Rules for Dogs on Your Trails


 

On 2/25/2013 7:14 AM, John  wrote:
Good Morning,
     First of all, Thank You!!  You guys do an awesome job of making these trails the absolute best in all of Central New York.  I have a question though.  I've encountered people skiing with their dogs the past couple times I've been out and am wondering what the latest rules are for dogs.  A few weeks ago I encountered a very large dog with it's owner on the Jackson Hill trails (going from the warming hut toward the Sunfield). It was fairly well behaved, but as I said, it was a large dog and did some serious trampling of your beautifully groomed trails.  I politely said something to the lady, and she said that one can have dogs ONLY on the Jackson Hill trails.  Then yesterday, I encountered another very large dog (with owners) on the Canal Trail at the trailhead below Pixley Falls, with the same result to your nicely groomed trails. The lady there said, oh no, the website says you can have dogs on the Canal Trail only.  Therein lies my question. 
     I know your website says you can have dogs on the Canal Trail only, but the sign at the Trail-head of the Canal Trail (again, below Pixley) says the NEW rules are no dogs on any trails.  I'm just curious which is correct. Don't get me wrong, I like dogs, just not when I'm skiing on some of the most pristine trails in the State.   
     Most people get their information about whether or not to bring their dog from your website, so the latest rules, whatever they may be, should probably be up there at the very least.   Thanks for any information you can give me, and once again, thanks for the wonderful work you do. 
John
Sherrill, NY
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BREIA Response:

Hi John...
Thanks for again addressing the "dogs" issue.  As mentioned in a blog posting last week (below), dogs are prohibited from all BREIA  trails in winter, with the exception of the Canal Trail, where they are discouraged. The difference is that the Canal Trail is on State land, where we do not have the right to enforce a prohibition.  All other BREIA trails are on private land, and we do prohibit dogs there during the winter months.

You are correct... this clarification needs to be clearly stated on our website, but it takes a little time to get our webmaster to update permanent items here.  We are requesting that the dog rules be added here prominently.

Thanks for your concern. It is one of ours also.

Jackson Hill Sunday

On 2/24/2013 6:47 PM, Marcia wrote:
 
 My daughter and I skied the yellow and blue trails on Jackson Hill today. Although it was quite icy in spots it was a very nice ski and the trails were in fairly good condition. There was a large group of 30 people skiing as well and everyone out there seemed to be noting themselves. A few falls for sure. 

Dogs at Pixley(Canal Trail) and Jackson Hill

It is sad to note that dog owners do not feel responsible for picking up after their animals.  On 2/22/13 skiers were greeted with 2 different dog deposits.  This was not as bad as what greeted skiers approx 3 locks from the RT 46 crossing.  It was a plastic bag containing what looked like animal parts.  How can anyone be so thoughtless!  Contacted someone @ Breia.  Hopefully it has been removed.  Warned a person with unleashed dog and they leashed their animal to keep it away from the bag.
There has also been 2 occasions (on weekends) that unleashed dogs wee on the Jackson Hill trail.
How can people abuse such a great asset!
The groomers have done a great job this year.  m c martin


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BREIA Response:

Dogs are absolutely banned from all BREIA trails during the winter months (for the reasons you state above) with the exception of the Canal Trail. While we try to discourage bringing doggs on the Canal Trail, it is on State-owned land (NYS Canals Division), and we do not have the ability to prohibit dogs from State land.  It is fun for dogs and their owners to be on trails together, but doing so lowers the experience for all others, and we wish all trail users owning dogs would consider and respect that.

Skiiing President's weekend

On 2/21/2013 3:55 PM,  Glenn wrote:


I can’t believe the past few years, we have been missing the best trail set of the 3, Skyfield on Jackson!  We skied all 3 trail sets Presidents Weekend and Skyfield on Jackson was everybody’s favorite.  Not that the other 2 weren’t really nice too, but the trails and the grooming was the best at Skyfield on Jackson!  Friday afternoon, we skied the Canal Trail, Saturday we skied Skyfield on Jackson all day, Sunday we went to Osceola-Tug Hill, and Monday we skied Egypt Road.  I always enjoy the Glacier Trail where you ring the bell before descending!

Thanks for a great trail system.  We will definitely be returning next year!

Glenn

Horses on BREIA trails?

 On 2/11/2013 4:19 PM, kimberly wrote:

Hello, I am writing because I am confused about the status of horses on the BREIA trails. Originally, horses were welcomed during the summer months and are still mentioned on some of the road side signs. However, there is one gate on Egypt Road that says "no horses" , but this gate is not adjacent to any parking area. Are there certain areas where horses are permitted or restricted? None of the other signs at the parking lots specifically address the issue. Riders have enjoyed the trails for years but now the signs convey mixed messages. Can you please clarify? Thank you.
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BREIA Response:

Horses are not permitted on the BREIA trails on private land at any time.

