Sunday was another beautiful day here in Central New York. Again it was bright and sunny, but not overly hot or humid. As it was Father’s Day, we let Vance decide what the day’s adventure would be. He chose a hike at Chimney Bluffs State Park in Wolcott, NY. Boy #2 had the day off from work, so the three of us hit the road and headed west down Rt 104.
We started with the Bluff Trail, and it had changed a lot since the last time we were there, back when the boys were small. Record high water levels in Lake Ontario in recent years have caused major erosion of the bluffs, specifically the western portion of the Bluff Trail. While the trail used to go along the edge of the bluffs for the entire length of the park, portions of the original trail have been closed off and the trail re-routed further inland.
Once we reached the end of the Bluff Trail, we decided against backtracking along it to return to the parking lot. Instead, we turned down the Drumlin Trail and then caught the East-West Trail to return to where we started. While the trails at Chimney Bluffs are rated as easy, and they really are, none of the Marriners are in particularly tip-top physical shape, so we were all quite tired as we stumbled back to the blessed air conditioning and comfortable seats of the car. Hopefully this hiking thing we’re doing will get easier as we go along.
A photo dump from the Bluff Trail:
If you visit Chimney Bluffs, I highly recommend making the short drive over to Sodus when you’re done. Their little downtown area is charming, and has some delicious food on offer. And ice cream, of course. This time we ate at a little Mexican place right on the main drag, Sabor Jalisciense Mexican Restaurant. We all ordered the same thing, the chorizo burrito, because it sounded absolutely heavenly, and it was. We sat out on their little patio and enjoyed the nice breeze coming off the lake. The burritos were huge, and Griffin was the only one able to finish it. Vance and I were only able to finish half of ours, so my second half made a delightful lunch on Monday. We’ll definitely be eating there again.
Where will we be hiking next? I have no idea, but I’m excited to get back out there.
Visiting Chimney Bluffs State Park
- Address: 7700 Garner Road, Wolcott, NY 14590
- Phone: 315-947-5205
- Website: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/chimneybluffs/
- Hours: open year round from dawn to dusk
- Fees: $5.00 per vehicle (April 1 – October 31)
- Things to do: hiking, fishing, picnicking (grills available), snowshoeing/x-country skiing
- Camping: no
- Pets: A maximum of two pets are allowed in day use areas unless prohibited by sign or directive. Pets are to be supervised at all times and either be crated or on a leash not more than 6-feet in length.
- Trail map
- Trail rating: easy
