Winter Family Fun in Rochester

Don't miss a thing! Please click on the snowmen to the right or click here to sign up for our free weekly emailed Community Calendar with all the local kids/family events for the Rochester area.

Please see below for all kinds of great places to go this winter in Rochester! (Click on the name of the venue to get to the description.) Click here to send us your comments about this page.

Sledding

• Black Creek Park, Union Street, Spencerport, NY
  Readers write: "LARGE hill behind the shelter and the tree line"
  "Better for older kids (4+) because it is a pretty big hill. They do also have trails for hiking and the little ones can get pulled on the trails when there is enough snow...I have seen a lot of cross country skiers at the park also."
  
  
• Ellison Park, Blossom & Landing Roads, Penfield, NY - 585-256-4950
  
  
• Hilton Quest Elementary School - 225 West Avenue, Hilton, NY
  Hill behind the school
  
  
• Martha Brown Middle School - 665 Ayrault Road, Fairport, NY
  Hill in front of the school - great place especially for beginners.
  
  
• Mendon Ponds Park, between Clover Street and Pittsford-Mendon Center Road, Mendon, NY - 585-256-4950
  There are several hills, but one in particular that everyone seems to flock to.
  
  
• Northampton Park, Colby Street, Spencerport, NY - 585-256-4950
  
  
• Perinton Recreation Center, 1350 Turk Hill Road, Fairport, NY
  A reader writes: "There's a steep, challenging hill and a gentler slope. Area is also good for x-country ski and snowshoe with open fields and a wooded trail."
  
  
• Powder Mills Park, off Route 96, Pittsford, NY
  
  
• Sutherland High School, 55 Sutherland Street, Pittsford, NY
  There is a hill behind the school for sledding.
  
  
• Washington Grove Park, behind Cobb's Hill, Rochester
  
  
• Webster Park, Lake Road/Holt Road, Webster, NY - 585-256-4950
  
  
• Frisbee Hill Park off of Frisbee Hill Road in Hilton (located between Hilton and Greece) has a great sledding hill. We took all 3 little ones and they were all able to enjoy. Go to back of the park and there is a sign pointing down the trail for the “Sledding Hill.” (Reader suggestion from Danielle.)
  
  

Also: Snow tubing counts as sledding, right? Certainly it does! Check out Polar Wave Snow Tubing in Batavia. You might want to print out and sign their waver in advance of your trip, to save time when you're there. See their web site at http://www.polarwavebatavia.com.

Ice Skating

• Churchville Park, Kendall Road and Main Street, Village of Churchville/Town of Riga NY, - 585-256-4950
  
  
• Ellison Park, Blossom & Landing Roads, Penfield, NY - 585-256-4950
  
  
• RIT: Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Rink - 51 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY - 585-475-2223
  
  
• Genesee Valley Ice Skating Arena - 133 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY - 585-428-7889
  
  
• Hafner Park - 3655 Lake Road, Clarkson, NY
  A KidsOutAndAbout.com reader writes: "They freeze about 12 inches of water and keep it shoveled off so anyone can skate. There is usually a building where you can sit and get your skates on. There may still be a porta-potty across the road at the kids' playground.
  
  
• Manhattan Square Park - 353 Court Street, Rochester - 585-428-7541
  Now Open After Years of Renovations! A KOA reader writes that parents should be aware that in order to go out on the ice with their children, they must put on ice skates, unlike at other places where they can walk behind their children.
  
  
• SUNY Brockport Tuttle North Ice Arena - New Campus Drive, Brockport, NY 585-395-2244
  
  
• Thomas Creek Ice Arena - 80 Lyndon Road, Fairport, NY - 585-223-2130
  
  
• Webster Ice Arena - 865 Publishers Parkway, Webster, NY - 585-787-3530
  
  

Cross-Country Skiing

• Black Creek Park, Union Street, Towns of Chili and Riga, NY - 585-256-4950
  A reader reports: "Cross country skiing is nice in Black Creek Park and also in Northampton."
  
