Winter Fun at Bloomer Park: Sledding and Snowshoeing

There’s a saying: If you can’t beat them, join them. Well, that apparently goes for winter as well. Old Man Winter isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so on a recent Sunday afternoon, my family suited up for some winter fun at Bloomer Park in Rochester.

The park, which is on John R Road one mile north of Avon Road, is a winter lover’s delight. There is a huge sledding hill and lots of trails to explore via snowshoes, if you have them. We saw plenty of people hiking in snow boots too, if you don’t have snowshoes. Luckily, we have snowshoes, so we did a nice hike in the woods, where we saw deer tracks (and droppings), squirrels, birds (including a vibrant cardinal) and gorgeous, snow-covered pines.

It was a peaceful trek and we were plenty warm.

After that, we shed our snowshoes and took a nice walk to the sledding hill. It did not disappoint. About a half-dozen families were enjoying the massive hill, with several lanes to sled down and one that is dedicated only to walking up, meaning collisions will be a non-issue. You also aren’t allowed to use skis or snowboards and we saw everyone following the rules, taking turns and having a blast.

The hill is big and divided into sections, and you can really get up to speed. We had a sledding disk and a longer sled and both worked fine.

It is bumpy, though, so you want to really hang on! My son took a tumble and scratched his face so it isn’t without risk. Helmets might be a good idea!

This sledding hill is really for older children. I would say kids 5 and up will get the most out of it, but there is a smaller, gentler hill near the parking area that we saw smaller children enjoying.

There is an admission fee to the park, but on this day, no one was collecting money. However, you might want to be prepared because normally, there is a gate attendant gathering admission. It’s open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

If you have older kids who love winter fun, it is well worth the price.

We had a blast and will be back for more after the next snowfall!