Rochester Outdoors: Highlights for Hiking, Biking, Paddling, Birding, and More!

Are you heading to the Rochester area for a few days and want to get outdoors? Here are some highlights that include a multi-use urban greenway, a historic canal trail, a Haudenosaunee cultural center, a spectacular birding spot on Lake Ontario, and the largest park in the county. Make your own itinerary with these and other Rochester-area locations from our Go Finger Lakes map.

Braddock Bay Wetland Complex

Northwest of Rochester is a sprawling 3,322-acre complex of wetlands, ponds, and marshland referred to as the Braddock Bay Wetland complex. These habitats, situated on the shore of Lake Ontario provide shelter, food, and nesting for nearly every type of bird that uses the Atlantic Flyway. This is one of New York’s best birding spots and visitors can take advantage of several research stations and observation posts located within the complex.

Durand Eastman Park

With 5,000 feet of Lake Ontario waterfront and 1,260 total acres, Durand Eastman Park exceeds most other state parks in the Finger Lakes by sheer size alone. With a sandy beach, bike trail, hiking trails, pavilions, lakes (yes, plural), playgrounds, picnic areas, a golf course, and an arboretum, it is easy to see there are ample activities for the whole family to relax, exercise or just play.

Erie Canalway Trail – Fairport to Pittsford

Along this section of the Erie Canal, there are miles of unbroken stone dust trail, where intersecting roads pass over the canal and towpath. For paddlers and boats, this is a necessity; for pedestrians, a convenience; and for cyclists, a pure delight. The dedication of space for people, not cars, is what makes this section a true gem.

Ganondagan State Historic Site

Spanning 569 acres, Ganondagan State Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark, is the original site of a 17th-century Seneca town and home to the 17,300-square-foot Seneca Art & Culture Center, a Seneca Bark Longhouse, and a series of interpretive trails. Ganondagan is a rare gem in the Finger Lakes, designed to immerse visitors in the rich culture, history, and living traditions of the Haudenosaunee.

Genesee Valley Greenway State Park

Connecting Rochester in the north and Cuba (New York of course) in the south, the Genesee Valley Greenway State Park is a wonderful example of repurposed infrastructure – towpaths and railroad beds – into a new vibrant multiuse trail. Greenways are often thought of as only cyclist and walking paths, but equestrians, snowshoers, skiers, snowmobilers, and fishermen utilize these routes to enjoy their favorite pastimes as well.

Mendon Ponds Park

Much of what ties the Finger Lakes landscape together dates back to the Ice Age, and there are few better places to see the land-sculpting power of glaciers than Mendon Ponds Park. With over 2,600 acres, it is the largest park in Monroe County. It includes a wide variety of features: roughly 40 miles of hiking trails, athletic fields, picnic tables, cycling along the network of roads, horseback riding, and canoeing/kayaking.

A Little Further Afield….

Chimney Bluffs State Park

Harriet Hollister Spencer Recreation Area

Letchworth State Park

See the Map!