Cattaraugus County is home to several rock formations, each telling a geologic story of a time gone by. In this edition of Explore New York, Time Warner Cable News reporter Rebecca Vogt takes us to Little Rock City and its serene surroundings.

In southwestern New York, there's a place where rocks tower over your head like skyscrapers, remnants of a shallow sea from hundreds of millions of years ago.

"You can see things up there that were untouched in terms of glaciers. We can get a sense of what this place used to look like," said Daniel Shaffer a DEC principal forestry technician.

Just a short drive away from Ellicottville and ski resort Holiday Valley lies Little Rock City, a conglomerate of rocks that are as unique as their history. The flat, 3/4 mile trail is an easy walk, allowing visitors to sneak through crevasses or explore the paths many say resemble city streets.

"A person can go and stand on what would have been an old sea floor. Deposits of sedimentary material are compacted over time. You can see that in striations in the rock. Very neat. Very unique," said Shaffer.

Little Rock City is just a small portion of the 6,000-plus acre Rock City-McCarty Hill State Forests which has been owned by the state since the mid-1930s. The Department of Conservation manages the area, which Shaffer says is considered primitive with dirt roads and no amenities.

A lot of the forest was logged off in the early 20th century and has grown back since. However, the DEC still uses the area to regrow trees and preserve wildlife. Roads were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during Roosevelt's presidency.

"As automobiles became more prevalent they needed those roads to get in here and enjoy themselves," said Shaffer.

Visitors can camp, hike, bike, hunt and fish to their heart's desire 365 days a year, but they should respect nature in the process.

"We want to encourage people to come out and enjoy these properties. Leave it better than you found it, carry in carry out," said Shaffer.

There's just some rules to ensure the rocks can stay around for hundreds of millions of years to come.