Merck Forest and Farmland Center (MFFC) is an educational nonprofit organization with a mission to teach and demonstrate innovative, sustainable management of forest and farmland. MFFC is composed of 3,162 acres and includes a 3,100 acre managed forest, certified-organic sugaring operation and a 62-acre farm. Visit the farm, venture into the forest or stay overnight in a rustic cabin or lean-to. With over thirty miles of well-marked trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback riding MFFC has a multitude of recreational opportunities. Main access is via route 315. All of Merck Forest and Farmland Center's trails are open year-round. Check out the animals and other farm activities.
Forest Trails
The trail terrain is variable: some loops cover easy-to-moderate terrain (great options for family treks), while other trails are steeper and rocky (more-suited to the experienced hiker). Many trails go through the forest, around the farm, travel along streams, and include beautiful views of the Taconic and Adirondack Mountains. The Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the staff is happy to provide trail recommendations.
There is an excellent trail map: http://merckforest.org/cms/TrailMap.pdf
(Please sign in and out at the kiosk located
near the Visitor Center.)
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Cache Information:
Please provide your own pen or pencil. There isn't one in the cache.
Each of the six cabin caches are hidden at least 125 feet from a cabin. So please do not approach any cabin that is being occupied and please do not disturb any occupants. The caches are not there.
This cabin is about 1.0 mile from the Visitor's Center, off the Antone Road.
If you approach the cache from Ridge Road, it will be off of the trail on your left, about 20' in.
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BONUS CACHE: In order to find its coordinates, you will need to find all six of the cabin caches and obtain the six numbers associated with the six cabins and look them up in a table that is in the Bonus Cache Description. That cache is named the "Merck Cabin Trail Travel Bug Hotel" (GC79AR8).
Each of the six Merck Cabin Trail caches has a number associated with that particular cabin and that can be found inside each container. That number is on a piece of paper in the container and is also written on the inside of the container cap.
As an example: Ridge cabin is not one in the series; however, if it was, its container would have "Ridge = 4" on the piece of paper and "4" written inside the cap. You will need to look up "Ridge = 4" in the table in the Bonus Cache.