Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust
120 Washington Street
Suite 510
Watertown, NY 13601
Whether you’re looking for information about programs, volunteer opportunities, conservation projects, events, or preserves, we’d love to hear from you.
Fill out the form below, and the appropriate staff member will follow up with you.
Choose any of Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust's scheduled winter programs AND/OR choose to experience an activity on your own. They all qualify!
Take part in a minimum of 8 adventures from the large range of possibilities, then go to the Winter Fun Challenge form, list your sites, tell us about your experiences, and submit!
Once your challenge form is received, we'll send you your choice of a Winter Fun Challenge Patch or Decal to congratulate you on your accomplishment!
To document your experiences, upload photos or stories:
Help us protect more important Tug Hill winter landscapes by donating to Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust! Any amount makes a difference.
Check out the Tug Hill Recreation Guide Winter Fun Challenge maps and information links below. Look for a XC ski icon on the trail map indicating that winter activity is allowed.
NOTE: With the exception of BREIA and Winona Forest trails, sites in the Recreation Guide are generally marked, but not groomed, so be prepared to break trail. This includes NYS Parks and Forests.
With 29 Trail Maps and a lot of local community information read the Tug Hill Recreation Guide
29. Oswego County Recreation Trail
30. Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area
31. Oneida Lake
33. Clark Hill & Penn Mountain State Forests
35. Lowville Forestry Demo Area
36. Mad River Big Brook State Forests
Use Avenza Maps® app to view the PDF on your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet. Using your mobile device’s built-in GPS, track your location, plot locations and photos, measure distance and area, and more.
While Tug Hill is not wilderness in a strict sense, its densely forested terrain can become confusing even to the most seasoned hiker and cross-country skier.
There are considerations you should keep in mind to make your trip safe and enjoyable. Make sure to tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. Cell phone coverage is limited, especially in the core area.
Make sure you have the proper clothing, maintained equipment, and emergency and first-aid supplies. The weather in the Tug Hill region can be very unpredictable, especially with lake-effect storms in the winter. The area is wet in the spring and summer, consideration should be given for mosquitos, deer flies, ticks and other pests.
Responsible, respectful, local recreation outdoors is a healthy way to stay active, spend time with immediate household and family members and friends, and reduce stress and anxiety when practicing social distancing.
STAY LOCAL
Stay close to home. Keep visits short. Avoid high-traffic destinations.
BE SAFE
Avoid crowds and groups. Recreate only with members of your immediate household. Keep a distance of 6 feet or more from others. Alert others as you're about to pass or step aside to let people pass. Wear a mask when you cannot maintain social distancing.
BE READY
Move quickly through parking lots, trailheads, and scenic areas. If crowded, choose a different park, trail, or time to visit.
STAY HOME
If you're not feeling well, stay home. Anyone with a compromised immune system should postpone their visit.
I want to hear about project updates, conservation tips, breaking news, and events.
We like to send you a Tug Hill Winter Fun Challenge patch or decal to commemorate your achievement.
Please fill out the form below, including a list of the ten trails you traveled by foot, bike, snowshoe, or paddle.
Also, upload photos documenting your experience:
I want to hear about project updates, conservation tips, breaking news, and events.
Click on the book or button below to download your copy of 12 Steps to Conserving Your Land.
Fill out the following information and download the e-Book. Let us know if you have questions.
Ask for some simpler finds, like pine needles or a pinecone, and then dig deeper: are there any plants with purple leaves in the neighborhood? Maybe a certain yard has a red flower (look but don’t touch!)
Next Level: identify the trees and start a nature journal with your findings.
Put on a pair of work gloves, grab a bag, and do your part and help clean up a trail, river or creek bank, or street in your community.
Next level: Categorize what you have found in your nature journal. What is the most common material you found? What can be recycled? Composted? Put in the garbage?
Draw or print out different types of weather and put them in a circular pattern. Use a paper clip or laundry clips to mark the days weather.
Next Level: Be more specific. Record the temperature, humidity, percent rain or sun and log it all into a nature journal.
Or you can head to your window or your car and watch in a protected place, too.
Next level: Record the length of the rainstorm or snowstorm. Does how hard the rain or snow falls change? Does the rain change to hail or snow or vice versa? Write down how long the storm lasts and describe the sounds and sights you observe.
