ESF Ranger School in Wanakena offers miles of biking and hiking
By Tom French
For the first bike of the season, I proposed the James F. Dubuar Memorial Forest at the SUNY ESF Ranger School in Wanakena to my biking partners Doug Miller and Jay Czajkowski. I’d been there before to hike the one-mile Latham Trail to the Cathedral Rock Fire Tower, so I’d seen the gentle terrain, including the road to the summit, and figured it would be an easy, early-season bike. I was right and wrong.
I thought we’d start at the Ranger School, but Doug suggested we access the network from Route 3 and bike in along the North and East Boundary Roads – almost three miles that begins along a snowmobile trail from a small (three car), parking area on the north side of the highway. An address sign (5866 State Highway 3) marks the access.
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I was excited at the prospect to explore this leg of the network because it solved my “Three Loop Problem” – how to traverse as much terrain as possible without backtracking over the same trails. But I was not prepared for the two-mile hill as a first pedal of the year.
Those who would like some relatively flat biking with a jaunt to the top of a fire tower best enter from the Ranger School. Please note that biking is allowed on the roads and not the hiking trails, and the property is only open to the public for day use.
Our route rose 140 feet in 1.5 miles. I know, it doesn’t sound like much, but then it climbs an additional 50 feet in less than a half mile along the East Boundary Road creating the most strenuous stretch of the day, all in the first half hour.
The straightaway descent into the backside of the Ranger School was much appreciated, along with the arm of Cranberry Lake which grew from a vanishing point to a shimmering blue as we passed the trailhead for Peavine Swamp and checked out the front of the Ranger School where a bunch of students waved and told us they were jealous.
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Pulling into the Ranger School
The official entrance to the James F. Dubuar Memorial Forest can be found by turning into the campus at the intersection with the official Ranger School sign. The “Private road. Restricted access” sign is simply a reminder to respect the property as a guest. No camping or overnight parking is allowed. Recreationists entering the campus are to park in the student parking lot next to ball field. Veer to the left past some faculty housing to the top of the hill and the end of the road.
A gate marks the entrance to the trail network – over 10 miles of bikeable roads with an additional 12 miles of hiking trails, including the Latham Trail to the fire tower. A kiosk with historical information and map is just beyond the gate.
Part of 2,800 acres donated in 1912 by the Rich Lumber Company for the Ranger School, the forest is named after a long-time director of the school. It is utilized as a year-round, outdoor classroom for the school’s 50-plus students.
The Ranger School Arboretum is next to the trailhead. First established in 1940, the arboretum has grown to over 10 acres, includes a quarter-mile universal access trail, and contains over 50 species of trees and shrubs for classroom study, local school groups, and visitors. By this summer, identification tags on or near the plants will replace a brochure.
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Exploring the trail system
We continued a third of a mile down Arboretum Road (the Old Nursery Lane sign is the 911 address for the gate) to the first intersection where we turned left onto Toboggan Hill Road. At some point in the past, perhaps as early as the 1920s, some kind of rope tow existed on the hill to the left. Remnants of the Model T that powered the lift might be hidden somewhere in the undergrowth east of County Route 61. A picture of the “Wanakena Ski Slope” can be found at the history Kiosk on the South Shore Road in Wanakena. No trail exists to the 1,660-foot summit now.
The outer loop (Toboggan Hill Road to Hayes Brook Road with a finish along Reservoir Road back to the parking area) is flat for all intents and purposes. Recent rains made it soggy in places, which definitely sucked in our tires.
We took the right onto Cathedral Rock Road for the western approach to the fire tower. The intersections along the truck trail network are not currently well-marked, but common sense should prevail. The truck trails do have yellow stick markers with trail abbreviations. The distances on the markers are a chain measurement (one chain is equal to sixty-six feet), a reference to a traditional surveyor’s tool of a 100-link chain.
The forests are labeled with various color-coded signs, stakes, and flagging related to forest management, research projects, classes, and labs. Hiking trails are numbered with white diamonds and green lettering.
