Great Bear Recreational Area – Fulton, NY

Great Bear Recreation Area is an amazing outdoor destination for nature lovers that checks all the boxes. This massive 476-acre park allows visitors to engage in all sorts of outdoor activities on miles of trails, 16 miles to be precise, and 53 combined trails, the majority of which are flat and easy. This is a place where you almost feel like you are completely alone in the wilderness.

Legend and History of Great Bear Spring

The Legend: A young Native American man was said to have been attacked by a huge bear, and when he finally killed the bear, the spring here was named Great Bear.

The history of Great Bear Spring is quite interesting. In 1883, Fredrick Emerick along with some investors, began to supply the town of Fulton with water. Emerick soon followed up by bottling the water. He then bought the Great Bear Spring property, creating the Great Bear Spring Company from the natural spring there. Great Bear Spring Water was sold from the spring within the Great Bear Recreation Area until 1976. The brand was then sold to Nestle.

The Great Bear Spring House is located on the River Landing Loop (Yellow Trail), and visitors can take a peek inside to see the old spring.

Trails and Activities

There are 16 miles of trails throughout Great Bear. While a majority of the trails are well-marked, there are some that aren’t. The trails here travel through numerous different habitats, such as pine forests, wetlands, and meadows, to name a few. The unique feature of Great Bear is the topography, which is comprised of glacier-formed drumlins, creating a beautiful environment for visitors to enjoy.

Great Bear also has an ADA trail (handicap-accessible) in this park. So this incredible destination is accessible to everyone. In addition to the designated ADA trail (Apple Trail), the main trail (a former road) is also handicap accessible.

Most of the trails at Great Bear are flat and make for an easy hike for everyone. There are a few minor hills but nothing dramatic, and that is the exception and not the rule.

This amazing recreation area is for more than just hiking. Horseback riding, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing are some of the activities visitors can partake in at Great Bear. There is also a small boat launch area, although you would need to carry your boat quite a ways to utilize it. It appears to be more for people who are visiting via the River. We even saw a few people fishing when we visited.

Oswego River, Lock #2, and Whiskey Island

The Oswego River is a lovely feature of this park. A trail runs along the river and numerous spots to sit and enjoy the river. The trail along the River can be muddy, especially the closer it gets to Whiskey Island. Also located along the River Trail is the historic Oswego Canal Guard Lock #2.

Whiskey Island is another great feature of the park. There is a circle loop that travels the perimeter of the Island and along the edge of the River.

Out and About with Nova

This is an extremely dog-friendly park. However, visitors should be aware dogs are permitted to run off-leash here. (We did not take advantage of this as Nova is not an off-leash kind of dog. All she would have to do is catch sight of a squirrel, and she would be off like a shot and probably in Canada by the time we caught up to her if we let her run free.) However, We weren’t aware that dogs were free to roam off-leash here when we first arrived, and we were taken off guard when a dog suddenly ran up to us out of nowhere off-leash. This was a little concerning for us as Nova is sometimes anxious of other dogs, and we had to drag her back away from the other dog while the owner caught up to collect his dog.

Once we got further away from the parking area, we didn’t run into any other people or off-leash dogs. That is one of the things that is great about this park, there is so much room to spread out. Once we got away from the “main drag” we didn’t see another person throughout our entire hike until we reached the parking area again.

This is a great place to walk your dog; just be aware that there is a real possibility of dogs running up to your pet here. If your dog is aggressive with other dogs, this might not be the best place to walk them.

As always, please remember to clean up after your pets.

Know Before You Go

One of the things I loved about the trails at Great Bear is that signs spread all over the park (at quite frequent intervals) that point visitors to the exit (well, the parking area anyway.)

You can use Google Maps at Great Bear to find your way around the park. All of the park trails show up on Google Maps, and you can use it to navigate through the park.

It can be incredibly muddy on the trail, especially near the river and after heavy rain. The stretch of trail that leads to Whiskey Island is sometimes impassable if the water table is too high. Even if it isn’t, it can be insanely mucky.

We visited during a seriously wet summer, and the bugs here were intense. I recommend wearing bug spray, especially as many of the trails are in the woods.

This is a carry in/carry out park. Please leave not trace.