Lancaster

Heritage Trail

March 20, 2021

Heritage Trail is brought to you by my friend, Melissa.  This looks like a great trail.  I am loving the signage!


Trail Parking at: Walter Winter Drive, Lancaster, NY 14086

68 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny, cool breeze 

No toilets available.

Dogs must be "curbed" and leashed.  Ticks are common in western New York so make sure your dogs are treated.

This is a “rails to trails” trail. The trail head is directly next to a parking area off of Walter Winter Drive. However, the trail is intersected by roads along the way (Cemetery Road, Pavement Road) and there are parking areas at these locations where you can access the trail as well. The trail is paved, so this allows for people to bicycle, rollerblade, and scooter also. It’s also great for those who use a wheelchair or a walker. The path is quite wide, which is perfect on a busy spring day because families can pass one another without having to step off the trail. There are benches placed along the way if you want to rest or have a snack. Although there are trash cans at the intersections of the trail, there are no trash cans along the route, so please be sure to take any water bottles or garbage with you. Mile markers are placed along the trail in half mile increments in order to see how far you have gone.  While walking at a brisk pace you can easily cover two sections of the trail (there and back) in an hour’s time. In the section of the trail that runs from Walter Winter Drive to Cemetery Road, there is a pond where Canadian geese like to search for food. Along the section that runs from Cemetery Road to Pavement Road, there are wonderful views of Lorall Lake. As you travel down the path, you can hear various song birds, woodpeckers, and frogs. In areas of the trail that were marshy, we spotted the remains of some saplings that had been chewed by beavers. 

No cost to access this park.  

August 7, 2023:

Melissa and I visited this trail together.

We parked on Pavement Road, Lancaster, and walked past where the trail crosses Cemetery Road.

Parking at Pavement Road: Gravel, space for three vehicles (watch out for the pole when you back up to leave)

No toilets available.

79 degrees 12:13 -1:14 PM, sunshine before the storm

We walked approximately 3 miles total.  We walked over Cemetery Road and then turned back to return to the car. The trail is paved and wide enough for the many bicyclists who use the trail to pass.  Wheelchairs would work well here, I believe.  There are a few benches along the trail.  This is a very enjoyable section of trail.

Poison ivy on the edge of the trail.

Mosquitos love the water areas on the edge of this trail.  I should have used bug spray.

I did not see any litter.

We saw a toad, garter snake, robins and a goldfinch.  We saw many trees, wildflowers, and plants including cottonwood, staghorn sumac, Queen Anne's lace, chicory, coltsfoot, plantain, mullein, cattails, Virginia creeper, and grapevine.

Nearby:

Buffalo Brew Pub  6861 Main St, Williamsville, NY 14221 https://www.buffalobrewpub.com/  Love their pretzel sticks.

Brazen Brewing 5839 Genesee St, Lancaster, NY 14086 https://brazenbrewco.com/  I visited this place a few months ago for a Beers and Gears event fundraising for Ride for Roswell.  Good food, drinks, and atmosphere.  Unfortunately, they do not open until after 4PM.

August 7, 2023 View across the road from where we started at Pavement Road.

August 7, 2023  The arch where we started

Starting down the trail

Staghorn sumac

Queen Anne's lace

Old mining area...now pretty water along the trail

These markers appeared along the trail

Grapevine

Virginia creeper

We kept going past the Cemetery Road crossing to where there is a flowerbed in the middle of the trail.  

Cottonwood?

Mullien 

Plantain

Flowerbed where we turned around

Poison ivy