Enchanted Walk on the Birdsong Fairy Trail in Mendon Ponds Park

Do you believe in fairies? 

Whether or not you do, there’s definitely something enchanting about the Birdsong Fairy Trail!

The lovely, easy loop walk is at Mendon Ponds Park, about 10 miles southeast of Rochester.

As you wander through the forest, keep an eye out for several dozen little fairy doors and houses. Who knows, maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll even spot one of its residents flitting by.

On a recent mother-daughter trip to the Rochester area, my five-year-old, Miki, and I had the path all to ourselves (well, at least we were the only non-fae folk) as the warm glow of the evening sun filtered through the lush green of the woods. 

It was quite magical.

Here’s more about what we saw and everything you need to know for your walk.

Mendon Ponds Park

The fairy trail is part of the Birdsong Trail, probably the best known of the Mendon Ponds Park trails.

At over 2,500 acres, Mendon Ponds Park in the towns of Mendon and Pittsford is the largest park in Monroe County.

It’s a beautiful place with interesting glacial geological features, such as kame and kettle topography and eskers. Besides ponds, the park features woodlands, a spaghnum moss peat bog with carnivorous plants, and a kettle hole named “The Devil’s Bathtub.”

(I’ve written a little about glacial geology in a post about Ringwood Ponds in Ithaca. For a deep dive, take a look at the Mendon Ponds Parks brochure on the topic.)

The park also offers 21 miles of hiking trails; shelters and lodges; a sensory garden; great opportunities for fishing, horseback riding, watching birds and other wildlife; groomed cross-country skiing trails in winter; and a boat launch.

Birdsong Fairy Trail

You’ll find the trail at the far end of the main parking lot.

There’s a clearly visible sign at the entrance.

The fairy trail is a stroller-friendly, easy loop, just over 3/4 of a mile long.

For the most part, it follows the 2-mile Birdsong Trail, but when the fairy houses end (after about 20 minutes), you can choose: Either you walk back the way you came for another look at the fairy abodes, or  you follow the sign that says “return to nature center” (another 10 minutes’ walk). This shorter route is called “the square.”

As part of the bird aspect of the trail, you’ll also come across several wildlife blinds with painted images of birds and interpretive signs.

I recommend staying on the path, since there are sure to be ticks around. And yes, it can get a little buggy, so bring your bug spray.

The fairy houses

I don’t want to give too much away, because part of the fun is making your own discoveries!

And there are lots to make. Over 40 doors and little houses sit in and on trees and stumps all around. 

Miki kept rushing forward to find more.

Make sure to look up, too! Sometimes a helpful arrow will point you in the right direction.

Many doors are painted into interesting tree features, some are framed with horseshoes. There are tiny swings and bridges, signs, and lots of other delightful surprises.

And don’t miss the miniature interior you can spy into on the right side of the Little Free Library (which during our visit didn’t contain any books).

I hope you’ll be as charmed as we were.

“They’re so cute, I wish I was a fairy so, so much!” Miki exclaimed. She wanted to meet all the fairies. But then she couldn’t quite decide whether she believed fairies were real. In the end, she settled on “I think they’re pretend for real.” 🤷🏽‍♀️

The story of the fairy houses

By now you may be wondering how all these houses appeared in the forest.

They actually had their initial home at Tinker Nature Park in Henrietta, put there beginning in 2014 by husband-and-wife team Chris and Betsy Marshall from Rush, NY, who had the idea on a walk.

The couple started creating fairy houses in 2013 for local festivals. They have also contributed their work to Florence Griswold Museum’s Wee Faerie Village in Old Lyme, CT.

The Tinker fairy path was popular — too much so for its own good. As it started to bring in larger (and messier and more destructive) crowds than the 68-acre park could handle, leadership decided to dismantle the trail.

Luckily, in 2019 a new home was found in Mendon Ponds Park. A few components were reused, but the Marshalls created most of the Birdsong Fairy Trail houses from scratch.

To keep them here, please follow the rules: Don’t leave any trash (even well-meaning fairy creations of your own) or glitter.

Other things to do

But wait, there’s more!

While on the trail, you can watch wildlife from the blinds or spot a bunch of different birds. (One highlight was getting surprisingly close to a giant pileated woodpecker hacking away at some old wood on the ground in front of us.)

In the winter, you may even get lucky and have chickadees eat right out of your hand. So bring some sunflower seeds and a little patience.

If you’re interested in birds, you’ll also enjoy the Wild Wings Bird of Prey Facility and Nature Center right by the same parking lot. The organization takes care of injured birds that can’t be released and has a free educational center and programming.

If your kids still have excess energy to burn after all that, you can take them to the nice natural playground near the trail head. They can climb all over the carved giant tree stems, and you can have a picnic at the tables.

Practical information for your visit

• address: 27 Pond Rd, Honeoye Falls, NY 14472 (this is the Wild Wings Nature Center address)

• hours: The park is open from 6 AM until 11 PM. Park access and services vary seasonally. Call Monroe County Parks at 585-753-PARK (7275) for more information, or you can reach Mendon Ponds Park staff directly at 585-509-2895.
• accessibility: There’s an accessible flush bathroom connected to the nature center building. Behind the building is Sharon’s Sensory Garden, created for people with visual or physical disabilities. It has a wheelchair-friendly stone dust path.
• pets: Leashed pets are generally allowed in the park, but no pets, horses, or cross-country skiing are allowed on the Birdsong Trail.
• garbage: The park asks that you follow the carry-in carry-out rule and take all your trash back out with you.

By the way, this isn’t the only fairy trail in the Rochester area.

You can find the Victory Fairy Trail with over 30 houses at Springdale Farm.

There’s another, smaller one in Black Creek park in North Chili, but sadly dozen of the houses were destroyed by vandals in May 2023. It isn’t clear whether they will be replaced.

You may also like:

• If you like fairies, you’ll also love Fairy Fest in Ithaca.
• Another fun outdoor activity in the Rochester area is visiting the Cumming Nature Center.

PIN THIS POST FOR LATER: