Turning Point Park

What a place! What beauty!
If you can appreciate the small, wondrous things in life, then this place might be for you. My friend took me here while I was visiting the other day, and she told me it was her zen place. The parking lot at the top of the hill leads to a trail that curves downward to the Genesee River. At the end of the hill begins a river trail/​bridge that leads you directly to Lake Ontario.
When we reached the beginning of the river walk, I could immediately tell that this was the perfect zen place. There are several concrete circles that you can sit on and stare out, losing track of time and breathing in the fresh air. You can lose yourself and de-​stress. We went out here on Monday morning and hardly anyone was out; it was the perfect place to relax.
The River Walk extends for a half a mile I’d say, and ends back up a hill. It’s perfect though: a good place to walk, jog, take the kiddos. It’s a good break from reality.
It’s also a great time to go there. The trees are changing colors so you see a variety of colors here. It’s so beautiful! My picture does not do it justice at all. There are also less people this time of year, so going there now means absolute silence in nature while not completely freezing.
Go and experience this beauty! A very unique spot in Rochester.

Great spot for a walk. The river trail in general is a great bike ride from Charlotte to Lower Falls. Gets broken up a bit until Corn Hill after that though. Hopefully they bridge those gaps between Lower Falls and Downtown someday. Would love to see more stuff like Turning Point Park.

I can’t remember how I found this park, but I am glad I did. It’s not well marked and you can’t see it from major roads, you have to turn off Lake Ave onto Boxart. Take a couple turns and you’ll find a small parking lot. From here you can hike or bike through the paved trails that lead through railroad bed, wooded area, and over a long pedestrian bridge over the Genesee basin. Depending on the season, you can get more access to some low-​lying areas.
The park is really unique:
* There are the woods, wetlands, and river which are home to a lot of plants and animals
* The boardwalk seems pretty modern (built in 2008)
* …but there is also the weird feeling of abandon. The area used to be a hub for coal transport in the late 1800s/​early 1900s. There are still tons of evidence of what used to be– in a cool way, not a junky way. If you would like to know more history of the area this is a good page:
You can walk most of the highlights of this park in about an hour or you stay on the Genesee River Trail which goes to Ontario Beach in one direction or downtown in the other.