Thirty three hardy souls joined in for the hike on Tuesday, September 15th at Rum Hill located off Rt 80 and Rt 28 and up Widderspoon Road above Otsego Lake in Cooperstown. Rum Hill and Thayer Farm are properties of the SUCO Biological Field Station. There are hiking trials on both Rum Hill and Thayer Farm properties. Permission required.
Julie Smith and Norma Lee Havens had explored the orange trail when they visited on two occasions recently. The Orange trail was the starting place on Tuesday. There are ups and downs and level sections. It is wooded with Appalachian and Northern hardwoods and is very beautiful and isolated. The trails are well marked. On our 9/15 hike we were able to include the Falls Campground on the red trail where we enjoyed our bag lunches in a delightful sunny and shady place with a picnic table and expanses of soft mossy flat rocks. We continued back on the orange trail which soon changed to green then to yellow. On our way back we stopped at the Thayer Memorial marker on Rum Hill where we heard a few comments about the history of the Thayer property and the gift to the Biological Field Station. There are many other interesting trails at Rum Hill. It’s a great place to explore.
Rum Hill is a 302-acre site with hardwoods on sites requiring only a small amount of moisture. It encompasses one of the highest elevations in Otsego County at over 2100 ft. At Rum Hill, students explore beaver ponds and walk through old fields and early homesteads learning of man’s impact on neighbors and the environment.
The Thayer Farm is a 256 acre farm established by William Thayer (1775-1861). It was donated to the Biological Field Station by Rufus Thayer for the purpose of research and education. Thayer farm has lakefront property on Otsego Lake, a boat house, trails, and many acres of mature woodlands. Photographs by Currie Marr.
Susquehanna Chapter 