It is June and sunny and warm.  What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than on Hemlock Lake?  Bring you kayak or hiking shoes and meet Springwater Trails at the North End boat launch on Hemlock Lake. We will enjoy the water or Rob’s Trail and then will meet after the hike (and kayak) at Hemlock Lake Park for a pot luck social.  Bring a dish to pass and your own beverages or donate to the social fund.

Kayak or Canoe Paddle 

Boaters will meet at Hemlock Lake North Boat Launch and must arrive early enough to have their boat unloaded and car parked in preparation for a 4PM launch.  Try to arrive at 3:30 because the launch will likely be crowded. They will cross the lake to the western shore, paddle south, cross the lake to the eastern shore and return north to the boat launch.  Paddlers will need to determine how far south they can go and have enough time to get back to the launch by 6PM.

Hikers

All hikers will meet at the large parking area of Hemlock Lake Park off Rix Hill Road at 4PM.  All hikers will walk south past the gate on the flat part of Rob’s trail.

The Tourists and Climbers will walk south through the woods until Rob’s Trail heads uphill. Before turning up the hill, we will step out onto the beach and check on the progress of the kayakers. Then this group will continue up the hill to the bridge (or as time permits) and then will return down hill and back to the cars.

The Naturalists will follow the climbers but likely will turn around at or before the beach and return along the same path to the cars.

All hikers and kayakers are welcome to join us for a social at the Hemlock Park pavilion. Head north out of the boat launch to Rix Hill Rd. Turn left and take the second left into the pavilion..

Directions to Hemlock Lake North Boat Launch

From Springwater:  Head north on 15A for 10.1 miles.  Turn left on Rix Hill Road.  Take the first left and follow the road to the end at the boat launch. If the main boat launch is not crowded, we will launch kayaks from there. Otherwise, we can park in the parking lot or along the road and carry kayaks to the kayak launch site.

From Hemlock and Honeoye: From Hemlock head south on 15A. From Honeoye, head west on 20A and turn left onto 15A. From the intersection of 20A and 15A south of Hemlock, continue south for 0.7 miles and turn right onto Rix Hill Rd. Take the first left and follow the road to the end at the boat launch. Parking is available in the lot at the end, or along the road.

PLEASE NOTE – THIS IS THE FIRST SUNDAY EVENT WITH OUR SUMMER STARTING TIME OF 4:00 PM

This Sunday we will explore Ontario County Park at Gannett Hill, the highest point in Ontario County,  and the surrounding terrain, using the travel method of your choice.  Hikers and Cyclists will all start at the Jump Off Parking Area heading off in different directions, and will rendezvous at the Jump-Off for our optional post-exercise social. Please gather promptly at 3:45 pm to get organized and be ready to hike or ride by 4 PM. The later start time is intended to allow participants to also attend the Bristol Hills Historical Society’s 2 PM event at the Burning Springs on Case Road – see https://bristolhillshistory.org/events

Hikers will follow the Finger Lakes Trail’s orange blazed trail to the south and west. Climbers and Tourists will hike down the hill to the Beaver Pond and back, a total of about 4.25 miles and 500 feet of elevation change, while Naturalists will explore the more level trails near the top of the park. Bring water, poles, and good hiking footwear for the park’s rugged terrain. The Park and FLT are full of wildflowers this week – on the prehike we found wild geranium, violets, star flowers, fringe flower, lupines, wild azaleas, trillium, and a lady slipper.

Cyclists will follow the one-way Park Road out to Gannett Hill Road, then head south toward Naples, rounding the south end of Gannett Hill on Seman Road and returning to the north along County Road 33 for a total of about 8 miles of mostly downhill terrain ( a 500 foot drop overall, with some uphill sections) with great views of the hills across the Naples Valley, and of West Hollow.  Upon reaching the County Road 33 trailhead and parking area, north of 6910 County Road 33 (look for wooded parking area on the left and orange trailhead marker on right), they will lock up their bikes, change their footwear, and hike back up the Finger Lakes Trail past the Beaver Pond to the starting point, returning to retrieve their locked bikes at the end of the social.  Cyclists please bring a bike lock and appropriate garb and equipment for both activities.  If you plan to ride, please contact Saralinda at    [email protected]   no later than Saturday, so that we can identify a ride leader.  If you prefer an all-riding event, please advise Saralinda and make your own arrangements for the return to the park by bike or a placed vehicle, and feel free to join us for the post-ride social around 6-6:30 PM. 

Social:  Bring food, beverages, and a lawn chair for a dish-to-pass gathering at the Jump-Off shelter, or nearby if the lodge is reserved. If you run out of time to shop or cook, bring $5 for the can.

Directions: From Springwater: Go south to Naples via Wayland and Route 21. Continue north to Woodville and the start of Route 64. Turn left on Gannett Hill Road and enter the park at the top of the hill. Loop around the perimeter road until you reach the Jump Off parking area and trailhead. 

From Honeoye and Hemlock: Take County Road 33 south from East Lake Road, Honeoye, turning left on County Road 34 to meet Route 64. Go right on 64 and proceed 1.8 miles to make a right on Gannett Hill Road. Enter the park at the top of the hill and loop around the perimeter road until you reach the Jump Off parking area and trailhead. 

From Rochester or Routes 5&20:  Take Route 5&20 to Toomey’s Corners, about 2 miles east of Bloomfield. Go south on Route 64, about 13 miles to make a right on Gannett HIll Road. Enter the park at the top of the hill and loop around the perimeter road until you reach the Jump Off parking area and trailhead. 

