Clark Tower Trails

Beaver Meadow Road, between County Route 52 and Apple Creek Road in Cooperstown, NY

The Clark Tower property features more than 500 acres of woodlands, fields and farmland just outside the Village of Cooperstown. There are multiple trails within the property. One way to get to the Tower on top of the hill is by following the carriage road from Beaver Meadow Road, walk up hill, and you can catch a view of Cooperstown and Otsego Lake across the field. The carriage road turns left for a while, then make a left on a short steep incline. At the top, make another left, this will take you past the tower. Take a look around the fenced in Tower. The shortest route back is (with your back to the tower) take a left. This will take you back to the carriage road.

The Tower was inspired by towers in Ireland and built by F. Ambrose Clark. AllTrails has a longer 3.6 mile hike mapped, or you can explore the trails on your own. The trails are used for hiking, cross-country skiing, and mountain biking. The cross country team of Cooperstown Central School hosts meets here.

Getting There

Trails can be accessed via the gate at Beaver Meadow Road, approximately .3 miles south of the intersection of Beaver Meadow Road and County Route 52 in Cooperstown. Park on the southbound side of the road. Start your hike at the property gate on Beaver Meadow Road (42.681465, -74.913634).  The trailhead is next to the Robert F. Clark Field, a large field enclosed with a black fence that hosts the Leatherstocking Sheep Dog Trials in the summer.

Please note that there are no restrooms available.

What Octet-ers are saying:

3/12/24 “Large muddy puddles across trail in spots. Peaceful place to explore. Love the view of Otsego Lake across the field at the top of the carriage road. Took a walk with a friend and her son and we didn’t tell him the tower was there, was fun to see him ‘discover’ the tower.”

1/15/23 “Kid-friendly walk, but watch for dog poop on trail.”

1/8/23 “Hands down my favorite hike. I need to explore some of the other trails there.”

12/28/22 “Hiked a mile, saw one other hiker and the beautiful tower.”

12/8/22 “Snowy fun!”

11/29/22 “Nice walk. Very well maintained.”

11/23/22 “Lots of trails to explore.”

11/9/22 “Unique fun. Need markings on trees.”

10/28/22 “Interesting tower and grave.”

10/15/22 “All time favorite place to hike.”

9/27/22 “Nice wide trails. Lovely woods, unique stone tower.”

13 Turner Lane, Edmeston, NY (Just off NY-80 on Pathfinder Village campus.
Turn on Oak Street, by the Bassett Health Center, then turn left on Turner Lane. Parking is behind the Bassett Health Center, next to the soccer fields. Trail head is near a red barn.

Pathfinder Village has community trails open to the public for walking, jogging, snowshoeing in a beautiful setting overlooking the Wharton Creek Valley.

The 1-mile Pathfinder Loop features fitness stations for those who wish to vary their workout. Extend your walk with the Challenge Loop.

Trail map and trail rules

Maintained by: Edmeston Rotary, Community Volunteers, and Pathfinder Village.

Pathfinder Village Café is open Monday-Friday, 6:30 am to 11:00 am, so you may want to combine your walk with a fresh-baked treat with some hot coffee or a cold beverage from the Cafe.  Also nearby is Spike’s Pizza and Grocery and All the Perks food truck (open mornings Wednesday through Saturday) in the NBT parking lot at One West Street in Edmeston.

Schenevus Lake Park is located on Lake Road (between County Road 56 and Tannery Street) in Schenevus. Look for the canoe-shaped sign.  The Luke Hazen Memorial Regatta on Seward Lake is held here each August.

Please note that these trails are only for hiking. Parking is available by the swimming beach.

Manaho Trail (follow Red trail markers)

• The . 6 mile easy trail extends from the swimming beach to the State Fishing Access Site and back.

Chief Schenevus Trail (follow Blue trail markers)

• The 1.2 mile difficult trail starts at the swimming beach and takes you to the State Fishing Access Site.  The trail continues along the southeastern shore of the main lake to the isthmus connecting the main lake to Manatee Cove. From there, the trail travels along the south and east shores of Manatee Cove circling Sentinel Pine, a 200-year old Hemlock which is the largest tree in the park. Complete your trek and return to the swimming beach.

Enjoy a Fall paddle from Lake Front Park* in Cooperstown, from the Fish Road Boat Launch. Lake Front Park is located on the shore of Otsego Lake, between Pioneer Street and Fish Road in the Village of Cooperstown.

Start on Otsego Lake, then paddle a short way east along the shore to the mouth of the Susquehanna River. Travel down the Susquehanna where you will travel under a beautiful stone bridge. Turn around in front of the Mill Street dam by the Bassett Healthcare Clinic, and travel back to Fish Road Boat Launch at Lake Front Park.

*Be sure to wash your boat at the boat washing station on Fish Road, located behind the restrooms, before beginning your paddle.

If you would like a longer paddle, start at Brookwood Point  and then paddle south toward Cooperstown to the mouth of the Susquehanna River, which begins on the southeastern edge of Otsego Lake.

298 Sheep Pen Road, Unadilla, NY

Nature trails open from dawn till dusk for hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, or mountain biking. Enjoy peaceful, scenic trails with lookout points over the Susquehanna Valley. $1 per person suggested  for use of trails.

