Kashong Conservation Area- Geneva, NY

Kashong Conservation Area is a beautiful place made up of woods, fields, and creeks. This 84-acre area is located on the west side of Seneca Lake. Kashong Conservation Area contains 2.75 miles of trails that can be used for both hiking and cross-country skiing. This park is a place my husband and I visited years ago. We would come in from a different location and that area was very steep and quite dangerous. This conservation area is newer and a much easier hike for families.

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Facilities at Kashong Conservation Area

There is a large parking area at the trailhead of Kashong Conservation Area and a handicap-accessible porta-potty. You will find picnic benches in an open area a little way into the park. This is a carry-in/carry-out park, meaning you will be fined if you leave trash behind. There are posters on the message board in the parking lot stating the fine amount. Also on the message board is the map of Kashong Conservation Area.

Trails at Kashong Conservation Area

I recommend taking a picture of the map as there weren’t any paper copies available. Unfortunately, the map isn’t very helpful near the picnic area, as the trails aren’t marked very well initially. Further into the park, they are much better marked. Most of the trails are very narrow, and your feet will be touching foliage. I recommend wearing long pants or higher socks and sneakers hiking here. There are placards warning about ticks and Lyme disease in the area. When hiking in an area like this, I recommend Coleman Max 100. This repellent wards off ticks as well as mosquitoes.

Creek Hiking at Kashong Conservation Area

There is a narrow creek within the conservation area (not Kashong Creek), which from what I understand, is only seasonal. It had been a very wet summer, so there was water in it when we went. This made for a nice cool hike, but it was also buggy as most of it was shaded. The creek was blocked in many places, so it was difficult to get through. We eventually gave up and got back on the regular trail. The best creek hiking is in Kashong Creek.

Kashong Creek

If a nice creek hike sounds like your thing. The best place to do this is in Kashong Creek. The parking area is located off of West Lake Road, about 100 feet after Kashong Rd. (5419 West Lake Rd). Once you climb down into the creek, the hike is fairly easy. It’s also very wide and open and therefore much less buggy. Our kids had a great time hiking up this creek. They spent a great deal of time catching tiny brook trout with their bare hands and swimming in the deeper pools.

They saw many different critters such as frogs, fish, and salamanders in the creek and evidence of other much bigger animals. The hike to the first waterfall (which is just off the main creek) is only about 3/4 mile, but the kids were having so much fun, that it took us longer than the 20 minutes it should take to get there.

Hiking In From The Top

We recently returned to Kashong Conservation Area and visited the waterfall at the very end of the creek. However, rather than hiking up the creek from the bottom, we approached from the top. There is a small pull-off at the top of the Kashong Road. This is not an easy way to get down, but some thoughtful person left ropes to assist in the descent.

This is the way we used to hike down to the creek. It can be very dangerous, so I only recommend this for experienced hikers. However, the waterfall is gorgeous, and when the creek is really running, this waterfall is super full.

Getting There

Kashong Conservation Area– From Geneva, take Route 14 south and turn right onto Kashong Road (approximately 7 miles). The Conservation Area is about 1/2 mile up the road.

Kashong Creek- Just past Kashong Rd (on Route 14), on the right is a small parking area next to an old log cabin. You can enter the creek from here.

Have you visited Kashong? What are your thoughts? Did we miss anything? We would love to hear from you. Leave us a comment below.