Join us on Sunday the 29th to celebrate the season in your hiking boots or on your skis as Mondoe County sponsors the 2023 Winterfest at Mendon Ponds Park. Everyone, both hikers and skiers, will meet at the Nature Center parking area at 27 Pond Road, Mendon at 1:45 for a 2PM start. Naturalists and Tourists will explore the Birdsong and Swamp Trails adjacent to the Nature Center on foot, while Climbers will hike north and east to hike the Grassland and Devil’s Bathtub trails, crossing over to the East Esker and Quaker Pond Trails to make a loop of about 5.5 miles. This is a fairly level hike, but we advise poles and traction footwear in case of ice, mud or slush.
Ski conditions are expected to be marginal, as there were only a few inches of wet snow on the ground as of Friday, and some light rain is possible Sunday. The trails will probably be busy on Sunday due to Winterfest activity, so any groomed tracks may be trodden over or melted down. Bring your ski equipment if you want to give it a try, but we suggest you bring hiking boots and equipment also as a backup plan.
Come early for more family-oriented activities elsewhere in the park between 11 and 3. See https://www.monroecounty.gov/parks-winterfest for a line-up, including food trucks at Stewart Lodge, sledding, equipment and winter sports demonstrations, Wild Wings, Zoomobile, Mercy Flight, Mounted Patrol, and more. Mendon Ponds Park map
Social afterwards at Flaherty’s Restaurant, 60 W. Main Street, Honeoye Falls.
Directions to Nature Center:
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 join 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 first park entrance. The Nature Center is just inside the entrance, on the right.
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 Nature Center is just inside the entrance, on the right.
From Rochester: Exit I590 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 Nature Center is just inside the entrance, on the right.
Directions to Flaherty’s for Social: From Nature Center parking lot, go left to Clover Street (Route 65) and then left toward Honeoye Falls. Proceed about 5.5 miles to Honeoye Falls and through the center of the village. Flaherty’s will be on your left at #60 W. Main Street, which is Route 65.