Beauty on the canal
Great Embankment Park, Pittsford
This park was a very pleasant surprise. The minimalist description of Great Embankment Park found on the Town of Pittsford’s website led me to believe it was just a large open green space, its only attractions being its canal-side access and its sports fields.
Certainly it has both of those. On its 12 acres there’s a big soccer field, several baseball/softball fields and lots of extra space for running your dogs or playing Frisbee. And it is right along the canal. The Erie Canal Heritage Trail passes through, making this a beautiful stopping place for lunch while riding your bikes.
But there’s more to this park than sports and the canal. It’s a bit unusual in that it’s got two distinct levels. The soccer field is the first thing you see when you drive in, and then you go up the road to the canal and larger playing fields, strangely enough. There are some heavily wooded areas, and a few short trails -- actually more like paths -- one which encircles the lower playing field and another even shorter one connecting the lower parking lot with the upper fields.
There are no bathrooms, yet. It appears that some recent work has been done to expand the lower parking lot, and install a new building which looks like it will eventually house bathrooms. But the doors were locked and there was no “Men” and “Women” written on them yet. So in the meantime, there’s a porta-pottie.
There are also no picnic tables, grills or playgrounds, so this is not necessarily a great place for family picnic outings unless you just want to bring a blanket.
While the town’s website has very little to say about Great Embankment Park, several more detailed reviews can be found online if you search for them. The park is located on Marsh Road, south of the Village of Pittsford.
In the gallery below:
Top row (L-R): the gravel path around the lower-level soccer field is about .2 miles long; and turns into a wooded path leading to the upper lot; a view of the large grassy expanse in the upper level of the park
Middle row: Looking south along the canal; Looking north; a historical marker on the canal.
Bottom row: The interpretive display illustrates some canal history and what exactly the "Great Embankment" was; a "You are here" map of the canal.
