Join Springwater Trails on Sunday for our Annual Meeting at the Springwater Center. At 2:00 we will hike the trails around the center. Following our hike we will have a social at the center followed by our Annual Meeting.

The many well marked trails that loop through open fields and forested areas are mowed across the fields and were clear last fall through the woods and give opportunities for wonderful views of the surrounding hills and the valley below. Two of the trails parallel a creek bed and gorge and one loops to another seasonal creek. Keep your eyes open for the Marker Tree near the creek.

Following our hikes, we will set up a pot-luck dinner in the kitchen.  Everyone interested in Springwater Trails is welcome to the pot-luck and the Annual Meeting, and to the hike.

Well-mannered dogs are welcome to hike with us.  Dogs should stay in cars during the social.

If you are able to join us for the social after the hike, please bring a dish to pass and a non-alcoholic beverage or consider making a cash donation.  There is a complete kitchen to store and reheat the dishes as needed.  Please bring slippers as shoes will  need to be removed at the door.

Directions

From Springwater: Take Rt 15 to the West from the flashing light at the intersection with Rt 15A.  Follow Rt 15 up the hill.  Turn right at the top of the hill on Mill St Ext (just across the road from Harpers Ferry Rd) – you will see a Dead End sign. Springwater Center is the third driveway to the left (0.1 mile along Mill St. Ext., you will see the sign). Follow the driveway for 0.6 miles to reach the Center parking lot. The main building is just past the parking lot.

Additional directions to the Center are here.

Update on hiking conditions: There is about a 4 inch base of thick wet snow, with another inch or so of powdery snow on top. Conditions should be good for hiking in boots with traction devices and poles.

Our March 3 hike will be a ramble around Onanda Park, a town park along the west shore of Canandaigua Lake and Barnes Gully.  We will cover the upland trails on the north and south sides of the gully, a brief walk beside the gully itself, and the lakeshore side of the park, where we can enjoy skipping stones and the fishing pier. Trails may be muddy, so we recommend traction devices and poles, along with layers and water.

Onanda Park is an 80 acre property, of which 7 acres is level ground along the lake and 73 acres is the upland section across the road. It was a YWCA girls’ camp from 1919 to 1989, and became a public park in 1989 under a joint agreement between the DEC and the Town of Canandaigua.

Meet at the parking lot on the east (Lakeshore) side of County Road 16 (a.k.a West Lake Road) at 1:45. Address is 4965 County Road 16. 

Climbers will head across the road to the upland trails, making two intersecting loops around the perimeter of the park, including the north and south rims of Barnes Gully (about 3.2 miles). Climbers will then follow the streamside trail west from the road as far as we can go without getting our boots wet, and return to the lakeshore area for stone skipping if conditions permit. Total distance is about 3.9 miles.

Tourists and Naturalists will follow a similar plan, except making one loop rather than two and without the streamside trail, to limit the distance to 2-3 miles, depending on the route selected.

Optional supplementary activities: fishing and fossil hunting from the shore or the Fishing Pier.

Social – Join us following the hike for a potluck social in Cheshire at Mark’s brother’s house. Bring a dish to pass (or make a small donation to to social fund) and bring your prefered beverage. We will have electric plugs and a stove to warm things up.   Directions will be at the hike.

Directions: 

From Springwater (and Wayland, Dansville): Take Route 15 south to Wayland and Route 21 east/north to Naples. Continue through Naples and Woodville. 2.75 north of Woodville, take a right to follow Route 21 north where it splits with 64.  Go another 4.9 miles, then make a right on County Road 16 (a.k.a West Lake Road). Enjoy the panoramic view of the lake.  In 2 miles you will be down near the lake shore. Make a right into the main entrance to Onanda Park. Parking area is on your right.

From Rochester and points north/west/east: Head to Routes 5 and 20 via Bloomfield or Canandaigua. About a mile west of the City of Canandaigua, turn south on NY-21S.  Go 4.3 miles, through the hamlet of Cheshire. At the south end of Cheshire, just over the hill, take a left on Deuel Road. In 2.2 miles, Deuel Road will end at County Rd 16 (West Lake Road). Make a right and go down the hill for .5 miles. The Onanda Park main entrance will be on your left. Park on the lot on your right.

From Hemlock and Honeoye:Follow NY-20A east for 7 miles from Honeoye. Turn right on NY-64S and (in 1.5 miles) take the first left turn onto Bristol Rd. In 0.8 mi., turn right onto Montanye Rd, which turns into Goodale Rd. Turn right on NY-21S in Cheshire. At the south end of Cheshire, just over the hill, take a left on Deuel Road. In 2.2 miles, Deuel Road will end at County Rd 16 (West Lake Road). Make a right and go down the hill for .5 miles. The Onanda Park main entrance will be on your left. Park on the lot on your right.

