Wehle State Park

We were back on Lake Ontario in mid-July, and during this trip we visited the Robert G. Wehle State Park.  The land was the former estate of Robert Wehle, and become a public park in 2003, one year after his death in 2002.  It is over 1100 acres and has quite a bit of coastline on Lake Ontario.  There is something for everyone here – hiking, hunting, camping, glamping in the guest cottage, pickle ball courts and playgrounds.

Robert Wehle a well-known breeder of English Pointers, perhaps the top breeder in the world, and an avid conservationist.  He also had a 1500-acre property in Alabama that became the Wehle Tract in Bullock County Alabama.  And, his father, Louis Wehle, was the founder of the new Genesee Brewing Company in Rochester, New York in 1932, right after the end of prohibition.

The Wehle state park trails are well-marked and easy to hike.  There are some sections close to cliffs overlooking Lake Ontario that require a little bit of caution, but nothing that is very rugged.  There are some great views, and our hike started out on the Snake Foot Loop and turned right onto the Dancing Gypsy trail, which took us along the water’s edge.  From there the Dancing Gypsy Trail heads inland, where we connected with the Misty Trail heading south, and then finally getting on to the Knickerbocker Trail, which took us back to the parking lot.  This loop was a little over 2 miles long with some nice views.

Overall:

• Parking: Large paved lots with ample parking.
• Trail: Easy to moderate in some spots, some steep descents if you leave the trail and head down to the water.
• Solitude rating: Moderate. While the park can accommodate a lot of people, it does not get very crowded.