Susquehanna ADK Brings Back Saturday Hikes for 2026 Season
By MARIA GRISWOLD
OTSEGO COUNTY
On April 18, the Susquehanna Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club kicked off its 2026 Saturday Hikes series with a 7.8-mile trek on the Catskill Scenic Trail.
The Saturday Hikes program was started last year by Tom Austin, chair of the Susquehanna ADK chapter. Austin said the group usually leads weekly Tuesday hikes, calling them their “bread and butter.” He wanted to add Saturday hikes to open up the possibility for new faces.
“We have members who are working and are younger, so this will attract different hikers,” Austin explained.
In its inaugural year, the program included seven hikes. This year, they have expanded that number to 10.
“Three of the Saturday hikes are new hikes we just approved, which is exciting,” Austin said.
For these longer excursions, hikers bring their own lunches. Saturday hikes, unlike the weekly hikes, require pre-registration to attend. They are limited to 20 participants.
According to a press release, last year’s Saturday Hikes series had excellent enrollment. There were more than 80 overall participants. Due to the program’s success, the chapter decided to expand the program for 2026. Many of these hikes will return to the same popular sites as last year, and some will explore new terrain.
The Saturday Hikes program lasts from April to October. Other locations to be visited this year are:
- May 2: Pine Lake to Mud Lake to Robert V. Riddell State Park
- May 16: Pharsalia Woods State Forest, South Plymouth
- June 20: Plotter Kill Preserve, Rotterdam
- July 18: Russell Brook Falls and Trout Pond Loop, Roscoe
- August 15: City of the Hills Hike, Table Rock to Homer Folks
- September 12: Balsam Lake Mountain, Hardenburgh
- September 26: John Boyd Thacher State Park, Voorheesville
- October 17: Bramley Mountain Fire Tower, Bloomville
- Oct. 31: Clapper Hollow State Forest, Jefferson
These hikes are much more strenuous than the group’s typical weekly hikes, lasting all day and traveling twice as far.
“Our hikes are called level one, which means they are a distance of eight or less miles and elevation of 1,000 feet or less,” Austin remarked in reference to their Saturday hikes.
Participants for each trek are limited to 20-25 hikers, depending on the individual hike.
The Susquehanna Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club is based in Oneonta. The majority of its members live within Chenango, Delaware and Otsego counties. The chapter currently has more than 225 members. They are in the 49th year of operation as a chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club.
On the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m., from September to May, the chapter has monthly meetings in Oneonta’s Elm Park Methodist Church. During these meetings, the group generally coordinates hike information and reviews trip reports.
Conservation, recreation, and education are just a few of the opportunities that the Susquehanna Chapter of the ADK Mountain Club provides for their members within the greater Oneonta area and throughout New York State.
Members are in a diverse range of age groups and participate in hikes both locally and through Adirondack and Catskill State Parks. Trip reports are published after each hike.
To learn more about the chapter and the upcoming Saturday excursions, visit https://susqadk.org/.