This Sunday we will be hiking in Clark’s Gully just north of where Sunnyside Rd crosses the West River outside of Naples. We will plan on meeting at the DEC parking lot. Try to be there a little earlier, at 1:45pm.

Climbers will start across the street from the parking lot. They will start up the main trail and then turn right where the trail splits. They will follow the logging road for about 1.5 miles until they reach the north end of the DEC border at which point the trail dead ends at the property line heavily marked with posted signs. They will turn left up the hill while staying on the DEC property. They will come out to a field on top and a DEC access road with a parking loop that comes in from north end of the DEC property off South Hill Road. There will be 2 choices to get over to the South Hill DEC parking area where the Tourist would have started their hike from. They can choose to either walk South Hill Road back to the South Hill parking area or take the ” yellow gated” access trail at the North end off South Hill back down to the waterfall and cross over the creek and up to the South Hill Parking area. They will be car pooled back to the DEC parking area off Sunnyside.

The tourists will drive up to the top of the park and start at the DEC parking area off of South Hill Road. They will follow the trail down to the creek and cross over following the trail up to access trail that comes in from the “yellow gate” at the north end of the park off South Hill  Road. They can return back to the Dec parking lot off South Hill Road, where they started or continue to the DEC  loop access road to the east  of the yellow gate off South Hill Road and take the logging trail back down to the DEC parking area off of Sunnyside Drive.

The Naturalists can drive to the top of South Hill Parking lot and walk into the same trail as the tourists without crossing the creek. The woods is dotted with pines and is a pleasant walk or they may choose to walk South Hill road taking in the various wild flowers along the roadside.

Those that wish can meet back to the DEC parking area off Sunnyside Drive for a social. Bring a sandwich and a drink.

Note: It is tick and mosquito season so dress for prevention and bring bug spray and plenty of water.

Directions: From Route 21 north of the village of Naples, turn onto Route 245 north. Continue  north for about 5 miles. You will pass the West River boat launch on the left.  Just pass the launch about 1/2 mile, turn left onto Sunnyside Drive and the Clark’s Gully DEC parking lot will be on your right about 1/2 mile down.

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There was time to explore the waterfall while the mushroom hunters caught up.

Next we had a creek walk up to the “campground”.

Since our last hike through the Al Lorenz County Park above Mt Morris, the county has made many improvements to the park, including new trails and beautiful bridges across the streams feeding the large pond. In honor of the opening of the summer season at the park, this Sunday’s hike will provide all hikers an opportunity to see more the park in person.

All hikers and bikers will meet at the parking lot behind Pavilions 4 and the playground (click on the map to the left for details). Following the hike and bike ride (around 4:30), we will meet at Pavilions 3 at the end of the Pond for a dish to pass social (at that time we can move cars to the pavilion parking area).

Our hikers will follow the Letchworth branch of the Finger Lakes Trail along the gorge to the Mt Morris Dam, and then will return to the Park. The Climbers will stay on the Letchworth Branch (Yellow blazes) past the FLTC Office, the Dam Visitors Center to the overlook of the dam. Given time, they will continue on to enjoy addition views of the Letchworth gorge until the trail jogs left away from the river. Turning around at that point will result in a round trip hike of about 3.4 miles.

The Naturalists hike will also follow the Branch trail up to a field before the Dam area. This field contains a Wildlife Loop. Based on the condition of the wildlife loop and the time, the Naturalists will choose whether to hike around the loop or continue on to the Dam overlook.  Turning around at the Dam overlook will be a 2.8 mile hike.

Bikers will head west within the park and climb a steep hill to the Livingston County Campus, and then will descend a curving road to the Genesee Valley Greenway. From there, we will follow the Greenway north to NY-20A. We will turn around and ride the Greenway (or possibly River Rd) back to Mt Morris, to Grove St, where we will turn south, following Grove St and Parker Rd. After turning right on Al Lorenz Dr, we will re-enter the park.  If time permits, we will ride some of the park trails back to the Pavilion 3.

When hikers return to the Al Lorenz park, they should take some time to explore the trails around the pond. Between 4:30 and 5:00, gather at Pavilion 3 for a Dish to Pass social. Please bring a dish to share and your own beverage, or bring a sandwich if you are more comfortable not sharing. A contribution to support the social supplies of $5 is appropriate if you forget or can’t bring your food contribution.

All hikers and Bikers will meet at the parking lot behind Pavilions # 4 and the playground. Please be ready to start the hike or ride at 2:00.

Directions

From Springwater and Wayland: (Note that Liberty Pole Rd is under construction. These directions avoid Liberty Pole Rd). Head south on NY-15 through Wayland. Turn right onto I-390 past the Dansville exits to Exit 6 (16.3 mi) for NY 36, Mt. Morris. Turn left on NY-36N for 5.4 miles. At the third left following the lights at NY-408 turn onto Grove St. In 0.2 miles turn right onto Murray Hill Rd. At the top of the hill, turn left on Al Lorenz Dr. In about 0.1 mile, enter the Al Lorenz Park.  Turn right in about 0.3 miles to get to the parking lot behind Pavilion #4.

From Rochester: Take I-390 S to Exit 7 for NY 408 Mt Morris. Turn left (south-west) on NY 408. At the Main St light, turn right. At the third left on Main St, turn onto Grove St. In 0.2 miles turn right onto Murray Hill Rd. At the top of the hill, turn left on Al Lorenz Dr. In about 0.1 mile, enter the Al Lorenz Park.  Turn right in about 0.3 miles to get to the parking lot behind Pavilion #4.