Green Lakes State Park - Hike to Indian Ovens
One of the more popular places to hike in the Syracuse area of upstate NY is Green Lakes State Park. Most people who come here are drawn to the park's two natural lakes: Green Lake and Round Lake, both of which are considered meromictic lakes which means the layers of water do not mix as they typically would, creating striking emerald-like color on their surfaces. As far I know, meromictic lakes are pretty rare so having one here in New York is fortunate.
I decided to visit Green Lakes Park back in February on one of those rare winter days where the sun was out and the temps were above freezing and up in the 40s, ideal for cold weather hiking. I'm honestly not much into being outside in the woods on on those arctic cold days; it's not that enjoyable for me. On this outing, I picked a part of the park to explore that I've always seen on the trail map but never actually got to: Indian Ovens - a series of rock outcroppings found in the southern fringes of the park. I ended up taking this hike with a good friend of mine who lives closer to the park than I do and had a Sunday afternoon to spare.
To get to Indian Ovens, we started at the main parking area at the northern head of Green Lake. In the summer, this spot has a beach that always seems to be crowded (the lake water at that time of year is also something to see!). We followed the grey-blazed Green Lake Trail along the lake's edge, passing for nearly a half-mile under intermittent stands of beautiful cedars. Turning at a junction with the Round Lake Trail, we followed that lake shore for a bit until reaching an opening where the frozen lake was clearly seen and ready for a photo.
The next part took us uphill on the brown-blazed Brookside Trail. This path penetrates an old-growth hardwood forest. Turning left onto the orange-blazed Old Growth Trail, we pitched further uphill for a while before reaching a spot where views of Round Lake far below could be seen through the bare trees. I imagine these same views are very obscured in summer, so this seemed like good timing to appreciate this.
The Old Growth Trail kept going, hugging the edge of a golf course and becoming semi-difficult to follow in a few places (not as many orange blazes on the trees in this section). Eventually, a fork in the path was reached: orange-blazed to the right and white-blazed to the left. The white Power Line Trail follows actual transmission lines (not the most attractive part of the hike but it got us to where we needed to go). To our left after walking a few meters next to the power lines, the Indian Ovens Trail appeared and proved to be easy to miss if you're not paying careful attention. This path first winded through pretty overgrown shrubs and then reached an old knobby tree.
The final leg of the trail wandered around the grounds of these fascinating rock outcroppings which are named "Indian Ovens". There were many of them to explore; lots of crevices to slip through and pictures to be taken. We did not seen one other person back here, so it makes me wonder how many people either know of this spot or want to come back this far. And there are some hills to climb, but nothing taxing.
After staying at the rocks for a few minutes, we returned, more or less backtracking the way we came. The total time of this hike was around two hours. The rest of the park itself is large at 1,955 acres, and there are many other trails which reach just about all other segments of the property. Green Lakes Park is a terrific place and I was glad to have the chance to see the unique and beautiful Indian Ovens.
I decided to visit Green Lakes Park back in February on one of those rare winter days where the sun was out and the temps were above freezing and up in the 40s, ideal for cold weather hiking. I'm honestly not much into being outside in the woods on on those arctic cold days; it's not that enjoyable for me. On this outing, I picked a part of the park to explore that I've always seen on the trail map but never actually got to: Indian Ovens - a series of rock outcroppings found in the southern fringes of the park. I ended up taking this hike with a good friend of mine who lives closer to the park than I do and had a Sunday afternoon to spare.
The next part took us uphill on the brown-blazed Brookside Trail. This path penetrates an old-growth hardwood forest. Turning left onto the orange-blazed Old Growth Trail, we pitched further uphill for a while before reaching a spot where views of Round Lake far below could be seen through the bare trees. I imagine these same views are very obscured in summer, so this seemed like good timing to appreciate this.
The final leg of the trail wandered around the grounds of these fascinating rock outcroppings which are named "Indian Ovens". There were many of them to explore; lots of crevices to slip through and pictures to be taken. We did not seen one other person back here, so it makes me wonder how many people either know of this spot or want to come back this far. And there are some hills to climb, but nothing taxing.
After staying at the rocks for a few minutes, we returned, more or less backtracking the way we came. The total time of this hike was around two hours. The rest of the park itself is large at 1,955 acres, and there are many other trails which reach just about all other segments of the property. Green Lakes Park is a terrific place and I was glad to have the chance to see the unique and beautiful Indian Ovens.
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