Chimney Bluffs State Park is a 597-acre (2.42 km2) state park[2] in the town of Huron in Wayne County, New York.[3] The park is situated on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, east of Sodus Bay. From the park's hiking trails, visitors can view the large clay formations at the water's edge for which the park is named.
Geology
A portion of the Chimney Bluffs in 2014
The bluffs are formed from eroded drumlins, teardrop-shaped hills of glacial till that were deposited and shaped by glaciers during the most recent ice age. The erosive power of wind, rain, snow, and waves has formed the landscape into sharp pinnacles.[5] Although the pinnacles and cliffs, some of which rise up to 150 feet (46 m) above the lake shore,[6] have existed for thousands of years, they are constantly changing and further eroding.[5]
Park history and features
A 1907 postcard of Chimney Bluffs
The Chimney Bluffs area has been a landmark for many years. According to the pamphlet given by the park, smugglers used the area as a landing point while transporting liquor from Canada during Prohibition. The area was acquired by the state of New York in 1963[3] after having previously been operated informally as a privately owned recreation area.
It lay undeveloped until 1999 when a parking lot, service building with heated restrooms, picnic areas with grills, and hiking trails throughout the park were added. It is considered a year-round park for hiking and picnicking in the summer. Swimming is prohibited. Winter activities include cross-country skiing and snowshoeing; a trailhead for snowmobiling is also located within the park.[1]
Hiking Trails at Chimney Bluffs State Park
The park has approximately four miles (6.4 km) of hiking trails, including a one-mile (1.6 km) trail along the Bluffs between the west and east entrances.
From some vantage points in the park, visitors can see Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station, 25 miles (40 km) to the northeast, as well as the coal smokestacks located in Oswego. On sufficiently clear days, the Rochester skyline may also be visible on the horizon about 36 miles (58 km) to the southwest.
Gallery
Terrain of Chimney Bluffs State Park, March 2016
View of the bluff from the Bluff Trail, May 2016
Bluff Trail as it goes through a grove of trees atop the cliff, November 2023
^ ab"Chimney Bluffs State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
^ ab"Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9". 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook(PDF). The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. 2014. p. 671. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