  
• Durand Eastman Park - Lake Shore Blvd., Irondequoit, NY
  Comments from Cross-Country Ski Areas from Rochester-Info.com: "The best time to cross-country ski in Durand Eastman Park is during extreme weather. The dogs and their owners are gone and new snow covers their damage. On extreme weather days, the park can be spectacularly beautiful. For skiers, the best entrance to the park is from the east side or the northeast. These entrances are less heavily used than the west entrances near the sled hills."
  
  
• Genesee Country Village Nature Center, Flint Hill Road, Mumford, NY 585-538-6822
  Reader Karyn Dolan raves: "There's wonderful hiking and cross-country skiing...You can rent skis at a very reasonable price, in sizes ranging from adult to pretty small children (they told me last year they had skis to fit a 3-year old!)"
  
  
• Genesee Valley Park - South of East River Road, Rochester, NY (near the golf course)
  Good for beginning cross-country skiiers
  
  
• Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area - Canadice Hill Road, six miles south of Honeoye - 585-335-8111
  
  
• Mendon Ponds Park, between Clover Street and Pittsford-Mendon Center Road, Mendon/Honeoye Falls, NY - 585-334-3780
  They groom the cross-country trails there for the Pittsford-Mendon team so it's an especially nice place to ski.
  
  
• Northhampton Park, Colby Street, Spencerport, NY - 585-256-4950
  According to one of our readers, "They also have a ski lift for downhill skiing--not sophisticated but nice."
  
  
• Perinton Recreation Center, 1350 Turk Hill Road, Fairport, NY
  A reader writes: "Area is good for x-country skiing and snowshoeing with open fields and a wooded trail."
  
  

Downhill Skiing/Snowboarding

• Brantling Ski Slopes - 4015 Fish Farm Road, Sodus, NY 315-331-2365
  
• Bristol Mountain Ski & Snowboard Resort, Route 64 South, Bristol, NY - 585-374-6000
  Downhill skiing, snowboarding
  
  
• Hunt Hollow Ski Club (private ski club) - 7532 County Road 36, Naples, NY - 585-374-5428
  
  
• Powder Mills Park Learn to Ski Program, Off Route 96, Victor, NY - 607-545-6511 for more information
  A program coordinated with Swain Ski & Snowboard Resort
  
  
• Northampton Park Learn to Ski Program,South of Route 31 and west of Route 36 between Spencerport and Brockport, NY - 607-545-6511 for more information
  A program coordinated with Swain Ski & Snowboard Resort
  
  

More skiing - a little further away

• Greek Peak - 2000 NYS Route 392, Cortland, NY 13045 - 800-955-2SKI
  
• Holiday Valley - Route 219, Ellicottville, New York - 716-699-2345
  Western New York's premier destination ski resort; "Lids for Kids" helmet program supporter; 53 Trails, 39 Lighted for night skiing, 95% covered by snow making.
  
  
• Labrador Mountain - Route 91, Truxton, New York - 607-842-6204
  
  
• Song Mountain - Tully, New York - 315-696-5711
  75 % night skiing. 80% Snow making.
  
  
• Swain - Swain, New York - 607-545-6511
  
  
• Toggenburg Mountain - Fabius, New York - 315-683-5842
  
  

Hiking/Snowshoeing

Here is an article on Hiking and Snowshoeing in Rochester's Winter from Sue Freeman, author of Take a Hike!

• Genesee Country Village Nature Center, Flint Hill Road, Mumford, NY - 585-538-6822
  Rent cross-country skis and snowshoes at the Nature Center
  
  
• Tinker Nature Park, 1525 Calkins Road, Henrietta, NY - 585-359-7044
  Snowshoeing: Tinker Nature Park offers snowshoe rentals and a few miles of flat trails to explore. They also have a nice blog at http://tinkernaturepark.blogspot.com.
  
  
• Cumming Nature Center, 6472 Gulick Road, Naples, NY 14512 - (585)374-6160
  During the winter months, cross-country skiers can explore 15 miles of groomed trails. A separate 2-mile loop is available for snowshoeing.