Clubhouse Fun Center - Greece

The state of American professional soccer below MLS is constantly in flux, and so it goes in Rochester as various teams try to recapture the magic of the Rhinos. The Lancers, named after the city's very successful 1970s team, play in the UPSL, a massive multi-level semi-pro league with hundreds of teams throughout the country.

Part of the sprawling industrial complex once known as Kodak Park, Kodak Center is a live performing arts, event, and conference center featuring a 1,978-seat main theater with the biggest stage in Rochester, 180-seat Studio Theater, 48-seat Club Theater, conference rooms, a gymnasium, and many other spaces. Numerous musical, stand-up comedy, and dramatic acts are featured throughout the year. The center also hosts the Kodak Visitor Center where visitors can learn about the history of Kodak. There is a 1,000+ spot parking lot located across the street for patrons and a 30 minute visitor lot directly next to the theater.

Rochester's zoo is nestled inside the Olmsted-designed Seneca Park. While small—the entire zoo can easily be enjoyed in an afternoon—a lot of value is packed into the small area. The zoo has the only African elephants in the state, part of their Step Into Africa exhibit that includes a rhinoceros, giraffes, lions, baboons, and zebras. The Rocky Coasts exhibit, with polar bears, sea lions, and penguins, is another highlight.

Maplewood is often overlooked, but it's an important piece of the park system. A long, thin park designed by Olmstead as Seneca Park West, it has three distinct areas. The southern park is home to the beloved Maplewood Rose Garden and (with a hike down to river level) has lovely views of the Lower Falls. You can also access Lower Falls Park and see the Middle Falls via the Genesee Riverway Trail. Be sure to check out the sculpture called "The Seat of Remembering and Forgetting". At the northern end you'll have nice views of the Veterans Memorial Bridge and the river gorge, and a pedestrian bridge lets you cross the river to Seneca Park. In between is a wooded trail with some recreation space.

While it's best known for the Seneca Park Zoo, the rest of Seneca Park largely maintains its Olmsted design focused on pastoral fields and river overlooks. Trout Lake, formed by damming a natural spring, is a gem. You can access Maplewood Park and the Genesee Riverway Trail via pedestrian bridge over the river.

No other park (at least, without a beach) gets you as close to the water as Turning Point, named for the large basin where ships coming upstream from Lake Ontario could turn around before reaching the Lower Falls. The park's long trail (part of the Genesee Riverway Trail) includes a southern descent down the gorge to water level, a beautiful curving boardwalk over the river basin, and a northern wooded trail heading toward the harbor. Lots of nature to be found here, including some wetlands. Pastoral and serene.