05/23/2026
Wednesday, May 27 - Mendon Ponds Park hike. Mendon Ponds Park is the largest Monroe County Park with 2,500 acres of woodlands, ponds, wetlands and glacially created landforms. In 1969, it was named to the National Registry of Natural Landmarks due to its geologic history and presence of significant kames, eskers, and kettles.
The Mendon Ponds park office is located at 95 Douglas Road, Honeoye Falls, NY 14472. Mendon Ponds Park, which is approximately 10 miles southeast of Rochester, is located south of the New York State Thruway I-90 in the Towns of Pittsford and Mendon. It is bordered by Clover Street on the west and Pittsford-Mendon Center Road on the east.
We would start on the East Esker Trail, meeting there at 10AM (It's approximately a 2-hour drive from Elmira) The trailhead is on the north side of Pond Road between the intersection of Douglas Rd and Pittsford-Mendon Rd. The parking area is small with a posted brown wooden sign "Horse Trailer Parking".
This is a challenging 4.7 mile trail with numerous hills. You will pass through woods of spruce, pine, black walnut, oak, quaking aspen, maple, shagbark hickory, sassafras and black cherry trees making this a great foliage hike. There are also fields with wildflowers; a variety of ferns and several observation points offer magnificent views of the hills which are miles away. During this hike you will be hiking kames and an esker, and pass a kettle hole pond, all glacial formations created by the Wisconsin Ice Sheet that left this area 11,000 years ago.
After the hike, we can eat our packed lunches in the park. Then, we can hike a shorter Bird Song Trail, visit the Nature Center or explore any other trail in the park that might look interesting. After that, if people are interested, there are several breweries in the area to relax and have some liquid refreshment or there are some delicious ice cream places, as well. Bring a lunch, a snack, water, insect-repellant, sturdy hiking footwear and hiking poles. Contact Lisa Rustici at [email protected] or 607-742-6212 to sign-up for this hike.
