The Old Vassar Men's Cross Country Course extends the old women's 3-mile course to about 5 miles in compliance with the standard NCAA Division III men's cross country course length (however in since Fall 2008 it is no longer used for competition). The course comprises trail, grass, pavement, and gravel to make a challenging but fast run. Below are detailed directions and an interactive map. We recommend that you take notes and carry them with you to avoid getting lost.
Start in the northwest corner of Ballantine Field (near the storage shed), facing away from the TAs, with Walker Fieldhouse on your left. About 80 meters ahead you should see a yellow gate, which is your first target. Run past the yellow gate, and continue along the well-beaten ridge overlooking Sunset Lake. This ridge leads into a wide trail after about 180m. Run into the trail, heading up a fairly steep hill. The trail levels out briefly before heading up another steep hill beneath a row of powerlines. At the top of this hill, the trail makes a 90 degree turn to the left. Take the turn, and feel the relief of a brief downhill which ends abruptly at a T-intersection. Go right at this intersection and follow the rolling, winding trail for another quarter mile until you hit a street. At the street, take a left and run straight ahead toward another big yellow gate. Go around the gate, and you'll find yourself on the widest part of Backside. Follow this wide trail for a half mile - there are no turns or intersections. Eventually you'll find yourself alongside a fenced in backyard of a local resident. This marks 1 mile - check your watch. After two turns in the trail, you'll emerge onto pavement, heading down a steep hill with the golf course on your left. At the bottom of this hill, turn right. Now you're in the neighborhood behind campus. Take your first left, follow the curve around, and then take another left down the hill. At the bottom of the hill, you'll come to another intersection. Here, go right across the bridge and up the hill past Kenyon Hall. After passing the Blodgett Parking Lot on your left, turn onto the first path that cuts between Blodgett and Cushing, toward the Old Observatory and Baldwin. Follow this path briefly before turning left down the rocky hill toward the TAs. This hill ends in a parking lot at which you'll turn right. Follow along the road along the stream, and continue onto the path around Sunset Lake. Take one lap around the lake, and head back out through the parking lot along the stream (you're backtracking now). Turn back up the rocky hill you just came down, and run up it, turning right at the top in front of Blodgett. Turn right to drop down the hill in front of Kenyon, cross the bridge, and then turn right up the hill past the Golf Course. Follow the road in front of the Athletic and Fitness Center toward Ballantine Field, but do not go on the field. Follow the road aroudn the the right of the field, and head back through the Yellow Gate and into the woods. Run the woods section described above again, past Kenyon and Blodgett, down the hill, and toward Sunset Lake. On this second loop, rather than running around the Lake, turn left up the road. Go up the hill, and finish in a diagonal bee-line toward the birch tree in the corner of the field.