Welcome to Winona Forest
An enchanting forest...
A quiet forest...
A forest abundant in the gifts of mother nature...
A forest where all its resources are respectfully shared by all.
Winona Forest, located on the boundary of southern Jefferson County and northern Oswego County in Northern New York, is a 9,233-acre state forest that offers many recreational opportunities, including: snowmobiling, snowshoeing, hiking, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, trapping, dog sledding, birdwatching and horseback riding. Winona Forest is one of the snowiest places east of the Rockies with an average snow fall of 250 inches per year! In winter, the prevailing westerly winds move cold winter air over the warm water of Lake Ontario producing massive lake effect snow falls on the Winona Forest in the Tug Hill area.
The Tug Hill is a 2,000 square mile plateau just east of the end of Lake Ontario, rising to an elevation of 2,000 feet, which extends from Watertown at its north end to the Mohawk Valley on the south, and from Lake Ontario to the Black River Valley on the east. Access is easiest via Interstate 81 to Sandy Creek/Lacona and Mannsville in N. Oswego Co. and S. Jefferson Co. The Hill has the highest average annual snowfall of any area in the U.S. east of the Rockies - between 200 and 300+ inches. For years, local people have been enjoying their sport on the miles and miles of logging roads, jeep trails, foot trails, abandoned highways and frozen streambeds. With development of multi-use trails in recent years, the bountiful snow, excellent uncrowded terrain and the long winter season have been attracting skiers, snowmobilers and mushers from greater distances.
It all started with Alice Arneson who opened the Smart House Nature Center Youth Hostel in Lacona. She had ski trails, but wanted to do something to utilize all the beautiful state lands, and help tourism in the area in the wintertime. To plan the cross-country ski races, she "Alice's Alley", Forest Ranger Dave Larrabee "Larrabee Trail" , and Jerry Schulz, a USSA racer and Central Square HS Track and X-C Coach, organized a group of local people who eventually included George Hunt, Rose Driscoll (our "financial advisor"), Ken and Virginia Smith, Lenora Smith, Frank Phelps (Frank's Fancy), Dick Hughes, Ted Prescott (Ted's Turn), the CJ Fergusons, Bill Thayer (Bill's Belly), Sarah Davis (Sally's Ride), Ruth Taber, Satch Yerdon, Sylvia Curry, Glen Backus (Backus Bend), Pauline Tanner, and Gladys Porter. Clara Bingham joined the group a year later. The first races were skied mainly on local roads and existing logging trails, with the first trail cut between Tucker and Hessel Rd. and named "Alice's Alley". Little by little, more woods trails were designed with the expertise of David Larrabee, Forest Ranger, and cut by many volunteers, 4-H Clubs, and boy and Girl Scout troops. The Operations Branch of the DEC has expended many hours of labor with heavy equipment toward the fruition of this muli-trail complex.
With the melding of ideas, resources and manpower, Winona State Forest has become one of New York State's best venues for recreation.
Read: Winona State Forest: A Winter Wonderland Tucked Into the Tug Hill Region
Published in the Syracuse Post-Standard, January 8, 2010
The Tug Hill is a 2,000 square mile plateau just east of the end of Lake Ontario, rising to an elevation of 2,000 feet, which extends from Watertown at its north end to the Mohawk Valley on the south, and from Lake Ontario to the Black River Valley on the east. Access is easiest via Interstate 81 to Sandy Creek/Lacona and Mannsville in N. Oswego Co. and S. Jefferson Co. The Hill has the highest average annual snowfall of any area in the U.S. east of the Rockies - between 200 and 300+ inches. For years, local people have been enjoying their sport on the miles and miles of logging roads, jeep trails, foot trails, abandoned highways and frozen streambeds. With development of multi-use trails in recent years, the bountiful snow, excellent uncrowded terrain and the long winter season have been attracting skiers, snowmobilers and mushers from greater distances.
It all started with Alice Arneson who opened the Smart House Nature Center Youth Hostel in Lacona. She had ski trails, but wanted to do something to utilize all the beautiful state lands, and help tourism in the area in the wintertime. To plan the cross-country ski races, she "Alice's Alley", Forest Ranger Dave Larrabee "Larrabee Trail" , and Jerry Schulz, a USSA racer and Central Square HS Track and X-C Coach, organized a group of local people who eventually included George Hunt, Rose Driscoll (our "financial advisor"), Ken and Virginia Smith, Lenora Smith, Frank Phelps (Frank's Fancy), Dick Hughes, Ted Prescott (Ted's Turn), the CJ Fergusons, Bill Thayer (Bill's Belly), Sarah Davis (Sally's Ride), Ruth Taber, Satch Yerdon, Sylvia Curry, Glen Backus (Backus Bend), Pauline Tanner, and Gladys Porter. Clara Bingham joined the group a year later. The first races were skied mainly on local roads and existing logging trails, with the first trail cut between Tucker and Hessel Rd. and named "Alice's Alley". Little by little, more woods trails were designed with the expertise of David Larrabee, Forest Ranger, and cut by many volunteers, 4-H Clubs, and boy and Girl Scout troops. The Operations Branch of the DEC has expended many hours of labor with heavy equipment toward the fruition of this muli-trail complex.
With the melding of ideas, resources and manpower, Winona State Forest has become one of New York State's best venues for recreation.
Read: Winona State Forest: A Winter Wonderland Tucked Into the Tug Hill Region
Published in the Syracuse Post-Standard, January 8, 2010
