Let's Take a Hike! @ Mendon Ponds Park, Quaker Pond Trail

Meet at 11 a.m. at Lookout Shelter parking area, Mendon Ponds Park, Mendon, NY. WEATHER PERMITTING - No hike if it is raining or snow storm.

Directions: Take Clover Street (Route 65) south to Mendon Ponds Park. Turn left (E) at the third entrance to the park on Pond Road. Pass the nature center and Algonkian Shelter. Park at the Lookout Shelter parking area.

Hiking Time: 1.3 hours
Length: 2.5 mile loop
Surface: Mowed-grass and dirt path
Trail Markings: Some signs and numbered posts at intersections

For a map of the park and local streets go to: www.monroecounty.gov/Image/MendonPark.pdf (http://www.monroecounty.gov/File/MendonPark.pdf)

This trail offers an easy stroll on a wide path. Cattails and bushes are encroaching on the pond, but water is still visible at the southern end. Waterfowl and lily pads are plentiful in the remaining pond. In spring and winter it’s a fun place to identify animal tracks (deer, raccoon, beaver, etc.) in the mud. On a winter walk we watched a mink scurry across the ice. In July we’ve enjoyed grazing on the raspberries and blackberries that line the trail. You can make the hike longer by combining this walk with Birdsong Trail (#18) yellow loops.

http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/1/a/3/8/event_93606712.jpeg

Trail Directions
• From Lookout Shelter parking area, head west on the gravel trail. Immediately turn left (S).
• At the “Y,” (junction marker #13) bear right (W).
• At 0.2 mile, reach a “T.” Turn right (W).
• At 0.4 mile, pass a trail to the left. (It’s a boardwalk through the swamp and can be taken as a shortcut.)
• Bear left as you pass a trail to the right.
• Pass a bench and cross a small wooden bridge over the swamp outlet.
• At 0.5 mile, a trail to the right leads to the nature center. Continue straight (W).
•Continue straight through a trail intersection.
• At 0.8 mile, pass a trail to the right. (It leads to Clover Street.)
• Cross a culvert at 1.4 miles.
• At 1.5 miles the trail bends left (SE).
• Pass a trail to the right.
• At the “T,” turn left (E). Finally you’ll see water.
• Cross a wooden bridge over the pond outlet at 1.7 miles. (Notice that beavers had once dammed this waterway.)
• At the “Y,” bear left (NE).
• Pass a trail to the right at 1.8 miles.
• At 2.0 miles pass a trail to the left then quickly pass a trail to the right.
• At 2.3 miles reach trail junction #14. Continue straight.
• Cross a small wooden bridge.
• At 2.3 miles, bear right (N) at the “Y” to head back to Lookout Hill and Pond Road.
• Reach a “T” at junction marker #13 at 2.4 miles and turn right (NE).
• At the last “T” turn right to return to the parking area.

Maps and trail descriptions are available in the guidebook “Take A Hike – Family Walks in the Rochester Area,” available at www.footprintpress.com or call 1-800-431-1579.