Earl Cardot Eastside Overland Trail, Canadaway Creek WMA

Visited April 4, 2021

The Earl Cardot Eastside Overland Trail has more than one parking area.

I used the parking area on Route 79/629/Center Road off of Route 83, Arkwright, NY. The parking area is marked as Earl Cardot Eastside Overland Trail and is on the left side of the road if you are driving south from Route 83.

55 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny, light breeze

An outhouse is located near the lean tos and pond about 2 miles from the parking area described above. It does not get regular cleaning, and I would bring your own toilet paper.

Leashed dogs are welcome on the trails. Please bring baggies and carry out your trash and any dog poo.

No gnats or mosquitos at this time of year.

No cost to access these trails.

Parking for approximately 10 vehicles. The parking area is a gravel and dirt surface. We were the only vehicle at the parking area after noon on Easter Sunday.

I rambled for 4.34 miles on the Cardot Trail from the parking area to the lean tos and pond and then back to the parking area again. I enjoyed visiting the pond at the lean tos. There is a working water pump at the pond but it does not provide potable water. We passed 8 people and a dog on the trails and saw two others ahead of us at one of the intersections, the most people I have ever seen on one Cardot Trail outing. The first section of the trail from where I parked was a long, uphill climb with a pretty ravine to the left with a few miniature waterfalls to create a lovely backdrop to the otherwise quiet walk. There was no road noise that I noticed for the entire walk. A clear stream went under the trail; this was a nice spot for Wesley to cool down after the uphill climb from the parking area. There is a section that goes along the edge of a meadow that has a few “distractor trails”. Do not turn left unless you see the Overland Trail sign. I have some pictures below to assist with identifying the trail turning points. When I arrived at the pond, I was surprised to see how close the wind turbines were; I have not visited this site since the wind turbines were installed.

The trail was in good shape but there were two trees that had fallen into the trail in recent months. The trails are gravel, dirt and leaf litter with some wooden bridges that can be slippery if they are wet. One bridge is very brittle. The trails were mostly dry but there were some muddy sections. The trails were rarely single-file.

Today I saw robins and a blue jay, and I heard woodpeckers. Frogs were singing their hearts out at one swampy area alongside the trail. The trout lilies are starting to peek through last fall’s leaf litter. Beautiful maples, cherry, and evergreen trees make this a beautiful trail year round.

More information about the Overland Trail system: https://hikechautauqua.com/#

The trail has a geocache on it. To learn more about geocaching, visit www.geocaching.com.

The Earl Cardot Eastside Overland Trail is part of the WNY Summer Hiking Challenge. I joined the Summer 2021 challenge and this was the third trail I completed for the challenge. https://outsidechronicles.com/challenge

Update June 25, 2022:

80 degrees Fahrenheit, cool and shady in the wooded areas

The cleanest I have seen the parking area and trails since we discovered it in 2006.

The wildflowers were in bloom in the pasture part of the walk...beautiful with butterflies fluttering. Daisies, milkweed, and more.

This hike is part of the WNY Hiking Challenge, Summer 2022. To learn more: https://outsidechronicles.com/summer/.

Read this before going out on the Overland Trail.

Coltsfoot

Heading up the slope from the parking area.

Ravine to the left of the trail. A few mini waterfalls at this time of this year. 4/4/21

This is NOT the trail. Do not turn left here.

When you see these TRAIL signs, keep going in the direction you have been walking.

Funny...I rarely ski faster than that. (Probably it is for the snowmobilers but it still made me laugh.)

When you see this sign, keep walking in the direction you have been walking.

Rules of the trail.

When this is to your right as you come out of the wooded trail, turn right.

The trail in the right side of the picture will take you back the way you came, but turn left to visit the lean tos and pond.

Use this trail to get to the lean tos and pond.

I do not know what this is, but it is pretty.

It is not a TARDIS; it is a porta potty in the woods.

The other lean to is to your left (my right).

The lean to that was to my right in the last picture.

In this picture, the lean tos are behind me, one to my left and one to my right. The water pump works, but I would not assume it is potable. I invite you to bring your water purification system with you.

This sign was at the end of the trail that I took on my return from the lean tos. (Remember that sign from earlier that said LEAN TO to the left and TRAIL to the right?)