Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area Explained

Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area
Map:	New York#USA
Coords:	42.689°N -77.512°W
Type:	State park
Location:	6775 Canadice Hill Road Springwater, New York^[1]
Nearest City:	Canadice, New York
Area:	1550acres
Operator:	New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Visitation Num:	61,392
Visitation Year:	2014
Visitation Ref:	^[2]
Open:	All year
Website:	Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area

Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area, also known as the Harriet Hollister Spencer Memorial Recreation Area, is a 1550acres recreation area and part of the New York state park system. It is located 6miles south of Honeoye, off Canadice Hill Road in the south part of the Town of Canadice in Ontario County, New York.

History

Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area was created after 679acres of land was given to the state from the estate of Harriet Hollister Spencer, a Rochester horticulturalist, rose expert and civic leader, after her death in 1962.^[3]

The recreation area nearly doubled in size after several adjacent parcels were purchased by New York State from The Nature Conservancy starting in the late 2000s. An acquisition of 350acres increased the recreation area's total size to 1550acres in 2014.^[4]

Park description

Open year-round, the recreation area offers panoramic views of the countryside, including Honeoye Lake. The park has one picnic pavilion, and offers hiking, cross-country skiing, and biking trails, and hunting.^[5]

Organizational use

Because of its elevation, this recreation area gets more snow than many parks in the area, making it a regional winter sports destination. 16miles of trails, ranging in difficulty from novice to expert, are constructed, maintained, and groomed by the Rochester Cross Country Ski Foundation. Cross-country skiing teams often use the park for practice.^{[6] [7]}

The Muller Field Station near this park is utilized often by Finger Lakes Community College's conservation department in monitoring local wildlife populations and training students in valuable methods and techniques, such as imitating scent rubbing.

See also

• List of New York state parks

External links

• New York State Parks: Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area
• University of Rochester's collection of Harriet Hollister Spencer's papers
• Rochester Museum and Science Center's collection of Harriet Hollister Spencer's papers

Notes and References

1. Web site: Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area - Getting There . NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation . August 9, 2015.
2. Web site: State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003 . Data.ny.gov . August 9, 2015.
3. Web site: Spencer, Harriet Hollister . River Campus Libraries - Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation . University of Rochester . August 9, 2015.
4. Web site: NY buys 350 acres of Finger Lakes parkland . Rochester Democrat and Chronicle . September 30, 2014 . Nickerson, Denise . August 9, 2015.
5. Web site: Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area . NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation . August 9, 2015.
6. Book: Freeman . Rich . Freeman . Sue . Snow Trails: Cross-country Ski and Snowshoe in Central and Western New York . 2001 . Footprint Press . Fishers, NY . 0965697452 . 117 . August 9, 2015.
7. Web site: Harriet Hollister Spencer Memorial Recreation Area . I Love the Finger Lakes . 2006 . August 9, 2015.