This Sunday we have a choice of activities, both starting from Sandy Bottom Park at the the northwest corner of Honeoye Lake – a hike in Sandy Bottom Park and its adjacent creek, or a bike ride around Honeoye Lake. While we’ve done this event for the past few years, note that our starting point and the location of our social are different this year.  After the workouts we will enjoy a dish-to-pass social at the lakeshore in Sandy Bottom Park.

Everyone meets at 3:45 at the Sandy Bottom Park parking lot on Jack Evans Drive, off County Road 36 (West Lake Road), about .4 mile from Route 20A/Main Street Honeoye.  Hikers will explore the nature trails and wetlands of Sandy Bottom Park. Cyclists will circumnavigate the lake counter clockwise, first heading south on County Road 36 for about 8 miles to the intersection with East Lake Road, then heading north along the east side of the Honeoye Valley. At about the 12 mile point those looking for a breather may visit the Honeoye South Boat Launch for a stop (with rest room) by the lake. Continue north on East Lake Road to Route 20A (Main Street Honeoye) and return to the start by Main Street and West Lake Road. Total distance is about 17 miles of gently rolling terrain, with the biggest climb near the start.  Cyclists may go at their own speed;  please bring plenty of water, and helmets are required.

Social:  Please join us after the workouts for our optional dish-to pass social at the Sandy Bottom pavilion. The pavilion is to the east of the parking lot, past the Rotary Club building and next to the lake. Bring a lawn chair in case the pavilion is reserved.  Bring your own beverage and favorite dish to share, or contribute $5 to our social fund. There is no long term parking near the pavilion, but there is a gravel drive you can take to the left of the Rotary Building to drop things off for the Social.

Directions:
From Springwater: Head north to Route 20A in Hemlock. Turn east on 20A. Turn south on County Road 36 (west Lake Road) at the red light intersection. Go 0.4 miles to Jack Evans Drive, and park in the large parking lot next to the ball field.

From Naples:  Go north on County Road 36, and right on Jack Evans Drive just before reaching Honeoye Village.

From the east (Bristol, Canandaigua, etc): Take Rte 64 south to Rte 20A, make right onto 20A, left onto West Lake Road at the Honeoye traffic light, left on Jack Evans Drive.

From the west (Hemlock, Livonia, etc): Take Rte 15A to Route 20A, make left onto 20A, right onto West Lake Road, left on Jack Evans Drive.

Come join us for a hike in Sandy Bottom Park and its adjacent creek, or a bike ride around Honeoye Lake!

We will meet at 1:45pm at the parking area of Jack Evans Drive at Sandy Bottom Park, (which is located at the northwest corner of Honeoye Lake) off County Road 36 (West Lake Road), about .4 mile from Route 20A/Main Street Honeoye.

Hikers will explore the nature trails and wetlands of Sandy Bottom Park.

Cyclists will circumnavigate the lake counter clockwise, first heading south on County Road 36 for about 8 miles to the intersection with East Lake Road, then heading north along the east side of the Honeoye Valley. At about the 12 mile point those looking for a breather may visit the Honeoye South Boat Launch for a stop (with rest room) by the lake. Continue north on East Lake Road to Route 20A (Main Street Honeoye) and return to the start by Main Street and West Lake Road. Total distance is about 17 miles of gently rolling terrain, with the biggest climb near the start. An alternate course is available for those looking for a shorter and easier ride of about 12 miles; this will circle the lake part way going in the other direction, through Honeoye and down East Lake Road to the South Boat Launch and back. Cyclists may go at their own speed; please bring plenty of water.  Bike helmets are required.

Social:  Please join us after the workouts at the Bird House Brewery,  8716 Main St, Honeoye, NY 14471. For menu see: https://commerce.arryved.com/location/BeNKYUPu/modality/pickup

Directions:
From Springwater: Head north to Route 20A in Hemlock. Turn east on 20A. Turn south on County Road 36 (west Lake Road) at the red light intersection. Go 0.4 miles to Jack Evans Drive, and park in the large parking lot next to the ball field.

From Naples:  Go north on County Road 36, and right on Jack Evans Drive just before reaching Honeoye Village.

From the east (Bristol, Canandaigua, etc): Take Rte 64 south to Rte 20A, make right onto 20A, left onto West Lake Road at the Honeoye traffic light, left on Jack Evans Drive.

From the west (Hemlock, Livonia, etc): Take Rte 15A to Route 20A, make left onto 20A, right onto West Lake Road, left on Jack Evans Drive.

On the last Sunday before the 4th of July we will have a leisurely walk around the magnificent Maplewood Rose Garden in the northwest quadrant of Rochester, at the junction of Lake Avenue and Driving Park Avenue. Maplewood Park is one of two original parks laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted to highlight the Genesee River. There is good parking at the Rose Garden at the driving Park Avenue entrance. The link to the Rochester city web site pages for Maplewood Park is here

All groups will walk together on this hike. It is intended to be an slow, easy, relaxing afternoon in a lovely part of Rochester.

