Riding through Victor
My husband and I took advantage of a beautiful -- albeit very cool -- autumn day today to head south towards Victor to check out a few parks. With bikes in tow, the plan was to start at Fishers Park, ride to Lehigh Crossing, then to Dryer Road, then back to the car.
Things didn't turn out exactly as planned, but pretty close
Fishers Park
As the name implies, Fishers Park is located in the hamlet of Fishers, its main entrance just a little more than a mile west of Rt. 96 on the hamlet's Main Street. According to the park's website, it boasts 93 acres, two tennis courts, a ball field, a picnic area, "seasonal restrooms" (which means porta-potties) and five miles of trails. In addition to the main entrance on Main Street, you'll also find trail heads on Wangum Road to the east and Old Dutch Road to the west.
Hubby and I parked our car and headed into the woods via the main trail, over a welcoming bridge. There's an informational kiosk near the trail head, but no actual trail maps on it, and I hadn't printed one offline. Totally unprepared (and a little strapped for time since we were planning to visit three parks), we didn't want hike very far and chance getting disoriented. Plus, we weren't seeing any blazes on the trees. Our best reckoning tool actually, was the constant traffic sound from the nearby Thruway to the north, So on second thought, there was little chance we could get lost.
So we hiked less than a half mile of that main trail, but that was more than enough to convince me that this is a beautiful park. The trail we were was was overwrought with large roots, so it would not be great for small children and definitely not bikes, but plenty of other trails snaked right and left off the main one, offering plenty of options. A few had signs indicating they were marked for snowshoeing. And all along the trail, trees were marked with small informative signposts, making the hike educational as well as beautiful. I'm sorry I didn't have more time to explore, or a map in hand.
We did see a few white blazes on our return trip, by the way, but nothing on the outbound side of those same trees.
I'm sure this is the case with most of our east-side parks, but boy, does autumn make this park incredible. Fallen leaves drifted on the winds and covered the trails, autumn breezes whispered through the treetops. And the trucks rumbled along the Thruway.
Ah, well. Still, well worth the trip.
Lehigh Crossing Park
Lehigh Crossing Park is another big, beautiful park, only a few miles by bike -- or car -- from Fishers Park, down Wangum Road and east on Rt. 251. Its main entrance on 251 (Victor Mendon Road) looks kind of like a long driveway. It leads back into a long, skinny park that's filled with 54 acres of trails and natural beauty.
There's a parking lot back at the end of this driveway, with another "seasonal restroom." The main trail that heads into the woods from here reminds me of the Erie Canal Trail, wide and paved with packed gravel. It was easy to ride, so we followed it from one end of the park to the other...and then beyond.
The trail passed a lovely little pond, open fields and meadows, some wetlands and woodlands. We didn't see any other trails on our way, but sources say, and an online trail map confirms that there are three miles of them, apparently all to the west of where we were riding.
It was only after we crossed over a beautiful old railroad bridge and left the confines of the park did we stop at a crossroads, where a kiosk map helped us realize that we had been riding part of the Lehigh Valley Trail, a 16-mile trail that stretches from Victor to Rush. We were standing where the Lehigh Valley Trail crossed the Auburn Trail. I also read somewhere that the park is very near the Trolley Trail.
So basically, from this one little park you can bike or hike for miles through New York State. It's kind of like the harmonic convergence of trails. But before you do, explore the trails in the park proper. This is a beautiful hiking park, and far enough away from the Thruway that the trucks do not interfere with the bird calls.
We also noticed, while we were looking at the map, that if we continued along the Lehigh Valley Trail, it would lead us back to Fishers Park and our car, shortening our return trip significantly. So, we put exploring Dryer Park on hold and instead rode another half mile of the Lehigh Valley Trail and headed back home.
