Henry A. Smith Woods

Henry A. Smith Woods is a 32-acre old-growth forest located in Trumansburg, New York. It features hiking trails through this unique part of nature which has laid largely undisturbed since before the first settlers. In 1909, this undeveloped forest fragment was given by the sons of Henry Atterbury Smith (1822-1891), a New York City businessman, to the village to be forever preserved as a public park. The woods are now owned by the Cayuga Nature Center, which is committed to preserving it for future generations as an educational resource. An old-growth forest, also known as a primeval or virgin forest, is one that does not have any significant disturbance, particularly human, and usually has unique biodiversity features. Most forests in North America are secondary forests--in that they have been cut down and have since regrown. Old growth forests often have communities of plants and animals that have survived for long periods, sometimes even rare species that are not found elsewhere.