Most people who live in Webster can tell you about the Hojack Trail. A smaller number know that the town manages nearly 25 miles of trails across more than 1,030 acres of parkland. Fewer still could tell you that the Hojack and Webster Park — the 550-acre Monroe County park on Lake Ontario — are run by entirely different organizations, funded through different channels, and operating on different seasonal schedules. That gap is why a lot of Webster residents feel like they're getting the most out of summer when they're actually working with about half of it.
The other half is worth knowing. Especially this year.
The Hojack Is Better Than It Was Last Year
The trail most Webster residents walk is not the same trail it was two years ago. Friends of Webster Trails completed a major resurfacing of the Hojack Trail between Holt and Drumm roads, funded by a $181,086 grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Trails Maintenance Fund, administered through the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. The new surface resolves longstanding drainage problems on that section and accommodates strollers and wheelchairs. New bollards prevent motorized vehicles from entering, while additional benches, wayfinding kiosks, and plantings enhance the corridor.
That context matters because the Hojack runs through the village commercial corridor. What the trail delivers you to has changed, and the section below covers that. But the trail itself also changed, and not everyone who walks it every week has noticed how much.
Friends of Webster Trails maintains more than the Hojack. Their work covers trail systems at Gosnell Big Woods Preserve, Whiting Road Nature Preserve, Four Mile Creek, Finn Park, and others. For a fully volunteer organization, the scope is considerable — and the grant puts the Hojack among the better-resourced trail projects in Monroe County (compare this to trail networks in neighboring Penfield or Irondequoit).
The Arboretum: Same Network, Different Register
The Webster Arboretum at 1700 Schlegel Rd sits within the same town trail ecosystem but operates at an entirely different pace. Its 1.5 miles of trails move through a conifer garden with boulders and a river of stone, a flower-shaped herb garden, a circular bulb garden, perennial collections, and creek beds with bridges. The fountain pond anchors the center of the experience.
The Robert and Carroll Manning Bridge, a community-funded landmark within the Arboretum that had been closed for reconstruction, was formally reinstated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The loop through the Arboretum is complete again. If you visited before the bridge came down and haven't been back, the walk is different now.
The Arboretum is free, open 365 days a year from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and leashed dogs are welcome. It functions best as a morning destination — quiet enough that birding is actually productive, and varied enough that repeat visits across the season read differently as the dahlia and daylily collections move through bloom.
Webster Park Runs on Monroe County Time
Webster Park is not a town park. It is a Monroe County park — 550 acres on the shore of Lake Ontario — and that distinction is more than administrative. The campground opens May 1 and closes October 31. Five enclosed lodges, some with full kitchens and stoves, can be reserved for private groups. The park maintains tennis and pickleball courts, a scout and youth camping area, and a fishing pier that extends out over the lake.
Five hiking trails cover the terrain between the park's three creeks and the lakefront:
Trail | Distance | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
Ridge Trail | 1.4 miles | Lakeside fishing pier, Lake Ontario views |
West Look Trail | 1.6 miles | West Field meadow, strong birding during migration |
Valley View Trail | 0.6 miles | Former orchard with pear, apple, crabapple, and cherry |
Ryan's Point Trail | 0.5 miles | Pine and spruce woodland, creek crossing |
Mill Creek Trail | 0.8 miles | Follows Mill Creek through mixed ash, oak, and maple |
West, East, and Mill creeks run through the park and cut through glacial drumlins before reaching the lake, producing rolling terrain that feels more varied than a standard lakeside trail. The shoreline angles west, which positions the setting sun further out over open water than most Lake Ontario parks to the west of here. Photographers in Monroe County know this. Most Webster residents don't think about it until someone visiting from Rochester makes a point of driving up for the sunset (compare this to waterfront settings in Irondequoit or Greece).
Down Lake Road to the west, Sandbar Park is free, open from dawn to dusk, and considerably quieter than Webster Beach Park, whose cove can collect an unpleasant odor in warm weather. The vantage from Sandbar is ideal for late afternoon — the dolomite boulders along the shore catch driftwood and the view angle over the lake is unobstructed. The Bay Side Pub sits directly across the street.
What Opened While You Were on the Trail
The Hojack passes through the village, and what's waiting on Main Street when you get there has expanded significantly.
The Main Dive opened at 5 West Main St., occupying the former Roc Style Chicken and Burger space. Owner Brittney Amato built it around a welcoming dive bar concept: laid-back atmosphere, inexpensive drinks, food specials, and a room that works for post-game gatherings, happy hour regulars, and casual weeknight drop-ins. It is not a quiet dining spot; after a few hours at Webster Park, it covers exactly what a formal restaurant doesn't.
Tabbouleh Mediterranean Restaurant opened at 3 East Main St. in the former Jeff's Computer Shop storefront, bringing fresh Mediterranean dishes with Kurdish flavors to the heart of the village. With Cobblestone On Main, Brimont Bistro, Village Bakery and Cafe, and Barry's Old School Irish Pub already operating on or just off Main Street, the village is varied enough that deciding where to go after a trail day involves a real choice rather than a default.
How the Loop Actually Works
The residents who get the most out of summer in Webster are not the ones with longer lists. They are the ones who understand the geography well enough to let the day sequence itself.
The Arboretum opens at 8 a.m. It is a morning place: low light through the conifer garden, the fountain pond before the heat sets in, and quiet trails. An hour covers most of the 1.5-mile system. The Village Bakery on Main Street handles the rest of the morning and sits under ten minutes from Schlegel Road.
The Hojack runs east-west through the village and functions as a late-afternoon trail — wider, more social, resurfaced, and useful for an unhurried walk that ends near local shops. Main Dive sits at the western end of Main Street, making the transition from trail to village seamless.
Webster Park requires a separate commitment, and that commitment earns something. The Ridge Trail out to the fishing pier is one of the best 1.4-mile stretches in the local park system. The Lake Ontario sunset from the pier, or from Sandbar Park a few minutes west, is a view worth planning around. The campground running from May through October makes it a legitimate weekend anchor as well.
Across all three systems, the supporting infrastructure is unusually strong: a volunteer trail organization funded to the tune of six figures, a 550-acre county park with a lakeside pier and five named trails, and a village dining scene that continues to add vibrant new concepts.
If you're exploring Webster real estate, considering single-family homes in Monroe County, or ready to think about what your next move could look like in Greater Rochester, the local team at High Falls Sotheby's International Realty is glad to walk through it with you. Contact us today to start the conversation.
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