Download a birding app, like eBird.org, and start identifying what’s in your backyard. Learn birds’ songs and characteristics.
Next level: Visit bird feeder web cams to observe birds found nearby or in different parts of the world (start here: allaboutbirds/cams). Install one or more birdfeeders and fill them with different types of seed. Keep a feeder journal, try to draw the birds you see and describe their outstanding features.
Next, next level: Become a citizen scientist! Sign up to participate in the Tug Hill Tomorrow Bird Quest at tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org/bird-quest in the spring, or sign up to collect bird sightings November through April for Cornell’s Project Feederwatch at feederwatch.org.
Place the rocks in artistic circular patterns. This can be done in your backyard or with the rocks at Sandy Neck. Take pictures and share with family and friends.
Next Level: Read into the origin of a mandala. Add the information to your nature journal.
You can pay tribute to, or honor, someone special to you with a gift that will last for generations to come. We will send a card, as appropriate, to convey your appreciation…
Take a notebook on your walk and find a place to sit and make observations—maybe there is a rock that faces a creek, or a patch of plants just pushing through the soil. Look around and take note of everything you observe, hear and smell.
Next Level: hone in on a specific item. Perhaps there is a tree that is just getting its spring buds.
What do the buds look like? How quickly do they grow – is it a weekly change, daily, hourly? What sort of insects and animals like this tree? What kind of moss, lichen or fungus is growing on it?
And bring your furry pal along! What new places can you find by spending an extra ten minutes walking?
Next Level: challenge yourself to walk further. Pick a distance (maybe you walk half a mile each day) and see if you can go a little further, then a little further.
How does the extra distance feel? Have you discovered a new neighborhood? Maybe a small street you hadn’t seen before, or a cool new spot along your favorite trail?
Next Level: identify the trees and start a nature journal with your findings.
Put on a pair of work gloves, grab a bag, and do your part and help clean up a trail, river or creek bank, or street in your community.
Next level: Categorize what you have found in your nature journal. What is the most common material you found? What can be recycled? Composted? Put in the garbage?
Draw or print out different types of weather and put them in a circular pattern. Use a paper clip or laundry clips to mark the days weather.
Next Level: Be more specific. Record the temperature, humidity, percent rain or sun and log it all into a nature journal.
Or you can head to your window or your car and watch in a protected place too. Describe the sounds and sights you observe. Does the way the rain or snow falls change in strength? Does rain change to snow or hail, or vice versa?
Next level: Place a measuring cup outside on a stable surface in a place where there is only open sky above it. Grab a notebook and write down how long the storm lasts. Record the amount of rain or snow that fell into the measuring cup once the storm has ended.
Download a birding app, like eBird.org, and start identifying what’s in your backyard. Learn birds’ songs and characteristics.
Next level: Visit bird feeder web cams to observe birds found nearby or in different parts of the world (start here: allaboutbirds/cams). Install one or more birdfeeders and fill them with different types of seed. Keep a feeder journal, try to draw the birds you see and describe their outstanding features.
Next, next level: Become a citizen scientist! Sign up to participate in the Tug Hill Tomorrow Bird Quest at tughilltomorrowlandtrust.org/bird-quest in the spring, or sign up to collect bird sightings November through April for Cornell’s Project Feederwatch at feederwatch.org.
As you explore outside, look for different sizes and shapes of pine cones. Look up! Do the pine trees still have cones on their branches? Can you find which trees the different pine cones you see on the ground came from?
Next level: Put one of each type of pine cone next to each other on the ground. How are they alike? How are they different? Why do you think each tree's cones are the way they are?
Next next level: Take three of the same kind of pine cones home with you. Gather three see-through containers. Put one cone in each container. Draw or take a photo of each cone in each container. Fill one container with cold water. What happens to the cone? How fast does the cone change? How does is change? Fill a second container with hot water. What happens to the cone? How fast does the cone change? How does is change? Compare the cones in all three containers. What is different? What is the same?
You can pay tribute to, or honor, someone special to you with a gift that will last for generations to come. We will send a card, as appropriate, to convey your appreciation…
Take it on your walk and find somewhere to sit and make observations—maybe there is a rock that faces a creek, or a patch of plants just pushing through the soil. Look around and take note of everything you observe, hear and smell.
Next Level: hone in on a specific item. Perhaps there is a tree that is just getting its spring buds.
