Chimney Bluffs

Yesterday we went back to Chimney Bluffs State Park. On our way to the park, we made a quick stop in the village of Wolcott to see Wolcott Falls, which is easy to miss when driving through the village. It's not particularly tall or awe inspiring, but still quite pretty:



We continued north to the shores of Lake Ontario to Chimney Bluffs State Park. The bluffs are really quite amazing to see; they are almost desert-like in appearance, or even look like the surface of another planet. According to the NYFalls.com site, "the bluffs were formed by a glacial drumlin, which has been eroded away by wind, lake waters, rain and ice; forming razor-like edges. Drumlins are common for Western and Central NY, but one that is sliced in half like this is pretty rare."

We hiked one short trail on the western side of the park, which gave us a good view of the bluffs to the east:


We found a tiny patch of shade and ate our picnic lunch, then started on the Bluff Trail. The trail winds along the edge of the cliffs, which had us keeping a tight hand on Aidan. We took notice of this alarming sign:


The views of the bluffs and of Lake Ontario were amazing:



We returned to the parking lot via a forest trail, where we quickly became the afternoon snack for an assortment of horseflies, mosquitoes and other biting insects. The horseflies, in particular, definitely made us quicken our pace! But despite the bugs and the heat, it was a fun way to celebrate Independence Day.