Sunday October 9 we will visit East Hill Farm, home of the Rochester Folk Art Guild, for a hike across their 350-acre hilltop farm and woodlot and a tour of their craft workshops. The Guild is a community of craftspeople, some resident and some visiting, and the weekend of October 8-9 is their annual Fall Open House and Apple Festival, a celebration of the season with a fresh pressed cider, early pears for sale, and demonstrations at the pottery, wood, weaving and graphic arts studios. Admission is free, and the event runs until 5 PM. See https://www.folkartguild.org/events/6650/ for more details on the festival; come early to enjoy the tours and demonstrations before the hike, and stay afterwards for shopping at the Gallery and our social. If you come early, lunch food will be available from the Guild as long as it lasts – homemade bread, salad, squash soup and desserts. This is a no-dogs event.
Follow parking directions at the site – 1445 Upper Hill Road, Middlesex (directions below). We will convene at 1:45 at the side of the East Hill Gallery, the first building on the left as you come in the driveway.
Climbers will make a circuit of about 4 miles through the Guild’s fields and woods, passing a mix of farm buildings and Guild-designed and built structures, a pond and sauna, a spruce grove, and the “Golden Valley”, named for its spectacular fall color and views to the east.
Tourists/Naturalists will make a shorter loop through the same terrain. Trails are gently sloped and well cleared, but grass is ankle-deep in many areas, so bring good hiking footwear and tick protection.
Social – Bring your own snack or supper to enjoy on the grounds of East Hill Farm, where benches will be provided at the cider press site. Cider and pears will be in abundance; bring along whatever else you’d like. This is not a formal dish-to-pass social – more of a bring-your-own picnic, to minimize the complexity in the context of a larger event.
Directions: from Springwater/Naples: Take Route 15 south to Wayland and Route 21 east/north to Naples. Turn right on Route 245 opposite Bob’s and Ruth’s Restaurant, at the north end of the village. Follow Route 245 north to Middlesex, about 8.75 miles. Turn right on Route 364 and go up the hill, one mile. Turn right on Upper Hill Road and go 1.5 miles. East Hill Farm will be on your left, at #1445. Park on the road shoulder and walk in the driveway to the Gallery building, the white house on your left.
From Rochester and points north: Head to Routes 5 and 20 via Bloomfield or Canandaigua. At the east edge of the City of Canandaigua (first light after Wegmans/Post Office), turn south on Route NYS Route 364 (a.k.a. East Lake Road). Follow Route 364 south 12.5 miles to Middlesex, where 364 turns to the east and you will make a left onto Route 245 and then an immediate right to continue on 364. Go up the hill, one mile. Turn right on Upper Hill Road and go 1.5 miles. East Hill Farm will be on your left, at #1445. Park on the road shoulder and walk in the driveway to the Gallery building, the white house on your left.