The Great Swamp Conservancy is Madison County's only nature center featuring miles of hiking trails and a large number of conservation programs. The file below is their summer newsletter. Enjoy! 
Add Comment Great Swamp to Celebrate National Trails Day 05/18/2011
 On June 4, 2011, American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day will bring together outdoor enthusiasts across the country for the 19th annual celebration of America's magnificent trail system and its countless supporters and volunteers. Two thousand events will take place around the country including trail maintenance, hiking, paddling, biking, horseback riding, bird watching, running, trail celebrations and more! Our earth is made up of natural ingredients like rivers, mountains, lakes, deserts, and plains and National Trails Day is a time to get outside and celebrate those natural surroundings. The theme for National Trails Day 2011, Made With All Natural Ingredients, encourages all Americans to get outside, connect with local outdoor clubs, businesses, community groups, and parks and recreation departments as well as federal land managing agencies to experience, appreciate and celebrate the natural places where we can find a spread of scenery, a plateful of peace, and a heap of happiness and health. "Dedicated volunteers, outdoor enthusiasts, trail lovers, and those new to the outdoors are truly the key ingredients to National Trails Day. Naturally, it’s a time to give back to trails and pay it forward by introducing someone new to the outdoors,” said Gregory Miller, American Hiking Society president. Since 1993, National Trails Day has inspired thousands of individuals and community groups to take part in activities that promote healthy living and mental well being, protect green space, educate youth and adults on the importance of trails, and instill excitement for the outdoors. Plan now to host or attend an event in your area. If you want to get happy, healthy, active, fit, and have some fun, National Trails Day is your recipe to success. The only ingredient missing is YOU. Join the Great Swamp Conservancy on June 4th in celebrating National Trails Day from 9-4. Come make a walking stick, build/view fairy houses along the trails, guided or self-guided trail walks, bird watching, and wildlife photography. See your local library for coloring contest entries. Receive an American Hiking Society sticker and tattoo for participating in this event. Overnight camping available, weather permitting. The Great Swamp Conservancy is located at 8375 North Main Street in Canastota, on the corner of Pine Ridge Road. "City Slicker" Visits Great Swamp 09/03/2010
Local online newspaper the Madison County Courier has a column written by self described "city slicker" Linda Haley. This week's column highlights the great things happening at the Great Swamp Conservancy in Canastota. Here is Linda's column as it appeared in the paper this week.
(Lenox, NY) It started innocently enough: “Dear Linda, we’ve been told the City Slicker should come out and do a story on the Great Swamp Conservancy, when are you available?” Uh, SWAMP? Did they write SWAMP? I don’t do swamps. Wet, dark, creepy, full of spiders? Wrong writer, I play farm, not swamp! Curiosity got the best of me: “Why do you want me at this Swamp? Why is it great anyways?” “Because we’ve got a ton of stuff going on here, and no one knows about it! You like trying new things right? C’mon out, then tell folks so they’ll visit, too, and find out for themselves!” Huh. OK, but NO SPIDERS, got me? I can take wet, cold, dark, snakes, critters and all the mud ya’ got, but I’m allergic to spiders! Laughing, they promised to keep me safe. I readied my GPS for another adventure. Turns out it was RIGHT there off the Canastota exit, just past Dick & Bert’s Diner on North Main! There’s a swamp in the middle of Canastota? Who knew? My GPS was still acquiring satellites. And yes, of COURSE I stopped at the diner – I was going to a swamp people. Can you say ‘last meal?’ Shockingly, it was bright, open, green, diverse and inviting. This is a swamp? What’s going on here? At the cheery visitor’s center I receive a hearty welcome from Mike and Rusty Patane, the visionaries behind the Great Swamp Conservancy or GSC. North Country Trail Featured in NY Times 04/24/2009
In Madison County, we are quite lucky to have a portion of the North Country Scenic Trail. It is a network of trails that extends from North Dakota to Crown Point, NY. When fully complete this trail will be the longest foot trail in the world. In Madison County, the Link Trail is part of the system. It runs from the Finger Lakes Trail in the southwestern portion of the county all the way to the Erie Canal Towpath in Canastota. Today the NY Times travel section featured an article about the trail and a person who has been working his way across America on it. This will be a perfect weekend with temps in the 70's and 80's for you to get our and explore the link trail yourself or with a group of people. Bets Bets for your Labor Day Weekend 08/29/2008
Is it really the end of summer? Boy I hope not, but I have been seeing more and more maple trees with orange in their palate of leaves. Well the Labor Day weekend is traditionally a time to have that last summer BBQ and enjoy friends and family. This year is no different and I have some great ideas for you this labor day weekend. Oxbow Falls County Park 07/31/2008
Madison County is blessed to have a large number of great parks. Everyone knows about Chittenango Falls State Park, but I recently had the chance to explore Oxbow Falls County Park. Now had been there for a ball game and a couple of picnics over the years, but I had never really explored the park. I took my camera with me and decided to see what the trails were like. I was very impressed. The park offers a wonderful panoramic view of the northern part of the county, including Oneida Lake. The trails are very well maintained and the take you past three waterfalls, which unfortunately were dry in mid-July. I intend to make my way back there this fall as I'm sure when the leaves start changing color it will give an outstanding opportunity to take stunning pictures. Enjoy some of the photos I took below and find some time to explore this park for yourself.     August 7-10th, The NCTA will hold its annual conference right here in Madison County and Cazenovia. The North Country Trail begins in New York and stretches all the way to North Dakota! This year marks the 40th Anniversary of The National Trails System. The conference will bring trail enthusiasts from all over the Country. Activities and events will include, hiking, canoe trips, biking, workshops, and an in depth look at the history of the area. For some, this will be a return trip to the area, as the conference was held in Cazenovia back in 2001. The event goers were so impressed with the area that they were ecstatic to hear it is being held here again. Those attending the event will stay, eat and attend workshops right at Cazenovia College. Event goers are given the option to stay at local establishments as well. This is a great event for our area to host. We're glad you chose Cazenovia to hold this very exciting conference. The Perfect Time to Explore the Link Trail 04/11/2008
Now that spring is here, it is the perfect time to get out an explore the Link Trail. The trail runs from the Finger Lakes Trail in the southern part of the county to the Erie Canal Towpath in the north. It covers a variety of terrain and offers a great way to explore the county. The trail is maintained by the volunteer of the Central New York Chapter of the North Country Trail Association. Click below to read their spring newsletter. 
| WelcomeYou've found the official blog for Madison County Tourism, We are located in the heart of Central New York State just minutes from Syracuse and Utica. Stop back often and visit us soon!    Blog RollErie Canalway National Heritage Corridor CategoriesAll ArchivesFebruary 2012 | ||||||||
RSS Feed
Create a free website with
Weebly
