. The trail crosses the 168-acre Rob’s Trail Preserve, which was established in 2016 and is adjacent to Hemlock-Canadice State Forest.

First Time on Hemlock

Born and raised here between Keuka and Seneca Lakes, I have always had a profound gratitude for our scenery, water, and gorges. I usually do most of my paddling in the Adirondacks and prefer wilderness areas with no houses and little to no boat traffic. I knew Hemlock Lake would provide a similar situation. So, with my adventure partner Luna—my 6-year-old Norwegian Elkhound—I packed a daypack and loaded my 12’ Wenonah Wee Lassie canoe onto my car to head to Hemlock Lake and Rob’s Trail for the day.

The weather was perfect—sunny, not too hot, and not humid. Soon I was nearing the lake. I passed a water pumping station and arrived at the North Boat access point on Hemlock Lake, where a summer intern with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) checked my boat for invasive species. Being a beautiful day in early June, it wasn’t surprising that so many fishermen were out, looking for the landlocked salmon, trout, and other fish. From this parking lot, you can also follow Rob’s Trail and the DEC Hemlock Lake Haul Road along the lake about 3.3 miles to where I paddled. I had decided to make this more interesting by paddling down the lake along the trail and landing just about where the trail begins to climb up. Thus, I launched my boat with the dog loaded and perched in front of me. Soon, we were floating on Hemlock Lake for the first time.

Hemlock Lake is 7 miles long, about a half mile wide, and 91 feet at its deepest point. This place felt wild, pure, clean. I instantly sensed that this is how the Finger Lakes looked before European colonists arrived. The Seneca people hunted and fished these lakes for generations until they were brutally driven out during the Sullivan campaign in 1779. Then came the lumber industry, and soon over 100 cottages and 5 hotels dotted the shorelines of Hemlock Lake. In the mid-1850s, the City of Rochester experienced an outbreak of cholera, and subsequently purchased the land surrounding both Hemlock and Canadice Lakes to secure drinking water for the city. All the cottages and hotels were torn down beginning in 1895 through eminent domain. As I paddled south down the lake, I tried to picture what it must have been like during that era, and marveled at how no remnants of that time are visible at all.

So, with my adventure partner Luna—my 6-year-old Norwegian Elkhound—I packed a daypack and loaded my 12’ Wenonah Wee Lassie canoe onto my car…

I also noticed what was missing—the lake’s namesake tree. Hardwoods line the lakeshore, a mix of maple, oak, willow, birch, and beech trees. I occasionally would see tall white pines poking up. I also enjoyed seeing all the gorges visible running down to the lake. Looking south, the only manmade object I could see was a cell phone tower in the distance. I could hear some small motors on the fishing boats, but other than that, it was just me, the birds, and the breeze. It truly felt like a wild and secluded place, knowing the city of Rochester was just 30 miles to the north.

Landing for Rob’s Trail

I was paddling into a decent headwind as I headed south. Hemlock Lake is more wind-prone than Canadice due to its size. There were no whitecaps, but enough wind to make taking breaks futile. I had to use a variety of strokes—forward sweeps, sometimes reverse sweeps, and ruddering to keep me pointed diagonally toward the shore. Before I knew it, I had paddled some 2.75 miles south. Checking my map, I saw that Rob’s Trail began climbing up from this part of the lake. I landed on a small point and changed from sandals to trail runners. I grabbed my daypack and Luna’s leash, said goodbye to my canoe, and walked through the brush to Rob’s Trail.

I instantly saw a blue DEC trail marker. The DEC purchased both of these lakes in 2010 from the City of Rochester, and today, the land surrounding the lakes is part of the 6,849-acre Hemlock-Canadice State Forest. The trail was lovely, and while I had landed at a brushier spot, there were several trails down to the lake off Rob’s Trail. I began the climb, which was gradual switchbacks with a mellow grade, a rarity in New York and quite splendid. The trail followed the contours of the land instead of heading straight up. About a half mile up, a side trail leads to a gorge with a waterfall overlook. Given our recent dry spring, the falls were minimal, but it was still a nice little spot, and I noticed the hemlocks here finally—they like to grow around the gorges.

