Lucien Morin Park — Guided Hikes Unlock the Secrets of the Trail

It’s nice to take a hike, even nicer when you have an experienced guide to share everything you would ever want to know about the plants and the history of the area.

I took a hike with the Penfield Trails Committee to learn more about Lucien Morin Park, aka the Ellison Park Wetland aka The Rifle Range Trail. The Rifle Range Trail is so named because it passes what remains of a rifle range and pistol range formerly used by the National Guard and State Police, during WWII.

View from Hemlock Lake

At normal water levels both Hemlock and Canadice have limited shoreline. Left alone, the forest grows right to the water’s edge. However, after a long dry summer, the lake level drops, creating a generous shore with some startling views.

Ithaca — Come Visit in the Winter

Taughannock Falls, higher than Niagara Falls, just outside of Ithaca

Great article in the Albany Times Union about winter fun in the Ithaca area

Ithaca may be best known as the home of both Cornell  University and Ithaca  College, but the city offers a cornucopia of attractions for  outdoors enthusiasts.

Situated in a valley on the southern tip of Cayuga Lake, about a three-hour  drive from Albany, the city’s streets slope steeply toward the water. There are  more than 100 waterfalls and gorges within 10 miles of Ithaca, leading to the  local slogan, “Ithaca is Gorges.”

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/living/article/A-gorges-place-for-winter-visit-2751638.php#ixzz1kxDK56Jv“

Besides great food, beer and gorges sites, Ithaca has a great music scene.

Webster: Trail all over town

My idea of a GREAT day is to be able to run two hours of solid trail. That’s not always so easy to find in the suburbs, but Webster New York, is definitely Trail Town. A joint effort between Friends of Webster Trails, The Town of Webster, The Genesee Land Trust, and the Monroe County Parks has created a huge network of connected trails and my perfect run

Rob’s Trail joins Canadice and Hemlock

View from Rob's Trail towards Canadice Lake

Two of my favorite spots in the Finger Lakes are Canadice lake and Hemlock  Lake. Hemlock and Canadice are the only Finger Lakes with undeveloped shorelines.

Icey shoreline of Canadice Lake

The City of Rochester spent over 100 years acquiring all lakeshore properties to prevent development of the watershed and to safeguard its primary source of drinking water. When you hike, bike or ski along these shorelines you feel like you are in total wilderness.

View looking west on Rob's Trail

When I saw that there was a trail connecting Hemlock Lake to Canadice Lake, I had to check it out. Rob’s Trail starts just off 15A, on the southern end of Hemlock. The trail is part of the newly designated Hemlock-Canadice State Forest.

Who is Rob? Rob van der Stricht was an avid naturalist, especially fond of the Finger Lakes. The Nature Conservancy officially dedicated this trail to his memory. Thanks Rob, this is an awesome piece of land.

Map of Rob's Trail and spur to Canadice

The 1.75 mile circular trail takes you up over the ridge between the two lakes. Despite the altitude,  this is a very wet area. Fortunately it was cold enough to keep the ground hard, but I noticed a lot of board walks for navigating the muddy trails.

Hiking the winding and sometimes steep spur trail to Canadice

As the trail starts to head east, over the top of the ridge and into the woods, there is a spur trail .75 mi. long, that winds down to the Canadice Lake trail.

I was on the look out for black bears, eagles, deer, ruffed grouse, wild turkey, weasels, but all I saw was some Chickadees and Juncos. However, on the drive back into Hemlock, A gorgeous pheasant sauntered across the road.

Ice sculpture, au natural

I was most impressed by the variety of ice formations in the hundreds of little creeks that wind down the hill to the lake.

I recommend if you hike during cold weather that you wear good hiking shoes or Yak Tracks. The trail can get very steep in parts.

View of 15A from entrance to parking lot

To find Rob’s Trail:  15A south, and through the Village of Hemlock. Continue to top of hill above Hemlock Lake, veering left onto South Old Bald Hill Road. Parking on left.

Other great posts on this topic:  New York Outdoors Blog.

Enjoy Dramatic Relief at Mendon Ponds Park

Growing up in Rochester, one of my favorite places to explore with my family, was Mendon Ponds Park. At over 2500 acres, it is the largest park in Monroe County. In 1967 it was designated a national natural landmark in recognition of it’s unique glacial features.

Letchworth State Park: Grand Canyon of the East

Letchworth State Park, renowned as the “Grand Canyon of the East,” is one of the most scenically magnificent areas in the Finger lakes Region. The park comprises 14,350 acres, along 17 miles of the Genesee River, 35 miles South of Rochester, New York and 55 miles East of Buffalo, New York.

Bear Swamp State Forest

Bear Swamp State Forest is located on two state forests of 3,316 acres in Cayuga County. This area is known for the large wetland and creek that bisects the forest. I should have realized that the word “swamp” might be a warning, but I had driven the roads earlier in the summer and thought they would be perfect for a fall bike ride — after the biting bugs died.

Canadice — Nice Ice

Skiing across the surface of Canadice

 

On an unusually warm winter day my husband and I went for an explore across Canadice Lake.

This is a unique lake as it serves as water supply for Rochester and there are no cottages around the lake. The big-sky view from the top of the lake is stunning. We put on skis and headed a couple of miles down the lake. It is wonderful to be able to explore a lake that has no development anywhere on it. The shore line is beautiful. The woods surrounding are full of birds including the return of the Bald Eagle.

Trail view path

This lake is especially nice as there is no road down the western side of the lake, just a trail great for hiking, biking, snowshoeing or skiing.

The only activity we saw that day on the lake were a few ice fishermen.

Canadice Charlie, looking north

 

Here is a little information about ice fishing on Canadice:

650-acre Canadice Lake in Ontario County offers good lake trout fishing, as well as bass. Recent stockings included 5,100 lake trout, 2,500 brown trout and 2,500 rainbow trout. Its forage base consists of alewives and smelts.

While Honeoye Lake is uncharacteristically shallow for a Finger Lake, Canadice Lake has a mean depth of 55 feet and a maximum depth of 90 feet.

There is another important distinction between the two lakes, indeed between all the other Finger Lakes. This small lake has the highest elevation, and so it often freezes first and stays frozen longest. For late-winter anglers, this can mean an extended period of good ice-fishing.

Canadice Lake offers a choice of trout, panfish, bass, and smelt as well as landlocked salmon. In all the Finger Lakes in DEC’s Region 8, black bass season remains open until March 15 so bass can be taken through the ice. For more info.

trail goes length of west side of lake

How to get to the lake:

Directions: From Route 15A, turn east onto Purcell Hill Road. Find a dirt parking area on the north side, midway between Canadice Hollow Road and Canadice Lake Road. Additional parking is available at the beginning of the trail. N42o 44.621 – W77o 34.416

Alternative Parking: A small pull-off along Canadice Lake Road, 3.7 miles south of Purcell Hill Road on west side of road (lake side), near a blue gate. N42o 41.513 – W77o 34.144

Length: 8.1 miles round trip. 9.0 miles total (including side trails)

Bristol Mountain: Tops in Skiing

Tucked between Honeoye and Canandaigua Lakes, Bristol Mountain Ski Resort sports the highest vertical between the Catskills and the Rockies, at 1200′. There are 138 acres of total skiable terrain. Most all lit for night skiing, and most with snow making.

Bristol Mountain is open 7 days a week 9am-10pm, (night skiing mid December to mid-March). The mountain features 2 terrain parks and an Olympic-size halfpipe for snowboarders. And 2 large Nordic loops for traditional or skate skiing. It has 6 lifts, 2 are high-speed quad chairs.