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Places We Protect

Eldridge Wilderness Preserve

New York

Green Trees NY The sun shines through on this New York forest © Charles Gleberman Photography

Explore this rich mosaic of forests, streams, and lakes.

Viewing

Overview

Description

In 1971 Frank L. Eldridge donated this land to The Nature Conservancy. Perched high on Ithaca’s South Hill, the 87-acre Eldridge Wilderness is a mosaic of different plant communities.

The preserve includes a variety of early and late plant succession areas. Plant succession is the gradual process in which herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees occupy an open area that was previously impacted by fire, farming or intense flooding. Eldridge Wilderness includes a variety of early and late plant succession areas and a small gorge along the southeast boundary where the stream drains into Six Mile Creek.

Access

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Hours

Open year-round from dawn until dusk

Highlights

Parking Spaces: 2 ; Facilities: None

Size

87 Acres

Resources

Explore our work in this region

PLEASE NOTE: No hunting is allowed at Eldridge.

Eldridge is unique because of many different plant communities that are common to the U.S. Northeast are represented. In addition, natural and man-made disturbances have influenced plant succession in specific areas and have added to the variation within the preserve.

Hours of visitation: Dawn to dusk, year round.

Guidelines: To help ensure that this special place can be enjoyed for future generations, please leave no trace and carry out what you carry in. Camping, littering, hunting, fires, or removal or destruction of plants or animals are prohibited. See our full preserve visitation guidelines for more information.

What to See: Many species of flora and fauna have been identified in the preserve, including 118 species of birds, 50 species of trees and over 75 species of wildflowers. Look for birds such as pileated woodpecker, wood thrush, ovenbird, scarlet tanager and red-eyed vireo.

Trail Map

The Eldridge Trail: Blazed with white circles, this 1.2 mile trail starts at the parking lot and loops downhill and along a tributary to Six Mile Creek. The trail winds through a second-growth hardwood forest with medium sized chestnut oak, shagbark hickory and white ash. Second-growth forests are forests that are formed on areas that were previously farmed.  The trail also crosses through an upland area that was farmed until the 1950s. A wagon road, built in the middle of this area, served as an access road for lumbering and farming operations.

Along the side of the creek gorge, visitors can enjoy the mature mixed forest with red oak and chestnut oak, beech, sugar maple and a grove of large hemlocks.

This trail has an average grade of 10% and has a total elevation change of about 600’. The trail is fairly well drained but may have some muddy spots in spring or after precipitation. The average trail width is 32” wide.