Trails are pet-friendly and everyone appreciates a clean trail. Some picnic tables are available and handicap accessible in dry weather.

Hikers are encouraged to wear orange or pink during the fall hunting season. Orange vests and walking sticks are available on site to borrow. In winter, a limited number of snowshoes are available to rent, $5 per day.

This is private property, but Garth and Georgia have been letting people come for a walk on their trails for about 20 years.

There is a Tentrr campsite on the property available to rent.

The trailhead for R. Milton Hick Memorial State Forest is located on Perry Hill Road in Roseboom.

According to the NYS Department of Conservation, “The 1,293-acre R. Milton Hick State Forest features all stages of the cycle of forest management: mature mixed hardwoods, softwood plantations, young growth, and recent logging. The unit was one of many properties purchased by the State back in the 1930s in order to reforest marginal and abandoned farm land and return it to a more productive use.”

There is a 4.75-mile cross country ski trail that can be used for hiking in the summer months. The trail can be taken in a short loop (about 2 miles), or a longer loop of about 3 miles. The longer 3-mile loop climbs a small ridge and offers scenic views west. A beaver pond is located just off the trail, past the gate noted on the map. The trails follow old logging roads and also winding forest paths.

Volunteers are working to maintain the trails. You will likely encounter some high grass along the trails, so be sure to take precautions for ticks.

Trail Map

Getting There: From Pleasant Brook on State Hwy 165 (Look for the Pleasant Brook Hotel at 165 State Hwy 165) turn south on La Fleure Road. At .3 miles take a left fork onto Perry Hill Road and continue up a steep hill to the trailhead parking area on the right, at 1.8 miles from State Hwy. 165.

Maintained by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

G.E.M. Sculpture Park

1 Commons Drive, Gilbertsville, NY (off Bloom Street)
https://www.g-e-m.org

What Octet-ers are saying:

Star Field

Chicken Farm Hill Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326
Note: When accesses from Main Street/East Lake Road in Cooperstown, Chicken Farm Hill Road is a steep seasonal road. You can also reach Star Field on Chicken Hill Farm Road (the non-seasonal part) from County Route 33 via Kraham Road.  Hearty cyclists and walkers looking for an extra challenge can start their hike/ride at the bottom of the seasonal Chicken Farm Hill Road.

Star Field is an out and back 3.7 mile hike through a forest to the namesake field, which overlooks Otsego Lake. After 1.6 miles, the trail opens up to Star Field. A path around the wildflower-strewn field is mowed if you want to extend your hike, or take the path on the left to the mowed section that offers views of Otsego Lake and the hills beyond. Leashed dogs welcome.

Star Field was once the site of Chalet Farm, a 200-acre property purchased by James Fenimore Cooper in 1835.  According to Cooper’s Otsego County by Hugh Cooke MacDougall, “Cooper visited almost daily, sometimes even in winter when it could be reached only by sleigh. Chalet Farm, worked primarily by hired employees, provided fresh produce for the Cooper family and their guests at Otsego Hall, but it was never a financial success. As Cooper’s grand niece, Constance Fenimore Woolson, wrote in 1871, ‘he [was] determined that the crops should grow, and the mountain [was] determined that they should not.'”

“Star Field is an ancient and honorable haunt – a heavenly hiding place, a spot to think, to sit, to picnic and to frolic. Known by all Cooperstonians, it sits atop the Middlefield Hills, a great, green spread, shaped like a star if you happen to look up at it from the village, overlooking Otsego Lake. It used to be a scrumptious rolling pasture in which a big herd of Black Angus summered over; now, it’s a great rolling field that exists, it seems, for the pure pleasure of all of us. Mostly, you get there by way of a trail that began life in 1926 as a bridle path.”  -The Freeman’s Journal, January 12, 2001 and later featured in the paper’s  History column by Tom Heitz.

Henry Horvath, a local teenager who used his 2021 summit of Denali to raise funds for Otsego Outdoors, says Star Field is his favorite Otsego County trail. He likes to use it for trail running.

Getting There:

Go east on Main Street in Cooperstown, cross over the Susquehanna River, pass Woodside Hall and then look for Chicken Farm Hill Road on the right. The trailhead (pictured) is .6 miles on the left, just past the driveway for the State Police Canine Training Facility. A few parking spots are located across the road from the trailhead.

Coming from Main Street, this part of Chicken Farm Hill Road is seasonal. You can also reach Star Field on Chicken Hill Farm Road (the non-seasonal part) from County Route 33 via Kraham Road.

There is a small parking area for 2 cars across the street from the Star Field trailhead. Street parking also is an option.

What Octet-ers are saying:

11/22/25 “A nice easy hike with beautiful views of rolling hills around the lake. Had lunch at Mel’s at 22 in Cooperstown afterward and also shopped at the Bluebird Haus and Cooperstown Natural Foods.”

10/19/24 “We need to do this trail again. So peaceful but didn’t make it all the way around.”

6/25/22 “Hiked about 1/1/2 hours, 3.7 miles. Beautiful afternoon saw deer and a couple other hikers. Beautiful views.”

6/24/22 “Gorgeous!”