Oswego Week 2 / Sterling Nature Center

Week 2 in Oswego, NY | Hiking in Sterling Nature Center | Oswego Riverwalk | March 2023

Our second week in Oswego started with Curtis adjusting his sleep schedule for night shift, and a big Nor’Easter making its way across the area. Since Curtis had Monday off and the forecast showed it snowing from Monday night until Wednesday morning, we took the opportunity to go for a hike late Monday afternoon. We drove a little ways West to Sterling Nature Center and started at the trailhead at the end of Mcintyre Road. The skies were overcast, it seemed they could open up at any minute and deliver the promised 8-12 inches of snow, but for now it was quiet, peaceful, and very comfortable temperature wise.

We began walking on the snowy path through the trees. When an opening appeared on the left, we followed the side trail up to an overlook of the bluffs and Lake Ontario. The views were similar to Chimney Bluff State Park, just in smaller scale. We returned to the main trail which took us downhill, down to the lakeshore. Like yesterday, we enjoyed walking at the base of the bluffs, looking out to the West and trying to make out any of the park we had visited the day before.

After returning to our car, we drove to the main area of Sterling Nature Center park. The visitor center was closed and looked like it was having work done, so we parked in the nearby parking lot which was very muddy. From here, we followed a trail into the woods and made a loop around. Along the way, we found a short observation tower, more overlooks of the lake, and small flowers budding despite the surrounding snow. Just as we were leaving the area, it began to precipitate, and as promised it continued to do so over the next day and a half. I’m not sure how much snow we ended up getting since it was so windy and drifting everywhere, but thankfully it didn’t affect Curtis going to and from work.

Once the storm had passed, we got back to our routine of going for late afternoon walks between Curtis waking up and going to work in the evening. Oswego has a long riverwalk trail that we frequented, over the remainder of our time here we ended up walking the entirety of it in smaller stretches, from the view of the waterfall along the canal all the way to the Maritime Museum. They were pretty good at clearing snow off the sidewalk, though the stairs and parts that didn’t get a lot of sun were sometimes covered, but there were usually railings for more support. We also started at the courthouse one day and found a rail trail that ran right beside it that eventually connected with the riverwalk. Just like in Ottawa, we would have loved to stay more in this downtown area, but there weren’t any dog-friendly hotels that also offered the space and kitchenette we enjoyed at the Home2.

We wrapped up our week with a windy walk on Saturday afternoon at the SUNY campus — not super scenic, but it added a little variety to the week. We ate most meals in the hotel room, but one evening we got calzones from Riverwalk Pizza and thought that their crust was some of the best we’ve had!