A surprisingly big little Penfield park
Empire Park
I thought that my visit to Empire Park in Penfield would be very quick. Just pull into the parking lot, wander around a bit to take a few photos of the baseball fields, and head out. But this park held some surprises even I didn't know about, even though I've lived only a mile from it for 20 years.
Empire Park is located at 2130 Empire Blvd., on the east side of the road, its entrance between The Stereo Shop and Café Society Quilts. As the home of WAA Baseball, it sports four nice Little League fields, a batting cage and -- according to online sources -- a soccer field, although I didn't see it. There are seasonal bathrooms (which were open even though no games were in session), a drinking fountain, and a snack bar.
Judging from the traffic I've seen coming out of there some evenings, and the cheering of the crowds I can hear from my back yard on summer evenings, this is a very busy complex. There's a lot of parking, but apparently not enough, judging from the path leading from the parking lot to the neighboring Visiting Nurse Service which apparently accommodates overflow parking.
Having made my notes and taken my pictures, I was about to leave when I noticed what looked like a maintenance road leading into the woods at the southeast edge of the park. This whole parks challenge is about exploring, so since there were no signs prohibiting me to do so, I started exploring.
The gravelly road continued for about a hundred yards into the southern reaches of the park, into a natural area I never knew existed. There are three ponds back here. One of them is rather rectangular, so at least this one is probably man-made. A skinny trail which leads from the end of the road encircles this pond.
It was a short (only .4 mile from parking lot and back) but surprisingly peaceful walk, given the area's proximity to busy Empire Blvd. and residential neighborhoods. The pond was teeming with life, and the path lined with cattails and Queen Ann's lace. It made for a beautiful stroll on a summer's day.
Another delightful surprise.