The Hike

We’ll take up about an hour of the hike with walking around the avenues of roses – there are over 250 varieties on display –  then we’ll walk across Driving Park Avenue to the Lower Falls Park, which surrounds the lowest waterfall on the Genesee River. The walk down to the level of the park is fairly steep, but then it’s easy walking on level pathways. This park offers superb views of the park, a sculpture installation reminiscent of a small Stonehenge and finally Rochester’s own hydroelectric plant. The hydroelectric plant is downstream of a large salient in the river which acts as a supply pond for the turbines.

The Social

For the social we’ll drive to the Genesee Brewing Company plant at High Falls, the highest and most upstream waterfall on the Genesee River in Rochester. The address is: Genesee Brew House, 25 Cataract St, Rochester, NY 14605. It is 2 miles away, going south down St. Paul Street.

Directions to the Maplewood Rose Garden

The address is Maplewood Rose Garden, 250 Maplewood Ave, Rochester, NY 14613. The first choice for getting there is to tell your GPS that this is where you want to go, and then follow instructions.

GPS isn’t always first choice; here are traditional directions:

From the South:

1:  Take your favorite route to the I490 heading west – which is compass north for those of us living south of the city

2:  Take exit 13 for the Inner Loop

3: Take the exit toward Downtown/St Paul St/Clinton Ave, then use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto St Paul St

4:  Follow St. Paul Street until you come to Avenue E; turn left onto Avenue E

5: Continue onto Driving Park Ave. After you cross the Genesee River the road becomes Driving Park Ave; turn right shortly after the river into Maplewood Park. There’s plenty of parking there

Directions to the Social at the Genesee Brewery

The address is Genesee Brew House, 25 Cataract St, Rochester, NY 14605. Again, the first choice for getting there is to tell your GPS that this is where you want to go, and then follow instructions.

Traditional instructions are:

1:  Exit the Rose Garden parking lot and turn left on to Driving Park Avenue, which turns into Avenue E across the river

2:  Turn right on to St. Paul Street and continue for 1.4 miles.

3:  Turn right on to Cataract Street and the brewery is a hundred yards away in front of you, overlooking the High Falls waterfall.

Second try!  

We got rained out of this hike when it was on our July calendar, so we’re trying again with a terrific forecast this time around.

Join us Sunday the 13th for a different view of the DEC’s Hi Tor property. This time we are offering two hikes in the northern section of the Hi Tor Wildlife Management Area. Naturalists will explore the lower section of Conklin Gully near the Blue Trail Parking Area, while the Climbers and Tourists will car pool to the top and descend along the gully on the Finger Lakes Trail’s Bristol Hill Branch from Brink Hill Road to the west. Most Hi Tor hikes start out with an exhausting climb; this one is an exception – the trail follows the creek downstream  for several miles before emerging on the  service road down toward the Middlesex Valley. Avoiding the very steep final descent to Route 245, we will detour to the north on the Blue Trail and take in the dramatic overlooks at lower Conklin Gully before returning to the cars left at the meeting place. The total Climber hike will be about 3.5 miles with a descent of about 800 feet, but it will occupy 2 hours plus including the car pool. The Naturalist hike will stay near the original meeting point for a more leisurely trip of about 1.5 miles total, descending gently into the gully to the bridge and back, taking in overlook views of the gully and the hills beyond.

Everyone will gather at 3:45 at the Blue Trail Parking Area, off Parrish Hill Road, about a half mile up the hill from the intersection with Route 245.  The car pool with Climbers/Tourists will leave at 4PM sharp, so please be on time. Trail may be muddy or wet if it’s rained recently, so we recommend waterproof and high-traction footwear, long pants and poles for the the occasional steep downhill. Also insect spray.  We will need several volunteers for car pooling.

The optional dish-to-pass social afterwards will be at Naples Community Park at 8165 Route 245, where there are pavilions and rest rooms. Bring your favorite snacks, desserts, salads or entrees to share, or contribute $5 to our social fund. Bring a folding chair just in case the pavilions are reserved or full. 

Directions to Meeting Place at 42.635514,-77.357383: Take your favorite route to Naples.  At the intersection of Main Street Naples (Route 21) with Route 245, just opposite Bob and Ruth’s Restaurant, go north on Route 245 toward Middlesex. In 1.7 miles, take a right on Parrish Hill Road (just after the Hi-Tor Parking Area at the foot of Conklin Gully).  In .5 miles you will see a dirt road on the right, near a sharp left turn. Go up the dirt road a short distance to the Blue Trail Parking Area.

Car pool to Brink Hill Road Parking Area at 42.619834, -77.330930: Return to Parrish Hill Road and go right. In about a mile and a quarter Parrish Hill Road will make a sharp U turn to the right. Continue on Parrish HIll Road another 3/4 mile and make a left on Shay Road, then a right on Brink Road. At the next intersection go right on Brink Hill Road. The parking area will be on your right in about a half mile.

Directions to Social at 42.623798, -77.385576: From Brink Hill Road, return the way you came, back down Brink, Shay and Parrish Hill Roads to Route 245. Go left towards Naples. The Community Park will be on your left, just before the DEC facility and Naples Creek.