Almost exactly a year later, we were at Perinton park again. Only this time, not only did we not have the Oregon Onesie with us, it won’t even fit our daughter anymore.
Hard to believe she’s almost a year old. Time pretty much flys by now.
I found a few other maps of the Crescent trail the other day.
It got me thinking…
My current Saturday in the Park project has an end date. I don’t know what it is yet, but it’s there… looming. There are only so many parks despite my desire for them to be endless.
My next big project might be to coordinate a through hike of the Crescent Trail. It’s not that long, only 35 miles but I’ve never managed to complete a through hike/paddle yet. This might be a good starter! It’s not going to be an easy one though. There’s no camping available along the trail that I’m aware of just yet. My first challenge: finding camping sites.
Who knows, maybe this year: The Crescent Trail, next year: The Appalachian trail!
First, a confession: Unlike the others, this is not being written on location at all, I’m writing it at home after going earlier today which is why it’s getting posted so late.
Beechwoods park is a neat little park. I only recently discovered it while we were house shopping. Haven’t had the chance to stop by until today. The park provides some hiking trails along a pretty little brook and winds itself between a few nice neighborhoods. There are a few bridges over the brook which take you to big open green sections that are maintained by the town.
There are 2 main entrances to the park, and a little over a mile in trails that loop between them. The North entrance to the park is on High Street Extension and the South entrance to the park is off of Squirrels Heath Rd. However; one of the really neat things about the park is there are TONS of entrances all over. Not just hidden trails either, full on signed entrances, just without parking lots. It seems like they were put in to give access to the park from the neighborhoods it goes through which is really nice.
Although I started my little walk at the north entrance I would suggest you start at the south parking lot and do the loop. The reason is the north end seems to be a bit wet and a bit swampy. The trail is in good shape and a little raised, but I have a feeling that come fly season it might be a bit overrun.
Beechwoods park is not a great hiking destination, it’s a bit small, only about a mile of trails, and if you’re not moving fast during fly season it might be a bit uncomfortable.
Beechwoods is a fantastic trail running or mountain biking location (I’m not sure if the town allows bikers or not but I saw tracks so at least some people use it that way). it’s not overly long but if you’re looking for a quick workout or a place you can do some laps in the great outdoors it’s fantastic!
It’s also a great place to see some flora or fauna. While I was there today I saw:
It’s a nice little break from the monotony of urban sprawl.
And as always, I’ve created a map of my little hike through Beechwoods park and you can see the path I took (with relatively decent accuracy, I’ll work on that) below.
GPS tracking powered by InstaMapper.com
http://www.instamapper.com/trk?key=15070518653028619441&width=500&height=350&type=roadmap
Found a nifty little map of all the Perinton Parks. Note this doesn’t include non-public owned properties like the High Acres Trail Area and there are other publicly usable areas within the town. But this gives you a good idea of the location of the official town parks.
If you’re looking for a place to let your dogs (or your kids) burn off some energy, Spring Lake Park is the place to be.
If you walk to the back of the park it’s a safe zone, there’s nowhere the dogs can go. There’s a big open field (the old ‘Spring Lake’ I’m told) with a small baseball diamond in the middle, a 5ft chain link fence on one side and Irondiquoit creek on the other. There’s a nice embankment where the creek bends around a corner and people (and dogs) like to congregate there. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if your pet comes home soaking wet.
Spring Lake is one of our favorite spots in Perinton because we have 2 Huskies and if you know anything about huskies, they need to burn a lot of energy. In the summer we spend hours at a time there and in the winter we’re always the first ones there.
Despite what the signs say, pretty much everyone treats it as a dog park. The only other reason to go is the fishing. I’ve never done it but apparently there’s some god fishing in the Creek. Pretty much everyone that goes does the same routine. Walk to the back of the park, do a lap around the field, let them play in the creek for a few minutes and then head back out. We’re no different. I even mapped it out for ya:
GPS tracking powered by InstaMapper.com
<br />
Spring lake park would sit virtually unused without the dogs. I’m very thankful we have a place like this in the town of Perinton
The whole point of this blog is to help you get outside in the Fairport NY and surrounding areas. But it’s not just to help you, it’s to help me get out there more frequently too. For that reason I’d like to introduce to you a new post series and personal project.
Welcome to Saturday in the Parks.
