Fun Things for Seniors to Do in Penfield, NY

The town of Penfield, NY,  is a suburb of Rochester, where around 39,000 people call home. The town has a lot of fun things for seniors to do, including spending time in nature, joining a community band, taking fitness classes at the recreation center, tasting homemade cider, picking farm-fresh flowers and apples, visiting museums and more. 

Here are some of the popular attractions and other things to do in Penfield, NY.

1. Wickham Farms

Wickham Farms is open from June through October and includes more than 30 attractions for visitors to check out. There’s a bakery, daily pizza and shakes, a grill that’s open on weekends and seasonal fresh food specials. Family-friendly attractions include hayrides, an orchard, farm animal petting, a train, a hillside slide, mini golf, an events barn, a corn maze and lawn games.

Head to the farm to pick up fresh flowers and apples during their you-pick seasons. The farm also provides lots of pretty photo opportunities, especially during lavender and sunflower summer seasons.

2. Parks, Lodges & Nature Preserves

The town of Penfield has more than a dozen parks, lodges and nature preserves that enable residents to get outside and get close to nature. These include:

• Channing H. Philbrick Park: This 19-acre park includes an open picnic pavilion with charcoal grills and picnic tables, accessible fishing, two hiking trails and a kiosk.
• Dolomite Lodge: This lodge, available for rental, accommodates nearly 100 people and includes folding tables, stacking chairs, a large outdoor charcoal grill, a full kitchen, a covered front porch, radiant floor heat, a gas fireplace, air conditioning, a brick patio, a wall-mounted projection screen.
• Greenwood Park: This 21-acre park includes a baseball diamond, basketball courts, tennis and pickleball courts, a playground and multiuse fields.
• Harris Whalen Park: This 45-acre park includes a playground, basketball courts, lighted tennis courts, bocce courts, softball diamonds, a nature trail, an open pavilion for rent with picnic tables and charcoal grills, an enclosed lodge and areas for cross-country skiing.
• Heritage Park: This is a small passive pocket park.
• LaSalle’s Landing Park: This park offers fishing access, views of Irondequoit Bay and a canoe/kayak launch.
• Panorama Valley Park: This park includes a canoe/kayak launch, a picnic pavilion and access to Irondequoit Creek.
• Rothfuss Park: This 70-acre park includes athletic fields, a dinosaur-themed playground and an inclusive playground that’s wheelchair-accessible, trails and picnic pavilions.
• Schaufelberger Park: This pocket park features a bronze statue of Penfield town founder Daniel Penfield.
• Shadow Pines Property: This 212-acre property is accessible for walking, running, hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and sledding.
• Sherwood Fields Park: This park has an integrated multiuse trail system surrounded by forested and shrub wetlands, meadows, streams and wildlife.
• Thousand Acre Swamp: This swamp includes a boardwalk and trail system that’s surrounded by wildlife and plants.
• Veterans Memorial Park: This park includes baseball and softball fields, basketball courts, lighted tennis courts, multiuse athletic fields, a fitness and nature trail, a playground, paved pathways, accessible play equipment, an open shelter with picnic tables and a grill, a lodge, an amphitheater and stage, and an arboretum.

All the above parks and nature spaces are free to access. They’re open from 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

Also, check out community events held at parks throughout the area. For example, past and upcoming events have included the Penfield Music Festival and Food Truck Rodeo, the June through September summer concert series at the Penfield Amphitheater, the Tastin the Blues and Chili Contest at the Penfield Amphitheater, the Memorial Day Ceremony of Remembrance at Penfield Amphitheater and Family Winter Night Out at Harris Whalen Park’s sledding hill.

3. Community Victory Garden

Penfield’s Community Victory Garden gives residents the opportunity to grow organic produce, herbs and flowers for personal use or to donate to those in need. Residents can rent a full or half garden bed. There are also volunteer opportunities available for the garden.

4. Rochester Museum & Science Center

The Rochester Museum & Science Center has more than 1.2 million collection objects on themes including science, nature, art and culture. The museum also features live science demonstrations and planetarium star shows.

5. Dayton’s Corner School House Pie Social

Each first Sunday of June, the Penfield community hosts an Annual Pie Social Fundraiser at the Dayton’s Corner School House and Museum, whose historic structure was built in 1857. The event includes free pony rides for kids, live music, playground equipment, schoolhouse/museum tours and pie and lemonade for sale.

6. Shadow Lake Golf & Racquet Club

The Shadow Lake Golf & Racquet Club includes an 18-hole championship golf course, a 9-hole executive course and six paddle tennis and pickleball courts. Each June, the course hosts the Annual Penfield Charity Golf Tournament and dinner.

7. Penfield Recreation Center

The Penfield Recreation Center is a welcoming community space featuring pickleball, drop-in fitness classes, a community theater with regular productions by the Penfield Players, guided hikes, a variety of adult sports leagues, holiday parties and a wellness program that offers rewards for activities like exercise. Every first Tuesday of each month, the Penfield Big Band plays a concert at the center, and the Penfield Pops Community Band also plays community concerts throughout the year.

8. Oak & Apple

Oak & Apple is a cidery that offers cider tastings and nibbles like charcuterie boards and Bavarian pretzels. The cidery resides on the owner’s Penfield farm, where they grow and press apples then turn them into local ciders, with unique flavors like Pineapple Jalapeno and Tennessee Twig.

More Enjoyable Activities at The Addison of Willow Pond

There’s even more for seniors to do when they live at The Addison of Willow Pond in Penfield. This Independent Living pet-friendly senior community has lots of attractive amenities and entertainment, including:

• A billiards room
• A craft room
• A dining room with restaurant-style service
• A library
• A TV theater room
• Dance and music classes
• Hobby clubs
• Language classes
• Salon and barber services
• Social clubs
• Programming including book clubs, bingo, evening movies, piano music, lunch outings, cooking clubs, resident council, technology classes, museum trips, trivia nights and more

When you live at the Addison of Willow Pond, there’s always something to do right at home, as well as in the Penfield community. To learn more, find out more about Senior Lifestyle, or schedule a tour today.