park ERIE COUNTY PARK SYSTEM PASSPORT Visit us online: www.erie.gov 2021 ACTIVITY ICON LEGEND This Park Passport belongs to: Accessible Ice Skating Baseball/Softball Moderate Hiking Name:___________________________________________ Mountain Biking Basketball Address:_________________________________________ Nature Viewing Bicycling No Alcohol Phone:___________________________________________ Bike Path Access No Swimming Email:____________________________________________ Bird Watching Off-Leash Area Boat Docks Picnic Area Boating Playground Camping Scenic Location Canoe/Kayak Launch Sledding Casual Hiking Snowboarding Snowmobiling Criket Snowshoeing Cross-Country Skiing Soccer Disk Golf Strenuous Hiking Downhill Skiing Swimming Fishing Tennis Fitness Playground Tobogganing Printed in-house by the Erie County DISS Print Shop. Golf Walking Horseback Riding PARK INDEX TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents_______________________________________ 1 Akron Falls____________________________________________ 11 Park Intro_____________________________________________ 2 Bennett Beach_________________________________________ 12 County Executive/Parks Commissioner Message______________ 3 Park Rangers___________________________________________ 4 Black Rock Canal_______________________________________ 13 Junior Ranger Program__________________________________ 6 Boston Forest__________________________________________14 Erie County Parks Map___________________________________ 8 Bureau of Forestry______________________________________15 Park Rules_____________________________________________10 Chestnut Ridge_________________________________________16 Akron Falls_____________________________________________11 Bennett Beach_________________________________________ 12 Como Lake Park________________________________________ 17 Black Rock Canal________________________________________13 Eighteen Mile Creek_____________________________________18 Boston Forest__________________________________________14 Ellicott Creek__________________________________________ 19 Bureau of Forestry______________________________________ 15 Elma Meadows Park____________________________________ 20 Chestnut Ridge_________________________________________16 Como Lake Park________________________________________ 17 Emery Park____________________________________________ 21 Eighteen Mile Creek_____________________________________18 Franklin Gulf___________________________________________22 Ellicott Creek__________________________________________ 19 Isle View______________________________________________23 Elma Meadows Park____________________________________ 20 Emery Park____________________________________________ 21 Red Jacket Riverfront Natural Habitiat Park_________________ 24 Franklin Gulf___________________________________________22 Scoby Dam Park________________________________________25 Isle View______________________________________________ 23 Seneca Bluffs Natural Habitat Park_________________________26 Red Jacket Riverfront Natural Habitiat Park_________________ 24 Sergeant Mark A. Rademacher Memorial Park/ Scoby Dam Park________________________________________25 Hunters Creek_________________________________________ 27 Seneca Bluffs Natural Habitat Park_________________________26 Sergeant Mark A. Rademacher Memorial Park/ Sprague Brook Park____________________________________ 28 Hunters Creek__________________________________________27 Thomas F. Higgins Natural Habitat Park (Bailey Peninsula) _____29 Sprague Brook_________________________________________28 Times Beach Nature Preserve____________________________ 30 Thomas F. Higgins Natural Habitat Park (Bailey Peninsula)_____ 29 Tow Path_____________________________________________ 31 Times Beach Nature Preserve_____________________________30 Tow Path_____________________________________________ 31 Wendt Park___________________________________________ 32 Wendt Park___________________________________________ 32 Describe____________________________________________33-34 Notes_________________________________________________35 Park Index____________________________________________36 36 1 Notes... ________________________________ ________________________________ The Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry ________________________________ provides residents opportunities to enjoy recreationaL pursuits in natural settings on a year round basis and protects regionally ________________________________ important areas of scenic, environmental and cultural heritage significance. ________________________________ The Erie County Park System is considered one of the finest in the entire state. All parks are open from 7:00 AM to dusk (Winter) and ________________________________ 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM (Summer). Shelter reservations can be made between May 1st and October 15th. ________________________________ MISSION STATEMENT: The Erie County Park System has traditionally been positioned to ________________________________ fill a niche in the regional parks and recreation framework. Specifi- cally, the County Park System has emphasized the provision of rec- ________________________________ reation activities and facilities in natural environment areas as an alternative to localized park settings. ________________________________ The role of the County Park System shall be: ________________________________ • To provide residents opportunities to enjoy recreational pursuits in natural settings on a year round basis; ________________________________ • To protect regionally important areas of scenic, environmental and cultural heritage significance; ________________________________ • To contribute to the economic vitality of the County, and; • To promote public awareness of the resources available within ________________________________ the park system. ________________________________ 2 35 Describe cool things A MESSAGE FROM THE ERIE COUNTY EXECUTIVE I welcome Erie County residents and visi- found/learned/observed... tors to our region to visit any of our county parks and take advantage of the many ________________________________ different recreational activities available to you. I encourage everyone to get outside ________________________________ and have some fun in the great outdoors. There’s something for everyone to do all year round. Please take advantage of this ________________________________ Mark C. Poloncarz user-friendly Parks Passport to guide you County Executive to familiar parks and also to locate and ________________________________ explore parks you have never visited or perhaps didn’t even know existed. I look forward to seeing lots of people and families safely ________________________________ enjoying our parks. ________________________________ ________________________________ A MESSAGE FROM THE PARKS COMMISSIONER Welcome to the Erie County Park System. ________________________________ This passport serves as a guide to our parks and the wide variety of recreational activities our parks have to offer through- ________________________________ out the year. From picnicking to camping, skiing to hiking, bicycling to horseback rid- ________________________________ ing, snowmobiling to fishing and more, Erie County Parks have something for everyone. ________________________________ Our parks are open to everyone and there Troy P. Schinzel Parks Commissioner are no admission fees, making them truly ________________________________ affordable for a day of family fun. I welcome you to explore our 10,000 acres and enjoy all that we have to offer. ________________________________ ________________________________ 34 3 PARK RANGERS Describe plant or animal species... ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ 2019 Junior Park Rangers ALL ABOUT THE RANGER PROGRAM ________________________________ The Erie County Park Rangers are dedicated to enhancing the visitor experience in the County Park System. This is accomplished ________________________________ by maintaining their focus on the three pillars of the Park Ranger Program. ________________________________ 1.) EDUCATION: The Rangers strive to build connections between the community, the County Parks, and the natural world ________________________________ throughout the region. [a] The Park Rangers develop educational programs and lead ________________________________ guided walks to teach the public about the communities found in the Parks system and how to be safe while visiting ________________________________ the parks. ________________________________ 4 33 [b] The Park Rangers are a resource for visitors to ask WENDT PARK questions about what they see in the parks. 7676 Old Lakeshore Road, Derby, NY 14047 [c] The Park Rangers promote the Erie County Parks system throughout the region 2.) VISITOR SAFETY AND PARK SECURITY: The Park Rangers strive to ensure that all park visitors are safe and following the park rules, AND that all park property and ecosystems are protected. [a] The Park Rangers enforce the park rules [b] They are trained in basic first aid and CPR to assist park visitors [c] They make recommendations to improve visitor safety throughout the parks 3.) ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE BASE: All the Park Rangers have a background in the ecological sciences with extensive Park Features experience in the field. They are committed to improving and Birds; songbirds, waterfowl,