Harris Whalen Park is a town park in Penfield, NY. This park is attractive for several reasons, such as its tennis courts, sledding hill, and playground. Harris Whalen Park is widely used for town events and also plays host to the 4th of July fireworks for the town. This park is a large park with pavilions in both the lower and upper areas.
Trails
The nicest feature of Harris Whalen Park is the nature trail that is continuously growing. This is not a widely known trail, and it is not very obvious when you pull into the parking lot. Drive all the way to the very top of the park and the back of the parking lot. You will see an opening in the woods. The trail does not have a sign, just the opening in the woods.
The Woods
Once you enter the Harris Whalen Park woods, it is a beautiful wooded hike. The trail system is not very big, but it is still nice with a series of different trails. It is awe-inspiring in the spring when the trillium are in bloom. I would not recommend strollers for this trail system unless it has been exceptionally dry. These trails are straight-up mud after it rains.
Letterboxing
We discovered a fun activity when we found this park, letterboxing. Letterboxing is a technology-free version of Geocaching. I would describe it as a treasure hunt. Visit the letterboxing website and find your county and select a box to search for. There will be clues, and you follow the clues on your hike. This is an entertaining activity for kids. It adds an element of mystery to the hike. http://letterboxing.org/
Sledding at Harris Hill
When I was a kid, this was my sled hill. I still prefer this one to any other because it is really wide open. I am always concerned with running into other sledders. Death by sled is not my ambition in life. This sled hill has lots of room to spread out, and you don’t have to be as worried about running into other people. It is also a long hill with nothing at the bottom so that your sled has an opportunity to slow down on its own without having to worry about hitting anything.
The sled hill has a parking lot at the top near the hiking trail
Helpful Link: http://www.penfieldrec.org/Harris_Whalen_Park.php
Address: 2130 Penfield Rd, Penfield, NY 14526