Genesee River South Loop

This audio narrated tour begins on the western bank of the Genesee River, near the historic Clarissa Street Bridge, now called the Ford Street Bridge. You’ll start by walking south along the west bank and walk back along the east bank to return here.

As you walk south, you’ll see where Rochester’s Civil War recruits once trained, and learn how petroleum-based lubricants, invented here by Vacuum Oil, lead to the invention of gasoline powered automobiles. Unfortunately, these toxic chemicals created a brownfield, so please stay on the trail.

You’ll cross to the east bank of the river at a historic converted railroad bridge, and then walk back while learning about a historic golf course, a Victorian cemetery, and the distillery which created “Corn Hill Rye” whiskey.

The paths along the river are part of the popular Genesee Riverway Trail. For a map of the Genesee Riverway Trail, tap: https://www.cityofrochester.gov/grt/

Many of the historic photos are from the Albert R. Stone Negative Collection, Rochester Museum & Science Center Rochester, N.Y.