Black Creek Park

Over the holiday break, we headed to western NY to visit family.  One of our favorite parks in the area is known as Black Creek Park, located in Chili, NY, which is about 19 miles outside of Rochester, NY.

Black Creek Park is one of the largest parks in the Rochester area containing over 1500 acres of land that is largely undeveloped.  There are some baseball and soccer fields, and there are ungroomed cross-country ski trails and snowshoeing trails during the winter months.  The weather during our visit was a little warm for December in Rochester (not that I’m complaining) so there wasn’t any snow, but in years past we have cross-country skied in the park.  The trails are flat, so great for beginners.

There are 5 year-round hiking trails totaling a little over 9 miles.  All of them are easy terrain, but it does get very muddy in some parts (it was very muddy during our trip!).  In 2017, a volunteer group known as #TrailsROC installed a 1-mile-long fairy trail.  There were dozens of tiny fairy houses, in various stages of repair, present during our visit.  I’m sure little kids would love this, but I found it to be a bit creepy!

There is also a boat launch to go Kayaking on the Black Creek and there is a rather steep sledding hill.

Other amenities include the option of reserving the ball fields, shelters for cook outs and indoor bathrooms (seasonal).

• Parking: Ample, with several parking lots located in different sections of the park
• Trails: Easy and winding, watch out for muddy sections though, with some spots a little slick
• Solitude Rating: Moderate. The park is large and can accommodate many people, but it can be sparsely populated at times