Lower Hunters Creek Trail

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Unknown

The Friends of Hunters Creek, the citizens' group advocating for this park (and which counts WNYMBA as an active member) designated this trail from a series of segments installed by the original trail "builder". It may be difficult to follow the exact route, and most people do take a wrong turn or two. Paying attention to the intersection markers installed by FOHC helps you keep on track.

This trail starts at the upper parking lot and takes the trail exiting the back of the lot. At the fork, go right. You'll soon come to your first intersection (10) where you go straight, eventually leading to a steep downhill. The trail soon follows a bank of Hunters Creek until it takes a sharp left at a hike-a-bike up a short section to the top of a peninsula (going straight is a deadend to the creek).

The peninsula is quite pleasant with a view of the gorge wall across the creek. The trail continues left and at the next (unnumbered) intersection, go right (downhill to cross a tributary on a bridge. After you cross a second tributary, you reach intersection 9 where you go right. All along you are following Hunters creek.

When you reach intersection 8 (after a short pop up a hillside), go straight further uphill where you reach intersection 7 with the red trail. Stay left and head uphill until you reach intersection 6 (I did mention there are lots of intersections!)

At intersection 6, you'll hang a right and the trail enventually follows the edge of the ravine that slopes down towards Hunters Creek. Following this ravine includes many twisty turns that are fun. The view down the ravine to your right is pleasant. You may catch glimpses of the lower red trail. Soon, you'll reach a spot where a faint trail goes straight (but goes nowhere) and you should instead follow the blazes to your left. The trail brings you to intersection 13, where you stay right and eventually cross the Old Road trail.

After you cross the old Road, the trail passes intersection 14 just before a deep ditch. The trail used to go straight here, but mother nature decided to dig this ditch deeper each big rain storm and the crossing moves uphill a little bit each year.

Soon enough, you'll drop and then climb up a rooty uphill to get to intersection 15. Going right is the fun Mirkwood trail, but this trail goes left. It climbs through a rooty spruce section until it gets to intersection 16. Here, where this trail ends.