Ranger Outfitters is a wilderness guide service for the Finger Lakes Trail and Adirondack Regions of Upstate New York. Our guides are CPR Certified, Basic First Aid Certified, and Basic Water Safety Certified. They are trained in Winter and Summer Survival Skills and are proficient in Wilderness Recreation. All Wilderness Guides are licensed by the State of New York for Hiking and Camping under License #3675.

The company was founded by Christopher Merola in 2001. Chris grew up in the greater Corning, NY area and the Finger Lakes Region. He is passionate about his fields of hiking and camping. He believes that when he takes a group out that they expect and deserve an enjoyable experience. His exuberance of the outdoors and his zeal to share his love of nature was the driving force in the creation of Ranger Outfitters.

Chris spent eight years in the active military service with 3 overseas tours and numerous other deployments. He learned his extensive skills in land navigation, map reading, hiking, and other related survival skills during this time frame. He can speak some German and Korean.

Chris enjoys his other hobbies which include Fishing, Woodworking, Bird Watching, Plant Identification, and Star Gazing (his version of amateur astronomy).

Ranger Outfitters is located in Corning, New York, which is in Upstate New York approximately 60 miles west of Binghamton on I86.