Preview
Faculty Mentor
Christopher Badurek
Creation Date
5-2026
Description
Outdoor recreation, such as hiking, is an important component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, especially in regions such as Central New York where natural areas are abundant. Hiking trails provide opportunities for people to connect with the environment, making it important that individuals of all abilities can access and experience these spaces. However, many environmental and physical factors can influence the difficulty and accessibility of hiking trails. This study evaluates trail accessibility at Lime Hollow Nature Center in Cortland, New York using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and field-based data collection. Trail width, surface type, slope, and obstacles were recorded at 32 points along the Art Meadow Loop and Lehigh Valley Trail, standardized into a weighted Accessibility Index, and analyzed using Kernel Density Estimation to identify spatial clusters of accessibility challenges. The analysis highlights areas with more difficult trail conditions and indicates where accessibility may be improved.
Keywords
Lime Hollow Nature Center, GIS, Kernel Density Estimation, Geography, Transformations, Outdoor Recreation, trail accessibility