HIKING TRAILS FOR THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED

I would like to devote this article to people who have difficulty walking "regular" hiking trails. There are several interesting trails in Monroe County that can be hiked by people that have difficulty walking. This includes people confined to a wheel chair, or use a walker, crutches, cane or who have a medical condition, which limits their ability to walk on irregular surfaces or long distances. Three trails that can be walked in their entirety are Tinker Park in Henrietta, The El Camino Trail in the City of Rochester and Grove Place Walk in downtown Rochester. Both are fully paved trails and an easy hike. The scenery in both is very interesting. For a detailed article on the El Camino Trail, see the article from 9/14/12. The El Camino Trail extends from the city border on the north by St. Paul Blvd. to the start of The River Trail at High Falls. This trail is the flattest and easiest of the trails. It is a straight trail, which means you have to plan for someone to meet you at the end or hike part way and then return to where you started. The trail offers interesting river sights and is a very peaceful walk past vibrant foliage in the spring, summer and fall months. The winter month offers a very beautiful view of snow covered trees and bushes and houses.
Tinker Park is located on Caulkins Rd. There are several trails and all lead back to where you started. This is the best trail in the county for handicapped challenged people, because the trails start and end at the same spot. Tinker Park is a more nature oriented park in that you will see a larger variety of plants trees, animal and birds. Deer are abundant here and can often be seen walking around during the day. The trail is mostly flat but there are some gentle hills in places. On some of the trails in Tinker Park, there are benches to rest on and just relax. There is a lodge to warm up in the winter.
Grove Place follows a path through downtown Rochester meandering thorough some historical areas of the city. The trail is all sidewalks and is an easy walk. There are many old historical buildings is along the trail and many historical markers to inform you of what you are seeing. For a detailed map, I suggest a book written by Susan and Richard Freeman. They are two local people who have hiked the trails and have photos and detailed maps in their book. The book is "Take A Hike" and is in the third edition. This is also a great book to find new places to hike.