What do the buds look like? How quickly do they grow – is it a weekly change, daily, hourly? What sort of insects and animals like this tree? What kind of moss, lichen or fungus is growing on it?
And bring your furry pal along! What new places can you find by spending an extra ten minutes walking?
Next Level: challenge yourself to walk further. Pick a distance (maybe you walk half a mile each day) and see if you can go a little further, then a little further.
How does the extra distance feel? Have you discovered a new neighborhood? Maybe a small street you hadn’t seen before, or a cool new spot along your favorite trail?
Document (with photos) or just list for us 10 trails from the Tug Hill Recreation Guide that you visit. Then fill out our Challenge form.
We'll send you our Challenge Patch or Decal, your choice, to congratulate you on meeting the achievement!
Also, upload photos documenting your experience:
You can create more opportunities for trails like these by donating to Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust. Any amount makes a positive difference.
15. Salmon River Falls Unique Area / Reservoir
17. East Branch of Fish Creek State Forest
18. Carpenter Road Cross Country Ski & Hiking Trails
19. Oswego County Nature Park at Camp Zerbe
21. BREIA Jackson Hills Trails
Use Avenza Maps® app to view the PDF on your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet. Using your mobile device’s built-in GPS, track your location, plot locations and photos, measure distance and area, and more.
With 29 Trail Maps and a lot of local community information read the Tug Hill Recreation Guide
The Avenza Maps® app uses your mobile device’s built-in GPS, track your location, plot locations and photos, measure distance and area, and more.
While Tug Hill is not wilderness in a strict sense, its densely forested terrain can become confusing even to the most seasoned hiker and cross-country skier.
There are considerations you should keep in mind to make your trip safe and enjoyable. Make sure to tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. Cell phone coverage is limited, especially in the core area.
Make sure you have the proper clothing, maintained equipment, and emergency and first-aid supplies. The weather in the Tug Hill region can be very unpredictable, especially with lake-effect storms in the winter. The area is wet in the spring and summer, consideration should be given for mosquitos, deer flies, ticks and other pests.
Responsible, respectful, local recreation outdoors is a healthy way to stay active, spend time with immediate household and family members and friends, and reduce stress and anxiety when practicing social distancing.
STAY LOCAL
Stay close to home. Keep visits short. Avoid high-traffic destinations.
BE SAFE
Avoid crowds and groups. Recreate only with members of your immediate household. Keep a distance of 6 feet or more from others. Alert others as you're about to pass or step aside to let people pass. Wear a mask when you cannot maintain social distancing.
BE READY
Move quickly through parking lots, trailheads, and scenic areas. If crowded, choose a different park, trail, or time to visit.
STAY HOME
If you're not feeling well, stay home. Anyone with a compromised immune system should postpone their visit.
I want to hear about project updates, conservation tips, breaking news, and events.
Thank you to Sweet Paul Magazine >>
Thank you to Michelle McInerney at MollyMooCrafts >>
First, cut out your felt. You can mix up the colors any way you want, but here is a suggestion:
(Your measurements may differ, depending on pinecone size & your preference, but I've listed them anyway, as a guideline.)
The shapes are so forgiving, & it doesn't have to be perfect.
Just get out your scissors & cut!
Snip the largest eye circles all the way around, as pictured in the slideshow.
Next, attach the beak to the face with hot glue.
Now, stack the pieces in this order & use a stapler to keep it all together. (I have 25 minutes to do this craft with a handful of 9 year olds. I was trying to think of the quickest way to assemble without having to use glue.) And, honestly, my stapler did give me an attitude. So, if you're not pressed for time, use the hot glue gun!
Attach the googly eyes (or felt- or paper-made eyes) with hot glue.
TIP: apply the hot glue to the felt first, & then place the googly eyes on top of the glue. The tip of the hot glue gun can melt the back of the googly eyes & cause a googly mess.
Finally, attach the face & wings to the pinecone with more hot glue.
Thank you to Nikki at Whimsy Love >>
The bird feeding station at Cornell University’s Sapsucker Woods facility near Ithaca, NY is live with sound!
Go see who's there now: allaboutbirds.org/cams/cornell-lab-feederwatch/
Learn out more about the birds you see using the North American Bird Guide online at: www.audubon.org/bird-guide
