Visitors to the Salt Point Natural Area will find the main trail winding along Salmon Creek and the shoreline of Cayuga Lake much easier to follow – and navigate – thanks to new stone dust recently laid down by Town of Lansing crews.

The trail upgrade is designed to make Salt Point accessible to people with disabilities, who previously had to navigate a trail system of crushed rock and uneven surface if they wanted to access the shoreline or catch a glimpse of the area's celebrity residents – the osprey pair who return each spring to raise a family on the platform near the western point. This spring they successfully hatched three young, as they have every year since 2013.


The Friends of Salt Point, a non-profit group that helps the Town of Lansing manage this natural area, is grateful to the Town Board for providing funds for 268 tons of stone dust, which crews laid down over much of an existing dirt trail system that winds around the 38-acre site that sits across Salmon Creek from Myers Park.

More than 240 bird species can be seen from Salt Point and there is a wide variety of wildlife living there. Salt Point is also a favorite picnicking spot for Lansing families, especially on hot days, like last week's string of sizzlers in the high 90s.

Salt Point is leased by Lansing from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), which owns it. The Friends of Salt Point, Cayuga Bird Club, and other volunteers are currently restoring the natural beauty of this scenic peninsula by adding walking trails, removing invasive species, and reestablishing native trees and shrubs to provide vital wildlife habitat for osprey and other native creatures.


The newly surfaced walking trails complement the handicap parking facilities, which were installed several years ago.  After a few rains, the stone dust will turn into a hard-packed crust, which is easier to navigate than stone, dirt, or mulch.

"My disabilities make walking to the osprey platform difficult on most days and impossible on others," says one resident who studies and photographs these iconic birds. "The stone dust will make my life so much easier."

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