Jenksville State Forest Tour

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Unknown

Jenksville State Forest is comprised of 1,350 acres in northeastern Tioga County, providing a 12-mile trail system for hiking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing.

The trails were designed for beginner and intermediate riders and are a mix of doubletrack and singletrack. While a few of the access trails are gravel covered and wide, most of the trails are root-laden, dirt singletrack. This featured ride loops around most of the best trails in the forest.

These trails see occasional horse use, be prepared to yield trail right-of-way accordingly. More trail information can be found on the Cycle-CNY website or on the NYS DEC website.

Trailhead parking is provided in two locations - a small lot on Shirley Road and a larger lot (to accommodate horse trailers) on Allison Hill Road. This featured ride begins and ends at the Allison Hill Road parking lot.

The trails are marked with circular trail makers and designated by color and number. Most trails have gentle or moderate slopes and can be ridden in either direction. The Blue loops are located in the middle of this forest, the Red loops to the east, and the Yellow loops to the west.

These trails are managed by the NYS DEC and maintained by volunteers. In 2015, the NYS DEC added gravel to several of the main access trails in order to address drainage and erosion issues. Most of the trails in this forest are singletrack though, and consist of rolling hills and a root-laden, dirt surface.

Multiple trail intersections allow much variation on riding loops, but require riders to watch for trail markers to stay on course. This trail system does not drain particularly well and can be muddy in wet conditions.

This featured ride begins with a clockwise loop on the Blue trails, through a nice section of evergreen forest along cross-country style singletrack. The route then crosses over Shirley Road to connect to the Red loops.

The Red loops encircle a hilltop radio tower on the eastern edge of the loop through a mix of hardwood and evergreen forest. Return back across Shirley Road, west across the Blue trails, and out to the Yellow trails loop. The far west edge of the Yellow loop provides a nice view of the West Creek Valley.

Jenksville Forest was created in the 1940's in response to soil erosion problems, to produce forest products, and to provide future recreational opportunities. The majority of the property was previously pasture or tilled acreage that was suffering from neglect.

The DEC planted 837,000 pines, spruce, fir, cedar, larch and oak seedlings. Today, nearly all of the area is forested, the soils have been improved, and the harvesting of forest products supports all management activities including recreation.