You are correct that that was not always the case.  Years ago, some BREIA signs were ordered and posted that did permit horses  But then our insurance carrier objected, and we thought all of those signs had been removed/replaced. The policy now, no horses on any private lands that BREIA trails cross, is firm and should be respected by all users.

As to BREIA trails on state-owned lands, while we discourage horses on our trails there, we cannot and would not attempt to counter any State policies concerning horses on State-owned lands.
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Lodging near Boonville?



On 2/11/2013 1:00 PM, Lisa  wrote:

Hey,

We are hoping to come in from Baltimore this weekend to XC ski and was wondering if you had a list of local lodging.
        Also    Are you far from Rome, NY? 
         Would I be able to find ski rentals for my 3 year old in Boonville?


Thanks so much,

Lisa
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 BREIA Response:

This is going to be a busy weekend in Boonville and lodging in and very close to the village is limited, so you should make plans before the weekend. Here is a link to the Boonville Chamber's lodging page as a good place to start.

  Rome to Boonville is a 25-30 minute drive via NYS Rt. 46.

From the BREIA Blog, Feb. 6
:
Cross country ski equipment,including boots & poles,   are  available on weekends and during the President's Week vacation daily at the Boonville Search and Rescue building at the Canal Trail trail-head in Boonville, next to the Headwaters plaza on Rt. 12. The program is a fundraiser project for Boonville SAR.

When taking the equipment you will be asked to leave, as a deposit, $5 and your driver's license.  When you return the equipment, you can retrieve your license and  then either receive back the $5 or leave it as a donation to BSAR.


The ski equipment was originally donated to Boonville Search and Rescue by BREIA, but the loan program is a project of BSAR and not BREIA.


Hours are 10AM to 4PM on days they are open.  Equipment may be taken to other BREIA trails, but you should have two drivers so you can leave a license with BSAR.

Hope this helps!

Re: Egypt Rd. vs. Jackson Hill?

 
On 2/6/2013 9:15 AM, Barnes, Glenn wrote:

One more question.  Looking at the maps, it looks like Egypt Road Trails has a warming hut but Skyfields on Jackson does not.  Is this the case?  Are warming huts always open?

Hoping for some more lake effect snow in the next 2 weeks!
Thanks again,

Glenn
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BREIA RESPONSE:

There is also a warming hut at Jackson Hill, a very nice one, and it is shown on the trail map. Go to the main parking lot. Follow the Hillside Trail a short distance, past the gray container structure, to a marked trail to the left, which takes you to the warming hut. It's about a 5 minute walk or 3 minute ski at most. 

Both of our warming huts (Egypt Road and Jackson Hill) are open at all daylight hours during the winter months, and are heated by wood stoves. Firewood and kindling are supplied, but if you are the first user of the day, you may have to light  the fire,  PLEASE be very careful not to overheat the stove, and do not leave it unattended unless the damper is at least half closed.

Enjoy!

Ski rentals?

On 2/5/2013 7:57 AM, Linda wrote:

Hello,
Checking to see if you rent cross country skis?  Thanks,  Linda
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BREIA Response:
Cross country ski equipment,including boots & poles,   are  available on weekends and during the President's Week vacation daily at the Boonville Search and Rescue building at the Canal Trail trail-head in Boonville, next to the Headwaters plaza on Rt. 12. The program is a fundraiser project for Boonville SAR.

When taking the equipment you will be asked to leave, as a deposit, $5 and your driver's license.  When you return the equipment, you can retrieve your license and  then either receive back the $5 or leave it as a donation to BSAR.

The ski equipment was originally donated to Boonville Search and Rescue by BREIA, but the loan program is a project of BSAR and not BREIA.

Hours are 10AM to 4PM on days they are open.  Equipment may be taken to other BREIA trails, but you should have two drivers so you can leave a license with BSAR.
Hope this helps!
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Trail conditions: Noon Saturday 2/2

From BREIA:

Happy Ground Hog's Day!  Please see the Trail Conditions page for a weekend update on the trails.

Trail Conditions 2/1 ?

On 2/1/2013 1:20 PM,  Shannon wrote:
Looking to come out tomorrow but not sure if you rec’d enough snow yesterday and last night to improve your honest condition report as of Thursday (and to justify my 4 hr round trip drive!).  Thanks.

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BREIA Response:

We lost a lot of snow. All trails are being rolled today, but not tracked. We are trying to regain a packed base in hopes of tracking over the weekend IF we get more snow. There is lake snow coming off Ontario today, but the bands are currently going southward, not eastward to us.  If they shift back up our way and we get another 4+ inches we will try to track as many trails as possible for Sunday, but there are no guarantees.

We appreciate those of you who travel a distance to ski here, and we don't want you to be disappointed or feel you were misled on conditions.
Good luck...We're not happy either!!