Visiting a president and an explorer
I was planning to knock off another three parks today in Penfield, but the first one I explored involved much more time and energy than I expected. So I had to head home before I passed out from hunger and dehydration.
Abraham Lincoln Park
Note: To run off a trail map of your own, do NOT go through the Town of Penfield site. Their trail map is out of date. Instead, go through the County of Monroe's site, here: http://www2.monroecounty.gov/parks-bayeast.php
Abraham Lincoln Park is a beautiful wooded area which encompasses 180-plus acres on the east side of Irondequoit Bay. It’s accessible from a parking area and playground on Empire Blvd. just south of Denonville Place, or a smaller parking area off of Smith Road, a bit farther north on Empire.
This park is owned and maintained by Monroe County. I first visited Abraham Lincoln Park five years ago, shortly after the new playground had been added. Here’s what I wrote in my Webster Community Blog about that visit: (You can see that blog here: http://bit.ly/kIozc9)
From the road, Abraham Lincoln Park looks just like any other playground, albeit newer, with a nice variety of plastic equipment and a small pavilion. What you can't see from the road is the terrific natural play zone at the rear of the park. Here, park designers have created a kids' wonderland of climbing and crawling and hiding areas, crafted completely out of trees. This area is as large or larger than the traditional playground, and when I was there, much more popular.
It's at the back of this area where you'll find three separate trailheads leading to a short, well-groomed, gravel path which snakes through the trees behind the natural playscape. It would be a perfect, short nature walk for very young children.
Branching off this small path is the trail to the bay, part of a much larger, well-established and marked trail system which stretches the length and breadth of the … park. These trails are much more challenging, often only one hiker wide, with steep inclines and muddy conditions. But if you don't mind a little workout, they can take you several miles through some beautiful natural scenery.
And yes, our trail did indeed take us to the bay. About three quarters of a mile in, the trail crested, overlooking the marina at the south end of Irondequoit Bay.
Most of what I wrote back then still rings true. There are now two pavilions, and the playgrounds are still in good shape and well maintained. The natural playscape is still very impressive and very popular. This is a great place for parents to bring their kids, especially if they also like to hike.
The trails themselves are more challenging than I remembered. There are many steep inclines which even challenged me, so very young kids might get bushed easily. There’s also a very steep drop near the beginning of the main, white trail, which you’d need to keep the kids from exploring too closely.
The trails are blazed, but I found them a bit confusing, mostly because I had the out-date, Town of Penfield map. The colored blazes did not always match up with what I saw on my map. So I pretty much just kept to the main white trail, which -- according to my map -- should have eventually taken me along the edge of Irondequoit Bay. That was what I was hoping to eventually find, but the white trail never did get close enough to provide a good vista. Perhaps I turned around too soon.
It was only after I started heading back did I find the bay. At one point I decided to explore a side trail which seemed to lead toward the bay. It was blazed red, but I think it was green on my map. It did finally take me to the bay.
I’m not sure what trail we took when I went hiking there five years ago that took us to the marina overlook, but it was probably one of the first side trails to the west.
Despite the challenges presented by this hike, I think this is one of my favorite hiking parks I’ve seen yet. There’s plenty of hiking to be had; the white trail alone is almost a mile and a half long, so down and back is almost three miles. Plus there are several blazed side trails and lots of unblazed trails for the real explorer. You could pretty much lose yourself in this park for hours. (Just remember that the bay is to the west, and you won’t actually get lost.)It was very breezy and peaceful. The air was filled with birdsong, accompanied by the sounds of the breeze in the trees and animals skittering in the leaves.
I did find a letterbox here as well, stashed near the short toddler-sized trail just behind the playground. I was awfully glad I was wearing jeans today, since the letterbox was literally off the beaten track and it took some bush-whacking to get to it. Good hiking shoes were a must as well, to provide extra traction on the inclines. Since it’s been so dry lately, the bugs weren’t much of an issue, but definitely will be when it starts raining again. There are a lot of dry creek beds down in those woods as well, so it definitely can be a damp area.
Today's gallery shows the informational kiosk near the parking area, including an up-to-date map; a look at the tot's trail just behind the playground; a few photos of the playgrounds themselves; a photo from the trail; the kids would really like this part of the trail, because it's like gong through a corn maze; and a confusing blaze. Nowhere on the new map, even, are the red and white trails together.
LaSalle’s Landing
LaSalle’s Landing is a small Penfield park located on Empire Blvd. at the very south end of Irondequoit Bay, where it connects with Irondequoit Creek.
This park has some open space, but that’s pretty much left to the Canada Geese which populate the park pretty much all of the time (judging from the copious amount of goose poop everywhere). The main purpose of LaSalle’s Landing, however, is bay access for canoes and kayaks. It’s also a popular fishing spot.
Don't miss the informational kiosk erected right next to the creek, which explains how Irondequoit got its name, and who LaSalle was, among other interesting historical facts about the bay.
There’s plenty of parking.
