Beaches on the Lake Ontario shoreline, north of the city, are very popular with locals. Ontario Beach Park, often called "the Port of Rochester," at the mouth of the Genesee River, has piers, a boardwalk, and an antique carousel in addition to a pleasant lake beach.
The farm team of baseball's Minnesota Twins, the Rochester Red Wings (tel. 800/447-2623 or 585/454-1001; www.redwingsbaseball.com), play at Frontier Field, downtown, across from High Falls. Tickets are $6 to $10. The PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup have been held at Oak Hill Country Club, and the women play the LPGA Wegmans Rochester International at Locust Hill Country Club (www.rochesterlpga.com).
Since 1892, the annual Lilac Festival, held in early May at 150-acre Highland Park, has been a magnet for nature lovers: Some 1,200 lilac bushes burst with spring color. The festival also draws musical entertainment and a commercial, carnival-like atmosphere (tel. 585/256-4960; www.lilacfestival.com). Highland Park, designed in 1888 by Frederick Law Olmsted (who also created New York City's Central Park) and full of beautiful gardens and plantings, is a lovely place for a stroll.
Erie Canal and Genesee River cruises are offered aboard the Sam Patch, a 19th-century replica packet boat, daily from May to October. Call tel. 585/262-5661 for schedules.
