Not quite three Penfield parks
I had planned to visit another three parks today, but I was not entirely successful, for reasons which I will explain later.
Today was a Penfield day. Since my daughter is a big Pokemon GO fan, I was able to talk her into accompanying me. I explored the parks while she caught Pokemon. It was the perfect partnership.
Rothfuss Park
I've been to Rothfuss Park in Penfield a few times before. I wrote a column about it last year, shortly after the town installed a fitness trail there. The annual Autism Up Kite Flight event also is held here, and I have attended that in the past.
Rothfuss Park is located at 1648 Five Mile Line Road in Penfield, about a half mile north of Atlantic Ave. It’s a fairly new, wide open, 70-acre park built on land once belonging to the Rothfuss family, and named in honor of Terry Rothfuss, the family’s beloved patriarch.
The park is basically one huge grassy area, with four athletic fields, a playground, snack and beverage vending machines, picnic pavilions and seasonal restrooms. There are lots of young trees planted, but nothing that provides much shade yet. Since I wrote about the quarter-mile fitness trail last year, it has since been updated to include markers for a “farm trail” for the kids.
I didn't hike beyond the fitness trail, but Google Maps seems to indicate that there’s another, much longer trail that hugs the park’s perimeter. That trail -- if it still exists -- stretches more than a mile.
You can check out the map below, which does not show that outer trail at all. The other images show a few random shots of the park and the playground, and one of the fitness trail/farm trail stops. The fitness trail is pretty cool; you just scan the QR code and pull up the activities on your cell phone.
By the way, there are a lot of Pokémon hanging out in this park.
Veterans Memorial Park
This is a huge park, with something for everyone.
You’ll find Veterans Memorial Park at the corner of Jackson Road and Atlantic Ave. It can be accessed from either of those roads, with parking at both ends and in the middle, depending on what you’re there for.
The 85-acre park has so many sports fields I lost count. There’s a nice playground, some lighted tennis courts and a basketball court, and restrooms on the west side, nearest Jackson Road. There are more sports fields, restrooms and a few pieces of playground equipment in the southeast corner as well.
True to its name, Veterans Memorial Park does indeed have a memorial, standing proudly atop a hill overlooking the rest of the park. In addition to being a hotbed for little league and softball games, the park also doubles as the town’s concert and outdoor-movie venue, which are held in a large amphitheater. There’s a picnic shelter, and a lodge which can be rented out for parties.
There is a large wooded area here as well, with lots of trails. Unfortunately, while some of trails are blazed, they are otherwise not well marked on any map I could find. (The only one I had came from the Penfield Trails website, above.) Only when I got home and could compare my Garmin to the trail map I pulled offline did I know where I had actually hiked.
Based on that analysis, I only walked about half of the actual wooded trails, a distance of well less than a mile. I never touched the “other trail” or the “fitness trail” that are marked on the map. The trails I did hike ranged from very skinny and almost overgrown to wide and open. There are a lot of roots and some inclines, so I would not recommend this hike for small children.
The Tot Trail, on the other hand, is terrific for the littlest ones. This is something I haven’t seen elsewhere before. The Tot Trail, located on the west side of the park near the playground, is a very flat, paved trail designed for children ages 2-5. It’s only about 300 feet long. Four stations located on the trail encourage children play while improving their strength, balance, and coordination.
A map of the Tot Trail and an image of the first station are below.
In this gallery:
The first four show some images of the park; a few of the Little League fields, the amphitheater, the playground on the park's west side, and looking up at the veteran's memorial.
The trail photos show how the trails are both skinny in places, and wide and open in others. The last photo shows two numbered posts. There were about 30 of these on the trail I walked. I have no idea why they were there, as my map made no mention of them, and they were not part of the fitness trail.
Thousand Acre Swamp Sanctuary
This was the third park I wanted to get to today. Mother Nature had a different plan.
I got less than 50 yards onto the trails before the flies started dive-bombing me in such numbers that I turned and ran back to the car, swinging my hands around my head the entire time. I must have looked ridiculous.
Granted, I didn't have any bug spray on, which was pretty stupid since I was going to a SWAMP, but I’m not sure it would have helped much. I might have to wait until the fall or winter to head back here.