Little Rock City Nature Loop Trail is a 0.7 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Salamanca, New York that features a cave and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Little Rock City is a natural outcrop of conglomerate rock. The start of the loop trail is located at the end of Little Rock City Forest Road at the turn around loop. The trail is marked with yellow DEC Trail discs. This is one of three "rock cities" in Cattaraugus County. The others are Rock City, south of Olean, and Thunder Rocks in Allegany State Park. A "rock city" is a rock formation with large rocks with narrow pathways between the rocks that may resemble city streets to some people. This loop trail winds through the rocks and intersects the Finger Lakes Trail / North Country National Scenic Trail where it can be followed back to the Little Rock City Forest Road, by turning left at the junction. When you reach Little Rock City Road turn left to return to the turn around loop and the end of this hike.
Big Round about at trail head.
Forestry Department
Directions From Salamanca Take Route 353 north towards Little Valley Turn right on Whig Street Stay on Whig Street until Hungry Hollow Rd. Turn Right. Turn right on Little Rock City Rd. and follow it until cul-du-sac at the end. From Buffalo Take Route 62 South through Gowanda Turn left onto Route 353, through Cattaraugus and Little Valley Turn left on Whig Street Stay on Whig Street until Hungry Hollow Rd. Turn Right. Turn right on Little Rock City Rd. and follow it until cul-du-sac at the end.
Got caught up on the bike trail to start but a nice trail with beautiful weather. Still lots of mud in places but overall a nice day out.
FAMILIES TAKE NOTE!!! The last portion of the dirt road leading up to the parking is closed off and completely covered in snow. This added a bit more than 1.5 miles hike in each direction just to get to the trail head, not an easy feat with a 2 and 6 year old. If I had a sled to drag them on it would have been a lot easier. Otherwise, the actual trail seems beautiful, we couldn’t complete it because the kids where exhausted by the time we got there and we only dipped in for a bit.
Very tough hiking conditions, lots of post holes from previous hikers.
This was a beautiful hike and so many new things to discover around every bend. Be aware of your surroundings as I could see someone getting lost. Also, not the easiest to find with a GPS. Go down the seasonal road and a mile and there is another you have to turn left onto. If you don’t turn and reach houses, you’ve gone too far. Would recommend again and again.
The rock city part is really impressive! Worth a trip. The section near hungry hollow road is overgrown and not so pleasant when wet.
it was great there was a lot of rocks and caves that we walk through. we took a lot of pictures. we also were are part of this hiking Challenge and we took our picture where we found the cave drawings and they were very awesome. their was a lot of huge rocks . it was a great experience for adults and kids. a little muddy at some points. but I'm going to give it a five out of five because it is a great experience and I would definitely come back again and do this again.
Tail map is off a mile.. there is about 4 miles of dirt and gravel road to reach this destination.. my gps wanted me to stop and walk it cause it doesn’t show on gps.. anyway.. this trail was an add on to a trip and was very fun.. absolutely enjoyed every minute of this trail.. it was an easy stroll but interesting every turn.
My son picked this trail out when I showed him so to pick from on his birthday.. It was much more fun than I anticipated.. twists and turns and great geology.. the map directions will get you close then tell you to walk.. yeah don’t do that.. keep driving about 4 miles further down that road along dirt road and when you reach the end of that road your are there to access the trail
I loved the rocks here. It was muddy. There was a lot of broken glass on the trail and this trail specifically wasn’t well marked but this app helped us through!!!
Really enjoyed this hike. If you want a longer hike, start at the CCC camp Seneca. The Finger Lakes Trail/North Country Trail are part of this hike also, so very well marked. Round trip was over five miles but trail was really nice, deep woods with crossing tributaries, moss covered rocks and downed tree branches. Was great hearing nothing but nature during this concerning time. Also it can be muddy and very buggy along the way- so be prepared and check yourself for ticks!