CANCELED. Both the Winterfest and the Springwater Hike scheduled for Sunday, January 12, 2020 have been CANCELED due to high winds and wet conditions. We will try to reschedule.
Our mid-January hike will be at Mendon Ponds Park, coinciding with Monroe County’s annual Winterfest. The park will be teeming with cold-weather fun activities between 11 and 3, including refreshments and programs on nature and winter sports for kids and adults. This time around we will hike the Devil’s Bathtub and West Esker parts of the park, as well as the popular Birdsong Trail near the Nature Center (good for chickadee-feeding).
We will meet at 1:45 at the Devil’s Bathtub parking area, a short drive inside the Pond Road entrance off Route 65/Clover Street, on the other side of the road from the Nature Center. If the upper Devil’s Bathtub lot is blocked off, park at the base of the hill and walk up. We will all begin by hiking down the stairs (with railings) and into the Tub, and then head north along a valley with a series of smaller kettle ponds and wetlands. The Tourists and Naturalists will peel off across the ridge and over to a trail along Deep Pond, passing the cars again after .6 miles, and heading south past the Bathtub and on to the Grasslands Trail, crossing Pond Road to loop around the Birdsong Trail and return, for a total of 2.6 miles. Climbers will venture farther up the Bathtub Valley and return on the ridge part of the West Esker Trail loop, continuing to the Grasslands and Birdsong Trail for a total of 3.8 miles.
Trail conditions are likely to be muddy due to rain in the prior few days, so poles and traction devices are recommended. Bring rain gear if the forecast is for rain between 2 and 4 Sunday.
Come earlier if you’d like to take advantage of the refreshments at the East and West Lodges, or the free coffee and hot chocolate and Wild Wings birds of prey at the Nature Center. Other free winter activities – dog sleds, orienteering, geocaching, winter equipment demonstrations, fossils and minerals, etc – are scheduled throughout the park; see https://www2.monroecounty.gov/parks-winterfest And here’s a park map link: map here
Social: Afterwards please join us for the social at the American Hotel at the center of Lima (7304 East Main St.. Lima), renowned for their huge selection of homemade soups as well as sandwiches, beverages and other hearty fare. You can see the full menu at https://americanhoteloflima.com/menu/
Directions:
From Springwater: Head north on 15A for 21.6 miles through Hemlock and Lima. Take a right at the exit to Honeoye Falls. Stay on W Main St into the village where you will pass the Brewery Pub and Grill on the right at the intersection with NY 65 (1.9 mi). Continue straight onto NY 65 for 4.4 mi. (At 2 miles, you will go around a traffic circle. Stay on NY 65.) Turn right onto Pond Rd at the park entrance. The Devil’s Bathtub parking area is in .25 miles, on the left.
From Honeoye, take US 20A west and head north on CR 37 for 8.2 miles to W Bloomfield. Continue straight on NY 65 for about 3 miles, and make a right on Quaker Meeting House Road just before you come into Honeoye Falls. When Quaker Meeting House Road ends at Route 251 (Rush-Mendon Road), go left and then right on Route 65/Clover Street. The Pond Road entrance to the park is about 2 miles to the north, on the right. The Devil’s Bathtub parking area is in .25 miles, on the left.
From Rochester: Exit I 590 at Monroe Ave toward Pittsford. Turn right (south) onto NY 65 (Clover St). In about 6.7 you will come to the Canfield Road entrance to the park – this is not the one you want. Continue another 1.5 miles, then turn left onto Pond Rd, the second entrance into the park. The Devil’s Bathtub parking area is in .25 miles, on the left.
Directions to the Social: From the Devil’s Bathtub lot, go right back to Route 65/Clover Street. Make a left and go 4.4 miles to the village center of Honeoye Falls. Make a right on Main Street and continue about a mile out of town to the intersection with 15A. Make a left on 15A and proceed 2.3 miles to Lima. The American Hotel is at the intersection of Route 15A and Routes 5 & So (Main Street Lima). You can’t miss it.