This trail follows the Genesee River from the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario, and it has some wonderful highlights. Parts of it are in need of TLC, though, and a wee bit of urban sketchiness can also be part of the experience.
July 29. On the northern end, a walkway stretches a few tenths of a mile from the shore. Turbulent waves continually crashed over the railings, and there were times I found myself in ankle-deep water. Between that, the wind, and the light rain, I got soaked. It was fun, though.
Continuing south, the trail goes past a marina, through some urban woods, and then becomes a glorious raised walkway over and across the Genesee River. Hands-down my favorite part of the trail. The water closest to the shores was filled with lush green marsh vegetation. It looked like a water-field of little dark-green cabbages.
The trail is a paved bike path after that and continues toward Rochester. This is where the trail became overgrown and abandoned-looking in some places. I did pass a great outlook for Little Falls, and I did see the eery Seat of Forgetting and Remembering sculpture. Parts of the sculpture looked vandalized, and the grass around it isn’t being maintained. Right after this I ran into my first navigation obstacle. The pedestrian bridge over Station 5 Headgates Dam was closed for maintenance. Getting to the trail on the other side of the river meant walking a long detour through Rochester’s Edgerton neighborhood, which I didn’t not want to do. Got an Uber back to my car.
July 30. Began my hike at the Erie Canal end of the trail. Headed north on a paved path through urban parks. Went by the University of Rochester and into the city center. More parts of the trail were closed, but, for the most part, I could easily find a quick detour. Once I got right in the heart of the city, though? The trail disappeared, and I had to take my best guess until I reached High Falls. The walk through the city featured beautiful architecture and park art/landscaping here and there, but it felt a bit unsafe everything looked partly abandoned.
High Falls’ viewing platform is lovely. Beautiful murals and seating sculptures. Needs upkeep, though. Made it the short distance from there to the Genesee Beer & Ale Brewery, then the trail disappeared again. The next parts would have me walking more sidewalks toward the Station 5 Headgates Dam closed pedestrian path, so I called it a day.
Internet sources state this hike is 24 miles. It’s less than 14 if you are going from one end to the other. There are times when the trail supposedly goes on both sides of the river (though I could not personally find such evidence), so I guess that’s where the extra mileage comes in..?
