Several days ago — one of those sunny days when the temperature was perfect — my husband and I took a bike ride along the Erie Canal Trail.
This is something we like to do at least once a summer. Our routine is to park the car in Fairport, unload the bikes and ride to Pittsford along the trail, about 7 miles. Once there, we get lunch at my favorite hot dog and chicken sandwich stand, Harladay Hots, which is right on Main St. in the village. (When I also take the opportunity to stock up on Harladay Hots Spicy Meat Sauce, which I think is the best in the business.) After lunch, we head back to Fairport and sometimes reward ourselves with a pint at Triphammer Brewing.
It’s an easy ride along on a smooth, well-maintained trail, filled with natural beauty, wildlife and lots of history. Every time we make the ride I see something new or learn something new.
This most recent trip is a good example. For the first time ever, we came across two deer calmly munching the bushes along the trail. We had to slow down for about two dozen adult and juvenile geese who decided they owned one particular chunk of the trail. We saw ducks and some unidentified bird with a white rump.
I also stopped to check out what was clearly the remnants of a former bridge over the canal, and was pleased to see that someone had tucked a photo of the former bridge underneath for curious travelers like myself. With that clue in hand, as soon as we got home I did some research. Before too long I found a two-year old post on a Pittsford History Facebook page about the former hamlet of Cartersville, which was located near where East St. and Rt. 96 meet today. Through the 1800s and into the early 1900s, a bridge there connected East St. to the south with Marsh Rd. to the north. For several reasons, the bridge was removed in 1941 and scrapped for use in WWII.
Fascinating, no? Click here to read more about Cartersville and the bridge.
One other stop I had to make was to check in with the enigmatic Christmas tree chainsaw carving which stands in a small clearing about a quarter mile east of Great Embankment Park. It’s actually the second iteration of the tree I first discovered and wrote about in my D&C column in 2016. The original was created by Pittsford chainsaw artist Dave Jewett, who carved it out of a tree that was knocked down in the Labor Day storm of 1998. (Let me know if you want to read that article but can’t access it and I’ll post it.)
In the years since I wrote that column, Dave has carved a bigger and better tree, which now stands proudly in the clearing. At its base, someone has placed stones with inspirational sayings, with a sign encouraging visitors to pass them along.
The interesting little wooden pine tree is well worth the detour if you’re riding along the trail, and it’s just one of the cool things you’ll see.
The Erie Canal Trail is a terrific recreational resource just minutes away. I highly encourage everyone, especially families, to get out and explore it this summer and discover some surprises for yourself.
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(posted 6/12/2024)
webster on the web 
great local info as always! You always teach me something new even though I’ve lived in Webster my whole life. Thanks!
Oh, what a nice thing to say. Thank you!