[
RECREATION ] By Ledwing Hernandez
The Greater Rochester area is packed with outdoor
opportunities in every setting, from boating on LakeOntario to snowshoeing through our
massive parks, and everything in between. Rochester
has a geographic and climatic diversity that is tough to match — hills, flat
stretches, beaches, mountains, rivers, you name it. The only thing getting in
the way of many people’s desire for outdoor fun and excitement is how to pay
for it. It can be tough to cough up thousands of dollars for equipment you
won’t use 24/7.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย But that’s
no reason to deny yourself. Instead, adventurers may
want to look into renting various pieces of recreation equipment. Not only can
they experience the joy of operating something they either can’t afford or
don’t want to invest in, but they can rest easy in knowing that once they give
it back, they don’t have to worry about it. With rentals weekend adventurers
can get straight to the point of investing in their free time: fun.
Bicycles
Rochester is hometo many great bicycle shops, as well as the outdoor settings to put their
two-wheeled wares to use.Pedallers Bike Shop in
Henrietta (2511 E. Henrietta Road,
334-1083, pedallers.com) offers the rental of road bikes, which are designed
specifically for a comfortable and fast ride on pavement. RV&E Bike and
Skate in Fairport (40 N. Main St.,
338-1350, RVEBike.com) also offers road-bike rentals, in addition to mountain bikes,
which are more suited to rugged, off-road travel. As a great way to get two
things out of the way, the Fairport location is located right on the Erie
Canal, so you can just grab your bike and go. You can also rent
road bikes at Park Ave Bike Shop, with two locations in Henrietta and
Victor (parkavebike.com). If you want to ride through Pittsford you can visit Towpath
Bike (3 Schoen Place,
381-2808, TowpathBike.com) and take a leisurely spin through scenic area canal
town.
Watercraft
Watercrafts can be an exciting way to diversify your fun past
regular ol’ swimming. The downsides to owning watercrafts
are the transportation, maintenance, and storage costs. Forget about all that
and instead, enjoy the area’s many waterways by renting. Take in BraddockBay’s natural beauty by renting a
canoe or other watercraft at Braddock Bay Paddlesports (372 Manitou Road, Hilton,
392-2628, paddlingny.com). You can even launch your rental craft directly from
the store’s own docks, or you can take it to a different boat launch. Bayside
Boat and Tackle (1350 Empire Blvd., 224-8289, baysideboatandtackle.com) is
located right on Irondequoit Bay and rents everything from aluminum row boats
to small sail boats and even gas-powered motor boats. You can also rent boat
trailers if you have a specific watery getaway in mind.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Further east,
Mid-Lakes Erie Macedon Landing (1125 Marina
Parkway, Macedon, 315-986-3011, macedonlanding.com)
offers canoe and kayak rentals, as well as paddleboats. The calmer waters of
the Erie Canal should provide a more subdued and relaxed
experience than the open waters of the natural water bodies. GeneseeWaterwaysCenter(328-3960, geneseewaterways.org) is a water sports organization whose GeneseeValleyPark
boathouse (149 Elmwood Ave)
and Lock 32 Whitewater Park (2797 Clover St,
Pittsford, 586-4330) locations offer kayak and canoe rentals by appointment. From
the boat house you can engage in relaxing kayaking on the GeneseeRiver, and then have a picnic in
the adjacent GeneseeValleyPark.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย You can also
take another step up from renting boats and actually join a boating timeshare
club. Webster’s Fleet Boat Club (955-3261, fleetboatclub.com) gives its
members the ability to make online reservations with their only additional cost
being the fuel they use. The club also provides safety equipment and other
things such as water skis. All members need to do is attend a short safety
course and they are ready to go.
Snow equipment
Weather in Rochester
may not always be conducive to biking and kayaking. What we can be thankful for
is the fact that it isn’t just cold here: we get completely buried in snow. Why
not make the most of it? Start in Downtown Rochester, where you’ll find the Manhattan
Square Park Ice Rink (353 Court St., 428-7541,
cityofrochester.gov). Ice skate rentals here are very inexpensive, and rink
admission is also just a couple bucks. You can also head to Webster Ice
Arena (865 Publishers Pkwy,
Webster)and Lakeshore Hockey Arena (123
Ling Rd, 865-2801, lakeshorehockeyarena.com).Both
rinks are host to hockey leagues spanning all age groups, and Lakeshore Hockey
Arena is also home to roller-hockey leagues.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย If
you want to move away from downtown, Baycreek Paddling Center (1099 Empire Blvd., 288-2830, baycreek.com)provides
snowshoe and trekking pole rentals. Snowshoes can also be used next door at the
447-acre EllisonPark.
The CummingNatureCenter(6472
Gulick Road, 374-6160,
rmsc.org) in Naples offers groomed
trails that can be used for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, and has
snowshoe and cross-country ski rental packages. EasternMountain Sports (3349
Monroe Ave., 383-1140, ems.com) in Pittsford
provides cross-country ski rentals, in addition to snowshoes and kayaks.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย If you want
to hit the slopes, you can also rent ski and snowboard packages at Bristol
Mountain in Canandaigua (5662 State Road
64, 374-6000, bristolmountain.com). These include snowboards and boots, or for
skiers, skis, boots and poles. Finally, those up to the challenge can even rent
snowmobiles from Wyoming County Snowmobile Rental in Warsaw
(3820 Hermitage Rd,
786-3504). You can also rent riding gear to help make your riding experience
complete (and a little less chilly).
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2010.
