The Finger Lakes Land Trust has acquired another prime tract of land that overlooks Canandaigua Lake. The 13 and a half acre parcel is near the summit of Bare Hill - on Van Epps Road in the Town of Middlesex in Yates County. It's adjacent to the entrance to New York State’s Bare Hill Unique Area. Plans call for eventually selling the land to the state. The property is entirely forested with a mix of oak-hickory forest and planted conifers.
The Land Trust says "Bare Hill is well known in the area as the scenic ridge that rises 865 feet above Canandaigua Lake’s eastern shore just north of Vine Valley. Old photos show that the area was indeed “bare” in the past but today it is largely forested, except for its summit which is covered with a mix of meadows and shrub lands. One Seneca legend has it that the writhing of a great serpent swept the hill of its trees and bushes until it was bare. Whatever the cause, Bare Hill is notable for its shallow soils that are susceptible to drought stress most summers."
Money to acquire the property was donated by anonymous donor who they say "cares deeply about the future of Canandaigua Lake and its surrounding rural landscapes."
