The trail itself is just under four and a half miles long. It was a very hot day, and I got out of the sack much later then what I was planning on, so I decided to do an out and back of 5K, The trail starts at a small but enthusiastly attended kids playground behind a large lakefront hotel and a smaller ice cream stand (more on that later). There was ample parking for everyone. As the trail starts, it is more of a large conglomerate of concrete designed for walking by the lakefront and enjoying the view. There were also some restrooms located in the aforementioned ice cream stand. No warm up run today, I just decided to get going.
After adjusting to the hard concrete surface and heat (poorly) the first thing that I noticed was the amount of secenery to take in. On one side, you had a beautiful calm lake with boaters and kayakers dotting the water, and on the other side you had downtown Geneva and the feeling you get when you explore a new venue via running. The trail's foot traffic seemed fairly busy for a Friday morning, mostly walkers and folks out walking their dogs. I did not see any other runners, which, given the tempauture and time of day, did not surprise me that much.
At about the half mile mark, the trail enters Seneca Lake State Park, a small but nice green area located between Route 20 and the lake itself. I was very surprised to see the surface change quickly from concrete to soft dirt and gravel, then change just as fast to asphalt. Here the trail turns into more of a defined trail. The pathway is fairly wide and flat and had markers every half mile. This is where the heat started to take its toll. I was actually trying to run in the shadow of the trees, which as it turns out, was not a half bad idea. I am not sure if it was placebo, but it did feel noticeably cooler in the "shade."
After about one mile in the park, I decided to turn around and head back. I did not really discover anything new on the return leg; the only thing that really caught my attention was that I could see my grandfather's church on the hill as I got closer to the finish. I finished at the 5K mark at 30:23, not too bad considering the tempauture climbed above ninety degrees by the time I finished. As I walked back to my car, I noticed that the ice cream shop had an interesting sign
I thought that the shop was selling both wine and ice cream, but it turns out that the product really was wine ice cream. There were signs that an ID was needed. Really.
The Geneva Lakefront Trail goes for about 4.4 miles, mostly on an asphalt surface. It connects to the Cayuga Seneca Canal Trail which runs about 5 miles. This connects to the Erie Canal Trailway, which spans across the state of New York. There is really something here for everyone, no matter what the distance. The trail is clean, well marked, and well maintained. I really could not find any negatives to speak of, and I hope to run on this trail again. Enjoy the scenery!
