Flower City Feeling Good Series
Get Moving
with Flower City Feeling Good! - This annual
series offers many opportunities to get fit and be fascinated around
Rochester's neighborhoods and natural areas.
For nearly three decades, the Flower City Looking Good Series
has connected City residents with the beauty of the Rochester’s natural
environment. The series provides community members with an abundance of
opportunities to get out, get active and get excited about the City of
Rochester. The series will kick off June
2021 with community bike rides & guided walks, monthly community paddles,
seasonal garden workshops, monthly park stewardship events and more.
Explore nature and the city’s amazing historic parks and neighborhoods
by bike, on foot or in canoes by participating in Tuesday night bike rides,
Thursday night nature and history walks, monthly guided paddles and Zumba and
Yoga in the park! Walks and rides are leisurely with slight grade changes,
mostly on paths or sidewalks.
Guided
Nature and History Walks
Thursday
Evening Walks will highlight the historical and natural wonders of the City of
Rochester. Dates for 2023 TBD.
Below are some of the walks that we have
highlighted in previous years.
Highland Park. Join us for a tour of Highland Park - the first Olmsted designed park in
Rochester. The tour will highlight the
unique and historic trees that make the park such a horticultural gem. Meet
outside of the Lamberton Conservatory.
Corn Hill. Join us
to hear about some of our city’s most colorful and historic people, places and
events. Tour begins by the Water Spirits sculpture at Corn Hill Landing where
South Plymouth Avenue joins Exchange Street. Bring water and wear good walking
shoes.
Washington Grove. Join members of the Friends of
Washington Grove to walk through the canopy of 250-year-old Oak trees and find
out about Washington Grove’s natural and cultural history, its many changes and
what the future may hold. Meet at the kiosk atop Cobbs Hill Reservoir in the
open field behind the pine grove (take the reservoir road off of Highland
Ave.).
Downtown Heritage Trail. Join us for a walking tour
of the Downtown Heritage Trail. Explore Rochester’s past through its buildings
and landmarks. Meet at the north side of the Rundel Memorial Building, at the
corner of Broad Street and South Avenue. This outdoor path is approximately one
mile round-trip and will take about an hour to complete. Please dress
comfortably. 
Seneca Park. Join us
on a tour of the Olmsted designed Seneca Park. Explore this unique 297 acre
park designed by the ‘father of landscape architecture’ Frederick Law Olmsted-
and enjoy woodland trails, wildlife along Trout Lake, and scenic views of the
Genesee River Gorge. Meet at the Wegmans
Lodge parking lot along the park road in Seneca Park
El Camino Trail. Join the Genesee Land Trust on a walk of El
Camino, a 2.2 mile urban, multi-use trail .The Thomas R. Frey Trail at El
Camino, a rails to trail project opened in 2012, is most notably known for its
unique murals and trail markers that reflect the cultural history of the area. Meet
at Conkey Corner Park- at the corner of Conkey and Clifford
Avenue.
Play street
Downtown. Join us to experience Rochester’s first interactive Play
Walk. Meet at Martin Luther King Jr.
Park- at the corner of Chestnut Street & Court Street.
Lower Falls
Gorge. Join Gorge Guides on a
tour of both the upper and lower falls, and learn about the history of the
forgotten sites of Carthage and McCrackenville. Meet at the Maplewood Rose
Garden parking lot at the corner of Lake and Driving Park.
Guided
Bicycle Rides
Explore the city’s natural and built environments –including
public art, downtown infrastructure, Roc the Riverway projects, community
gardens, and more. Cancellations due to weather will be made at start time on
the site of the ride. All rides start promptly at 6:00p.m., please arrive by
5:45 p.m. for ride safety tips. Helmets are REQUIRED for all participants.
2021 DATES
TBD. Below are a list of rides we
have organized in previous years.
Mural Arts
Ride. Join us for a tour of some of Rochester’s most impressive
public murals.
Discover
Downtown Ride. Join us for a tour highlighting construction projects that
are reviving Rochester’s downtown as a place to live, work and play
August: North Genesee River Ride? Starting from MNC.
Urban
Garden Ride. Join us on a tour of some of Rochester’s most colorful and
creative urban growing spaces and tour some of Rochester’s most beautiful and
abundant urban gardens.
Roc the
Riverway Ride. Join us for a tour highlighting the Genesee River and several
Roc the Riverway projects in various stages of development.
Guided
Paddle Tours
The Genesee Waterways Center (GWC)
is the City of Rochester’s partner for adult and youth programming in many
things related to our area’s beautiful water resources. This summer, join
(bring) your family and friends to experience an afternoon/evening of paddling
on the beautiful Genesee River, Erie Canal and on Red Creek. For more
information: www.geneseewaterways.org.
