Auburn Trail facts for kids
The Auburn Trail is a cool path for walking, biking, and other fun activities. It's mostly in the towns of Victor and Farmington, Ontario County, New York. This trail is about 11 miles (18 km) long. It's looked after by the towns of Victor and Farmington, and a group called Victor Hiking Trails. The trail mostly follows where the old Auburn and Rochester Railroad used to be. You can also find other parts of the Auburn Trail in Pittsford and Brighton, Monroe County, New York.
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Exploring the Victor and Farmington Trail
This part of the Auburn Trail is about 9 miles (14 km) long. It's built and kept up by the Town of Victor, New York and Victor Hiking Trails Inc.. You can find a detailed map and description on their website. Most of this trail has a smooth stone dust surface, about 8 to 10 feet wide.
Much of this section follows the path of the old Auburn and Rochester Railroad. Later, this became part of the New York Central Railroad. As you travel, you'll see many different areas. These include parts of a village, suburban neighborhoods, quiet rural spots, and even some "suburban wild" areas.
Key Spots on the Trail
The Auburn Trail starts southeast from Woolston Road and Powder Mills Park. It then crosses Railroad Mills Road. You'll go over Irondequoit Creek twice. One bridge is an old stone culvert from the railroad days. The other is a new steel bridge built in 2011.
You can find places to park at Powder Mills Park, Railroad Mills Road, and Fishers Road. There's even a small park near the new steel bridge.
The trail crosses Fishers Road about 1,000 feet (300 m) north of the New York State Thruway. Soon after, it goes under the Thruway. This tunnel was built because the Auburn Railroad was still active when the Thruway was made. It's now a cool tunnel for the trail!
From the Thruway, the trail keeps going south. It crosses Irondequoit Creek again and goes through the small community of Fishers, New York.
Art Along the Auburn
In and around Fishers, you'll find an area called "Art Along the Auburn." This is where local artists have added fun artworks for trail users to discover. Some of these include:
- A colorful mural inside the Thruway underpass (painted between 2014 and 2018).
- A unique bike rack shaped like the front of a train (a cowcatcher).
- A "troll" sculpture next to a bridge on the connecting Domine Trail.
Historic Stops and Connections
Just south of Main Street in Fishers, you'll see a cobblestone pump house. This building was made in 1845. It was used to get water for the steam locomotives that ran on the old railroad. You can park behind the Fishers Fire House, where there's also a trail map.
The trail continues southeast from Fishers, past Phillips Road. Near here, you'll find a big sports facility that opened in 2015. Limited parking is available at Phillips Road. About 1,000 feet (300 m) southeast of Phillips Road, the trail goes under a steel bridge. This bridge used to carry the old Lehigh Valley Railroad, which is now the multi-use Lehigh Valley Trail. Since the Auburn Railroad was built first, the Lehigh Valley had to build its bridge over the older line.
The Auburn Trail continues southeast from the Lehigh Valley Trail. It passes Victor-Mendon Road (Route 251) and Rawson Road. It then reaches School Road in the Village of Victor. You can find limited parking at NY251 and Rawson Road. Other trails, like the Seneca Trail and the Trolley Trail, also share parts of this section.
Here, the Auburn Trail briefly leaves the old railroad path to go around an active train track. It follows School Street northeast for a short distance. Then, it turns southeast onto the path of the old Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Rapid Railroad. This was an electric railway that ran trolleys from Rochester to Auburn from 1906 to 1930. The Auburn Trail follows this path for about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from School Street to Maple Avenue in Victor.
The trail then follows Maple Street south to where it meets the old Auburn Railroad path at Railroad Street. It continues southeast past the old Victor Passenger Station, which is now a gift shop. You can park at the far end of the lot here. There's also a trail map at Maple Street.
East of the old station, the trail goes past Ketchum Street/Proximity Lane to Brace Road, then by Break of Day Road and onto East Victor Road. This section fully opened in late 2018. Limited parking is available at Brace and Break of Day Roads.