Back on the trail, I continued up and naively began to think that maybe I would have the place to myself. About three-quarters of a mile up, we crossed a metal bridge, and Luna was able to get a drink from the small creek. After about a mile, I began to see people—first a woman with a younger girl on bikes, then a young man who was carrying a packraft down to do a loop, similar to what I was doing, and then a couple on a hike. Soon I could hear cars as I crested the hill and reached a parking lot with a lovely view of the valley toward the lake on Route 15A. This is the place you can park if you want to hike down to either lake and back to your car.

About a half mile up, a side trail leads to a gorge with a waterfall overlook.

A short walk down the highway brought us to another parking lot, more Nature Conservancy land, and the trail down to Canadice Lake. You could tell that this trail is normally very swampy and muddy, but today it was thankfully dry. A kiosk explained that the first meadowy section was old farmland and would slowly return to forest. This section was full of high grass and honeysuckle, dogwood trees, and some scattered red pines. After some more tall grass, the trail entered a lovely woodland. I had hoped to be able to run down this trail, but it wasn’t in the best condition, and I was also worried about tripping in the tall grass. Soon, the trail re-entered the state forest, and this trail, marked yellow, was steeper and less maintained than the blue Hemlock trail. A bench dedicated to Rob marked the point to turn down toward the lake. I missed it on the first go and realized soon after, as a loop started uphill and I double-checked the map.

The final stretch of trail crossed a few dry creekbeds and dropped 600’ before the bright blue lake suddenly appeared in the trees, and we hit the Canadice Haul road. We found the best place to get down to enjoy the view of this lake. I grew up in the Finger Lakes, but I have never laid my eyes on Canadice Lake, which is kind of wild to me. This lake is only three miles long and is the smallest Finger Lake. I could see a few kayaks and hear a boat motor, but other than that, it was quiet.

We enjoyed the quiet calm and greenery of this lake for a bit. I said to Luna, “Alright, we are halfway done, time to head back up!” We saw a few people biking on the Canadice Lake Haul Road and went back up the slightly steeper grade, then took the loop option back to the parking lot and down the road to the next lot. Soon we were back on the lovely blue trail, and we were able to easily run the mile-and-a-half back down the gentle grade to the lake. We passed a few more people before getting back to the canoe. It was still there—hurray! I switched back to sandals, drank the last of my water, and got back on the lake.

Paddling Into the Wind

I had hoped the headwind would still be blowing up the lake, but alas, the afternoon brought the wind going down the lake, so I was paddling into the wind again, and it took a little longer to get back to the boat launch. We passed a few other kayakers and watched several turkey vultures soar above. Then I saw the distinct white head and tail feathers of a Bald Eagle right over my head. Bald Eagles are a common sight these days, but the kiosk indicated that when the birds were endangered, the only successful natural nest in New York was right here on the south end of Hemlock Lake. I then turned and saw a lone Loon bobbing right by us. It felt like being in the wilderness in the Adirondacks, but I was right here in the Finger Lakes.

The greenery was simply stunning. Having lived for several years away from Upstate New York in some dry places, I am always blown away by what the spring colors look like. I then wondered what it would be like to paddle on this lake during peak fall season and reckoned I would need to come back to see it. I also wondered what winter would be like and how the ice fishing would be and was also intrigued.

Soon, we were back at the boat launch, and we landed and loaded up the car. The whole journey totaled about five-and-a-half miles of paddling, seven miles of hiking with 1500’ of elevation gain, in about four-and-a-half hours. The mini adventure I had planned had been a success! The trails were in prime condition with the recent dry weather, and I loved having the challenge of the climb up and over and back again. I marveled at the feeling of being on a familiar, long, and skinny lake in my canoe, but without cottages and the buzz of motorboats. This state forest land is owned by us, the people of New York, and I, as always, love being a public land owner.

Randi Lynn Quackenbush was born and raised between Keuka and Seneca Lakes and now resides outside of Trumansburg near Cayuga Lake. She is a licensed NYS Guide and the owner of Crescent Moon Outdoors, a guiding and outdoor education business focused on getting women into the outdoors.