It’s no secret Perinton has a ton of parks. Everytime I drive down a road I’ve not previously been on I run into a new park (sometimes even more than one). For as long as I can keep finding new parks to visit (and when I’m not out of town) I’ll be featuring one here every Saturday.
But wait, there’s more!
Not only will I be featuring the park, I’ll be posting on location! Combining two things I love: technology and the great outdoors.
This weeks park is the Indian Hill Recreation Area. It’s not so much a park as it is a hiking paradise.
[insert 20min interruption by Jeff the nicest guy in the world and his dog Jayda]
When you’ve reached the picnic table you know you’re at the top. The last time I came up here I thought it pretty much ended at the table. However; after talking with Jeff and hiking along with him for a while I realize this section of the Crescent Trail is HUGE. Several loops, lots of fields, a great place to hike with the kids or the dogs. There are a few wet sections in the trail so if you decide to take the kids make sure they’re wearing their crappy sneakers.
The farthest I got to (thanks to Jeff) was a spot I could view the grass-roofed house from (which is pretty cool by the way). I think the next trip to this place might be a little longer and I’ll be exploring the rest of the trails at least as far as the next road.
The locations of the recreation area, the parking lot and the trails can be seen in the Instamapper GPS Track I made below.
http://www.instamapper.com/trk?key=18173962671177867252&width=350&height=300&type=roadmap
Have fun out there! And if you get a chance, check out the grass roof house!
On a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago it was gorgeous outside so Rachel and I spent the afternoon with the little one. So what she’s not born yet? We’re anxious parents so we couldn’t wait.
Rachel’s brother George & his wife Stacie gave us Oregon shirts for Christmas last year & we just got a package from them for the baby with a Oregon onesie in it. It was too cute to wait a few months before using so we had a perfectly normal fun Sunday afternoon at the park. Leave us alone.
From a bicyclist somewhere along the Tom McCall Waterfront Park:
There are 3 things you need to tell everyone about Portland when you get back home
- Portland Sucks
- The Weather is Horrible
- The People are @$$ holes
I don’t think I can agree with the 3rd one. We met several different people today and all of them were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met anywhere.
The Bicyclist – What he said was all in good fun, but it stems from a reality. Portland is a victim of huge population growth. It’s probably one of the reasons Oregon has one of the worst unemployment rates in the country right now. From what I understand, people from southern california and other places with high taxes (*cough* NY *cough*) are flocking to Oregon in droves. People who live in Oregon now like it the way it is, and don’t want it to change. Naturally, the more people Oregon gets the less like the current wilderness it will become.
The Trick-Biker – We wandered the city a while until we happened upon the Ira Keller Fountain. It’s probably one of the coolest fountains I’ve ver seen. It’s very abstract and modern, with many different levels and cascades, as well as many different viewing platforms of various sizes, orientations and locations. Just as we were about to leave 2 kids showed up on trick bikes and started jumping from platform to platform while doing tricks. After chatting for a bit we learned that they like to come down at least once a week by bus just to ride around the city. Keller Fountain is one of their favorite spots. I asked if I could take their picture and they were ecstatic, especially after I showed them the result. I got their e-mail address and told them I’d send them copies.
Zweigles man – Zweigles hot dogs are definitely a local Rochester NY thing. I didn’t even think anyone outside of our area had heard of them, or would even care. However; for some reason SuperDog in downtown Potland OR carries them, claiming in their menu: “Zweigles white hot – direct from Rochester.” When we saw that it floored us, and naturally we had to eat there. While doing so I struck up a conversation with the cook who was just as shocked as we were to find out we were from Rochester NY.
We struck out with the goal of seeing Mills End Park, the worlds smallest park and we saw it (don’t blink, seriously, one square foot of park is easy to miss) however we saw and learned much more along the way. Just the way we like it.
I’m not up early often. Today I was, so after dropping Rachel off at the airport at 4:30am I decided to explore a nearby Fairport park to see if I could find a scenic spot to watch the sunrise.
I haven’t been able to figure out what the name of the park is, and it’s not really advertised as a park at all. There’s just a small stone parking lot and an old worn out sign that no longer has anything on it.
The scenery there is quite beautiful though, and it’s probably one of the best places to watch the sunrise in Fairport NY.
Randy Aldrich 