The trail then goes east into the Town of Farmington. It crosses Mud Creek on a huge railroad embankment. Then, it passes by Mertensia, which used to be a small railroad community. You can park at Farmington's Mertensia Park.
The 2-mile (3.2 km) Farmington part of the Auburn Trail crosses Mertensia Road. It goes through a modern neighborhood to Boughton Hill Road (County Road 41). The trail then passes Beaver Creek Park and ends temporarily at Canandaigua-Farmington Townline Road. There's also another branch trail that goes to NY Route 332. Most of this section opened in 2019.
Future Plans for the Trail
The town and city of Canandaigua made a plan in 2012 to connect their part of the Auburn Trail. They are now looking for ways to get money to build it. In the city, Ontario Pathways is also planning to extend their trail to meet this section.
Auburn Trail in Brighton and Pittsford
Other parts of the old Auburn Railroad path in the towns of Brighton and Pittsford, Monroe County, New York, are also open as trails.
One section, about 2.7 miles (4.3 km) long, runs through Brighton. It starts at Highland Avenue at Village Lane. It goes south past Elmwood Avenue to Allens Creek Road. This part runs next to and just east of Interstate 590. Interestingly, that part of the highway was once the bed of the Enlarged Erie Canal. After the canal was moved, it became the path for the Rochester Subway, which didn't last very long.
Southeast of Allens Creek Road, the old Auburn Railroad path goes behind some businesses on the east side of Monroe Avenue. The Auburn Trail starts again as a path through open land about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) southeast of Clover Street in Pittsford. This part crosses French Road and continues into the Village of Pittsford. It connects with the Erie Canal trail at Grove Street. The old Auburn Railroad used to go through the Grove Street area. The old train station is now part of the Del Monte Hotel. The railroad then crossed North Main Street (Route 96) and continued next to, and east of, Schoen Place.
Another section of the Auburn Railroad in Pittsford can be used as a trail. It starts on Pittsford-Palmyra Road (Route 31). This is about 1,000 feet (300 m) east of the State Street bridge over the Erie Canal. It's also across from the intersection of Route 31 and Wood Creek Drive. The Auburn trail picks up here and follows the old railroad path south, past Mitchell Road. This short section is about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) long and ends at the Erie Canal Trail. You can still see the stone supports where the train bridge once crossed the Canal.
Another short piece of the Auburn trail is on the south side of where the train bridge used to be over the Erie Canal. It starts on Knickerbocker Road, about 600 feet (180 m) south of East Jefferson Road (Route 96). This part of the trail goes for 0.75 miles (1.2 km) south to Mill Road. This is about 1,000 feet (300 m) southwest of East Street. The old Auburn Railroad followed the east side of Mill Road. Parts of the trail appear and disappear as new buildings have been built on the original path.
Yet another short piece of the Auburn trail goes south of Thornell Road, just east of Mill Road in Pittsford. It continues to LaDue Circle and East Street. The trail then goes southeast of East Street, along the south side of Park Road. It continues southeast behind new houses, crossing Railroad Mills Road at Sturbridge Lane. It then goes to Railroad Mills Road and Woolston Road. The original Auburn Railroad path followed the east side of Railroad Mills Road to Probst Road.
In 2002, a group called the Regional Trails Initiative suggested a big plan for biking and hiking trails in the Rochester area. One of their ideas was to connect all the different short parts of the Auburn trail in Brighton and Pittsford. This would link them up with the longer, more developed Victor and Farmington trail.
Historic Maps of the Auburn Railroad
You can find old topographical maps from 1900 online. These maps show the Auburn Railroad, which is now the Auburn Trail. They show different sections, like from Railroad Mills Road to the Lehigh Valley Railroad Junction. Other maps from the same source show the Auburn Railroad in Victor and Farmington. An even older map from 1895 shows the Auburn Railroad as it went through Brighton and Pittsford to the Erie Canal.
