Trail Description

The Link Trail

and North Country National Scenic Trail
hiker in meadow


The Link Trail was designed to connect the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) with the Old Erie Canal’s Towpath Trail. Therefore, while those two trails run east-west across New York’s Southern Tier and the Link Trail goes north-south in the central part of the state, east of Syracuse.


It was also designed to connect natural. cultural, and historic resources and to make links between disconnected public lands. It traverses Chenango – Madison 9 State Forest (Section 1), Muller Hill State Forest, Three Springs State Forest, (Section 2), (Section 3), Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area (Section 4), Dugway County Forest (Section 4), the Nelson Swamp Unique Area (Section 5), Stone Quarry Hill Art Park near Cazenovia (Section 6), the Village of Cazenovia with its historic homes, shops and restaurants (Section 7), Lorenzo State Historic Site (Section 7), Chittenango Falls State Park (via a future side trail) (Section 8) and the Old Erie Canal State Park at Canastota, NY (Section 10).

Note: there are two “gaps” in the trail where a road walk is necessary:

1. A road walk is necessary from Rt. 80 to Dugway Road because a 0.8 mi. section of trail is temporarily closed. You must use the road and not private property in this section (see Section 3 map).

2. Between Carey Hill Rd. (Section 8) and Nelson Rd. (Section 10), the trail is yet to be built. You must use public roads in this area even though parts of the old Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) corridor are owned by NYS Parks. Work is expected to start on this section soon (written March 2005)


The North Country National Scenic Trail is a premier footpath that one day will stretch 4, 600 miles to link communities and back country areas across seven northern states. Nearly 2,000 miles have been completed! (map). To make these connections, it follows existing trails where ever possible—in New York State, the Finger Lakes Trail, The Link Trail, and the Erie Canal Towpath Trail to Rome. Think of it as like two highway routes occupying the same road bed for a distance.


The North Country Trail Association is the nationwide non-profit organization that works in partnership with the National Park Service to build, maintain and promote the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST), which is also referred to as the “North Country Trail”, or, NCT, for short. In New York State, the Central New York Chapter North Country Trail Association is responsible for the North Country Trail from the Finger Lakes Trail in Chenango County to the “Blue Line” of the Adirondack Park. We have formed a task group known as Rome North to search out a route for the NCT from Rome NY to the Blue Line.