Tag Archives: leaf-peeping

Finding the Foliage

As a former resident of Vermont, I know a thing or two about fall foliage.

*And one of the things I know is that the foliage here in the Finger Lakes and Soutnern Tier is JUST AS GOOD as it is in Vermont, even if the hills are not as high.

*So where, around here, do you go to enjoy good foliage? The season’s not quite upon us, but it settles in a little more every day.

*Well, there are several places where you can get up high, and see for miles and miles around, as the countryside is splattered with color like a well-loved artist’s palette.

*One of those places is HARRIS HILL, above Big Flats and outside Elmira. You can enjoy Harris Hill Park and the foliage there, but in particular there’s a lookout right below the glider port. You can look down onto the Chemung River, enjoying the flats and the heights beyond… if you’re lucky, sailplanes will take off right over your head.

*MOSSY BANK PARK has a lookout overviewing historic Bath, the “grande dame of the Southern Tier.” You look right down into the village, the Conhocton River, and Lake Salubria. On a clear day, you can glimpse wind turbines in Prattsburgh and in Howard. The vale of Pleasant Valley stretches toward Keuka Lake, and Mount Washington shoulders its way onto the plain. Now and then eagles and osprey soar by.

*The JUMP-OFF POINT in Ontario County Park north of Naples serves up a delicious view to the west… like Harris Hill and Mossy Bank, it has a precipitous drop to the valley below, and hundreds of acres of foliage to see. (Despite the name, on the whole it’s best if you don’t jump.) This is also the northern terminus of the Bristol Hills Trail, which stretches away southward to meet the Finger Lakes Trail west of Mitchellsville.

*Park on Mitchellville Road (Steuben County Route 13) where the FINGER LAKES TRAIL crosses, and you can hike eastward through the forest along a gorgeous gorge until you come out in a vineyard. Once you exit the vineyard you can stop outside the Urbana town building and soak in the sight of PLEASANT VALLEY in the fall, with the vineyard, cemetery, and high-walled hills all bursting with color. The name of Pleasant Valley goes back to the 1700s, and it still fits perfectly.

*There are multiple points where you can take in the view on KEUKA LAKE: Hammondsport waterfront; Champlin Beach; two scenic pulloffs on Route 54; Red Jacket Park in Penn Yan; Modeste Bedient Library in Branchport; the west-side wineries (Bully Hill, Dr. Frank, Heron Hill, Hunt Country); and a little lookout platform on the Middle Road, by a vineyard.

*STEUBEN COUNTY ROUTE 10, from Bath down to Cameron, makes a great drive through the uplands (Conhocton River through Canisteo River), but it’s undergoing construction just now, so either check beforehand or bookmark the trip for next year.

*I created the tern FOLIAGE VILLAGE, and designated three of them; HAMMONDSPORT, NAPLES, and HONEOYE FALLS. In each case you can stroll and wander the village at whatever pace you like, stopping to take in the color-bursting shade trees and all the other village pleasures.

*Hammondsport has the lake, surrounding hills, and two green squares. Naples has vineyards, surrounding hills, and a mile-long Main Street. Honeoye Falls has the falls themselves, and the Honeoye Creek wending through. Every one is a pleasure, and you set the pace yourself.

Color Quest — Fall in the Finger Lakes

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Fall in the northeast… fall in the Finger Lakes, no less! Take it from a guy who used to live in Vermont, and loved it; our autumn colors are just as good as theirs.
It’s always hard to recommend good places for peeping at leaves, because the vista varies from day to day, even hour to hour. It even depends on how the sun is shining (or isn’t).
I’m hearing that our “peak” this year was a week or so back. But some trees are still green today! So peak even varies from tree to tree. You never know what you’re going to find, or where you’re going to find it. Some residential streets in Bath and Dansville are gorgeous just now. And one of the most spectacular displays I’ve EVER seen was on Victor Road near Fairport, right by Lollypop Farms – and that, as I recall, was mostly because of the brush, not the trees.
So what the heck, I’ll take the plunge, and suggest some places where I’ve found terrific foliage over the years.

Foliage Villages
In our region, I’ve found two villages where a stroll can deliver really memorable foliage – Hammondsport, and Honeoye Falls. In both places you can wander around on sidewalks, at your own pace, without worrying about you or somebody else being a distracted driver. Hammondsport, of course, gives you the great wall of that wooded cliff looming over town – a gigantic palette – plus the lake, and the colors of the distant shore. But Honeoye Falls also has that wonderful waterfall on the Honeoye Creek, right in the heart of the village. Both places are worth a walk.

View From a Height
At least three high places in our region offer breathtaking views regardless of season, made more magnificent in the fall.
*Mossy Bank Park, near Bath. The lookout here gives a great vista of the village right below, of miles along the Conhocton River and its surroundings to the west, and for a good distance northward to the heights that hide Keuka Lake. And once you’ve surfeited yourself at the lookout, you can walk along the trails in the park.
*Harris Hill, outside Big Flats. At the lookout here you get a great view for several miles of the Chemung River, and the Flats, plus there’s always the chance a sailplane will take off or land right over you. Then you can walk in Harris Hill Park, or in nearby Tanglewood Nature Center.
*Ontario County Park, outside Naples. The lookout at the dramatic “jump off” point gives a staggering view. Add fall colors, and it’s especially impressive. Once again, you’ve then got the park trails to pursue, including the Bristol Hills Trail.

State Parks
I’ve found three of our area state parks to be especially fruitful for fall foliage.
*Stony Brook Park, near Dansville. For some unfathomable reason this park is overlooked and underappreciated. Sometimes you’ll find a yellow wood as you make your way along the brook.
*Watkins Glen State Park in Watkins Glen. If you haven’t been for a while – what’s keeping you? I can almost guarantee you’ll experience parts of it that you’ll swear you’ve never seen before.
*Letchworth State Park, near Mount Morris. To all those fall colors add that great cleft in the earth, and the spectacular falls. What more needs to be said?Top that, Vermont.

A Walk in the Woods
I’ve had really good fall experiences in three places that stand out in my memory.
*Sanford Lake in Moss Hill State Forest, near Savona. Fall brings a lovely bleak beauty to the lake, with its few odd restless waterfowl taking suspicious wing. One trail crosses a little tributary to Mud Creek right by an old beaver dam. I’ve often got the place to myself this time of year.
*Bully Hill State Forest, near Almond. One sunny October afternoon I enjoyed a wonderful walk from Karr Road to Bully Hill Road and back, along the Finger Lakes Trail. The dry leaves crunched deliciously beneath my feet, and birds clicked and twittered along the way.
*Interloken Trail, outside Burdett. Last fall I walked this entire trail in five out-and-back stages. I walked from north to south, and so walked along with autumn. Every hike brought forth a new experience of fall.

Feed the Birds
Mendon Ponds Park, south of Pittsford can be glorious when you catch it right. Walking along a lane shadowed on both sides by long rows of maples, planted in days long gone by someone with confidence in the future, can be like walking through an explosion in the paint factory – or like walking in a stained-glass window. Bring some sunflower seeds along, and the songbirds will eat from your hand.

Any of these I’ve found to be great. But to be perfectly honest, all you’ve got to do for a great fall is to look out your window, or wander your neighborhood. Just really look, and you’re bound to be overwhelmed.