This Sunday’s hike is the 4^th in our series on the Letchworth Branch. This hike will join the trail at Access Point F and will follow the trail to Access H for a 5 mile hike. The Tourists and Naturalists will exit early at Access G for a 2 or 3 mile hike. For hikers tracking our progress on this branch trail, you will note that we have skipped the section from E to F. This section is six miles with no early exits – so, we are postponing that hike until March and daylight savings time when less snow should allow us to finish the hike well before sunset.

Starting from shoulder parking at Access F, all hikers will follow the blue trail into the main yellow trail.  The climbers will turn left onto the main trail. In a mile and a half, we will stop at a shelter for a sip of water from our individual supply of water which all hikers are expected to carry on all hikes. In another mile, we will cross the abandoned St. Helena Rd. This road carried traffic to a bridge across the Genesee to a hamlet of St. Helena on the west side of the river. At the time of the Civil War, St. Helena had 90 students in its school, but in 1884 and again in 1904, the bridge was washed away by ice jams. In 1920, there were just 6 families left, and the school was closed. The last resident left in 1948. The Mt Morris Dam was completed in 1952 and contained the hamlet within the lake that forms behind the dam during  floods. About two miles after crossing the St Helena road, we will turn left onto the blue trail and hike out to an awaiting car to carry us back to our cars at the trail head.

The Tourists will follow the same access trail as the climbers to the main trail, but will continue straight across and continue of the park trail to the edge of the river flats or as far as the hikers wish to go. If they hike for 0.6 miles, they can reach a large old sycamore tree, the largest tree in Letchworth. The tourists will then return on the same park trail back to the yellow trail, and will turn right to follow the hikers (and naturalists). About 500 feet past the shelter, the tourists will leave the branch trail on a blue access trail and hike out to another waiting car on River Rd which will transport them back to cars at the trail head.

The Naturalists will also follow the blue trail into the yellow trail.  Turning left they will follow the climbers to the shelter. A tenth of a mile past the shelter, the Naturalists will turn left onto another blue access trail to Access G on River Rd.  The Naturalists should wait for the Tourists behind them and share the car ride back to the cars Access F.

Following the hike, please join us for a social at the Sunrise restaurant in Dansville. Prior to the hike, the tourists and naturalists should confirm that they plan to meet the climbers at the restaurant. They can let the restaurant know the number of climbers that should be expected about a half hour later than the tourists and naturalists.

Directions

From Springwater: Take NY 15-N west from the light in Springwater. At the top of the hill and around the curve, turn left onto Liberty Pole Rd (CR 38). Continue straight across Reed’s Corners Rd where it becomes CR 1A, and across Stagecoach Rd where it becomes Springwater-Scottsburg Rd and finally across NY 256 where it becomes Groveland-Scottsburg Rd (CR 1). Finally, in 8.1 miles from NY 15, in Groveland, turn left onto NY 63. Take the first right onto NY 258 (Flats Rd). At the end of that road, turn right onto NY 36. After the Correctional Institution. take the second left onto Dutch Street Rd. In 1.3 miles, turn right onto Ridge Rd. Turn left onto NY 408. Go past Frost Rd and turn left onto Hoagland Rd. At the tee, turn left onto River Rd. Parking is on the right just past the next street (Picket Line Rd).

From Wayland: Take I-390N through Dansville.  Take Exit 6 for NY-36. Turn left onto NY-36. After the Correctional Institution. take the second left onto Dutch Street Rd. In 1.3 miles, turn right onto Ridge Rd. Turn left onto NY 408. Go past Frost Rd and turn left onto Hoagland Rd. At the tee, turn left onto River Rd. Parking is on the right just past the next street (Picket Line Rd).

From Mt Morris: Take NY-408 south from Main St. In 2.5 miles, bear right onto River Rd. Continue on River Rd for 5.5 miles, past Ridge Rd, Frost Rd and Hoagland Rd. Just past Picket Line Rd, parking is on the right shoulder of the road.

From Nunda: Take NY 436 west from route 408. In 3.1 miles, turn right onto Oakland Rd. At the end, bear right onto River Rd. Parking will be on the left shoulder in about 3/4 mile.

Directions to Sunrise Restaurant: Follow River Rd south. In 0.7 miles, take a slight right onto Oakland Rd. Turn left onto NY 436. In 15 miles, continue straight onto NY-36.  At Main St, turn left. Park on the street in front of the restaurant, or take the driveway past the restaurant to the parking area behind the restaurant.