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The climb to Cathedral Rock
Cathedral Rock Road was so gradual that I rode most of the way to the intersection with Tower Road. From the east, the grade is even more gentle, and I was able to ride the first half of Tower Road without dismounting because of the well-designed roadbed.
Doug never dismounted at any time during the day on account of his superhuman lung capacity. He bombed ahead to the summit and took pictures of Jay and me from the fire tower cab as we huffed and puffed and wheeled our bikes the last 50 yards.
An estimated 2,500 people visit the fire tower every year, which was originally on Tooley Pond Mountain. At 1,700 feet, Cathedral Rock is the lowest fire tower in the Adirondacks and could be the easiest, with only a 200-foot elevation gain. For those hiking, the last third of a mile switchbacks around some cliffs, then along a ridge to the top. Although the path isn’t particularly dangerous, as with any hike along rocky, steep terrain, care should be taken especially with younger children. A plaque near the top memorializes an 11-year-old boy who slid off a nearby cliff in 2006.
The Latham Trail is an interpretive trail with several stops highlighted on a brochure available at the kiosk. The brochure, produced by students for the 100-year celebration of the Ranger school in 2012, also explains how the Ranger School manages the forest.
The views are not spectacular in a High-Peaks kind-of-way, but they do highlight the rolling hills of St. Lawrence County. We think we spotted the Seward Range along with Bear and Cat Mountains. Despite the size of Cranberry Lake, only a sliver is visible from the cab. We spied a car along the isthmus near the former Black Waters Cafe.
We descended on our bikes the same way we’d come, returning to Toboggan Hill Road. I’m more cautious in my downhill technique, but Doug bombed down. His GPS recorded a top speed of 26 mph.
A flat loop on the return trip
We continued along the flat outer loop, past another access from Route 3, onto the Hayes Brook Road (not to be confused with the truck trail near Paul Smiths), and along a scenic stream and floodplain past what is labeled as “Frost Pocket” on the official Ranger School map – a natural depression where the land rises up on all sides so any cold air sinks to the bottom which can be several degrees colder. Snow and ice sometimes lingers even in late May.
Shortly after an outlet from Grassy Pond, we turned left onto the Reservoir Road and back up to the heights of the morning. Fortunately, it was flat for the first half, and I only had to wheel my bike for 300 yards. We passed the reservoir, source of water for the school, and clearly marked as off limits. Doug arrived there first, peddling as he was, and spotted an otter on the cement dam. It quickly dove into the water and disappeared for Jay and me.
The top of the rise is just beyond the reservoir, and we began the one-mile descent to Route 3 – a glorious and gradual downhill that flew by in under ten minutes. Go straight at the last intersection near the bottom and you will avoid a small hill and exit 300 yards west of your car.
Like many excursions with excessive anaerobic activity, I questioned my sanity, but now I’ve forgotten and am thinking I’d do that again. I’d especially like to explore some of the many hiking and skiing trails with names like Trail of Wimps, Microburst Trail, Esker Pond, and Trail of Pines.
The James F. Dubuar Memorial Forest is open to the public for day use. The trails and fire tower are most easily accessed from the Ranger School student parking lot on the campus. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular in the winter.
Nice article. I hiked in last October on a Tuesday, encountering only one other person. The gentle trail, road really, is like the autobahn compared to other hikes. My pal Marv helped refurbish the old tower when it was lying disassembled at Wanakena. He was attending the Forestry school, circa 1980.
When I was a student at the Ranger School, I biked off the front side of that with a rigid Trek 850 mountain bike. Managed not to get hurt, made it all the way down. Being young was fun.
Fun way to visit this tower! However, Belfrey Mt Fire Tower in Mineville, NY is the easiest trail of the ADK fire towers. The tower is at a higher elevation, but just a 125’ gain, mostly over the half-mile access road. Cathedral Rock definitely the second easiest though.
Very nice and educational article. I first hiked up to cathedral fire tower last fall while attending parents day at the Ranger school. Nice and enjoyable hike. Loved the view from the fire tower.
Hey, maybe my son was one of the students that waved and was jealous of your bike trip as you passed by the Ranger School.