Canoes will be provided by the Genesee Waterways Center. Maximum two adults per canoe. All children under 18 must be accompanied by
an adult. To register, visit the Genesee
Waterways Center (GWC) website at www.geneseewaterways.org/events.
- Introduction
to Canoeing/Kayaking: Meet at Corn Hill Landing for a FREE paddling
lesson. Date and Time TBD.
- Paddle
on the Erie Canal: Meet at the Lock 32 parking lot and drop off at the
Genesee Waterways Center. Date and time TBD.
- Paddle
on the Genesee from Seth Green: Meet at Petten St. and drop off at Seth
Green Island. Date and time TBD.
Zumba in
the Parks
The City of Rochester boasts an array of beautiful parks and
green spaces. This summer, the City of Rochester has partnered with the
Maplewood Family YMCA to offer family friendly Zumba classes in the beautiful
Maplewood Rose Garden. All classes are FREE and open to all
abilities. Exercise sessions start at 6 p.m.
Zumba @ Maplewood Rose Garden. Meet in the
Rose Garden parking lot at Lake Avenue and Driving Park Avenue. Dates TBD.
Roc City Sailing Program
On the
water, running with the wind – learning to sail is great fun! Launched in the spring of
2021, The City of Rochester has partnered with ROC City Sailing (RCS) to
provide sailing classes to City of Rochester youth through the City’s Earth
Explorers program and our ArtSmart summer camps.
We will be hosting a Sailing Q&A event at the Rochester
Canoe Club (RCC) in the spring, where kids and families can see live sailing
demonstrations, learn some sailing basics and find out more about our week-long
learn to sail classes and half day adventure sails at RCC’s gorgeous facility
on Irondequoit Bay.
Our week-long sailing program will teach kids as
young as 8 years old everything they need to know to be confident beginner
sailors! Graduates of the beginner level sailing program can continue to
advance their skills by taking an Intermediate level sailing course. More
details can be found on-line at click here.
Our week long sailing program will teach kids as young as 7
years old everything they need to know to be confident beginner sailors! The
program will culminate in a Celebration Bonfire and BBQ open to participants
and their family members. Graduates of the program will have the opportunity to
continue learning to sail with us by joining our Sailing 2.0 extension program.
Details coming soon.
Maplewood Rose Festival
Celebrate
the Rose, Celebrate a Neighborhood. 2021 DATE TBD.
Roses
in bloom and a full program of activities await visitors to the annual
Maplewood Rose Celebration held each June in and around Maplewood Park and Rose
Garden. The event, coordinated by the
Maplewood Neighborhood Association, features family entertainment, food, and
much more.
The
Maplewood Rose Festival continues with a cornucopia of activities that
celebrate Rochester's history, ecology, people, and illustrious horticultural
heritage.
In
particular this festival is an illumination and celebration of the Maplewood
Neighborhood. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this
Northwest Rochester neighborhood boasts hundreds of elegant century-old homes
as well as parks and gardens designed by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted,
known as America's greatest landscape architect. This dazzling “built
environment,” when combined with the natural majesty of the river and gorge,
make for a truly unique urban neighborhood.
The
Maplewood Neighborhood Association’s remarkable volunteers have partnered with
the City to showcase its fantastic history, architecture, natural features,
parks, and people.
Transportation,
Traffic, and Parking Information
Handicapped
parking only in Maplewood Park lot (Driving Park Avenue). Other parking
available on adjoining streets and in the Hawk Eye parking lot at the corner of
St. Paul Boulevard and Avenue E, directly across the Driving Park Bridge from
Maplewood Park (shuttle provided). The Rochester Genesee Regional Transit
Authority offers bus service to several stops within a short walk of Maplewood
Park—for more information on these routes and schedules, go to www.myrts.com or call 288-1700. Bike
enthusiasts can avoid traffic and parking challenges by riding to the event
along the wonderful Genesee
Riverway Trail .
You
can also take a bus to the festivities: Use the Rochester-Genesee Regional
Transportation Authority's Google Trip Planner to get a bus to Maplewood
Park
Roc the Riverway Weekend
The Genesee River is the lifeblood
of the Greater Rochester Region. From the abundant farms of the Genesee Valley
to the industrial heritage of the City, the Genesee River has defined who we
are and how our community developed.
In 2018 the City along with our
partners at the State of New York, launched an ambitious $500 million
initiative to truly release the full potential of our river. The Roc the
River Way riverfront revitalization
program is a series of projects that celebrate the past and build for the
future. They will transform this former industrial waterway into a community
recreational corridor that provides opportunities for all to interact with
water.
Celebrate this transformation with
us! Come out, explore the river and learn more about our community’s vision for
the future.
Contact
Department
of Recreation & Human Services
Stephanie Benway, Environmental Education Specialist Stephanie.Benway@CityofRochester.gov