10 Self-Guided Tours

These self-guided tours around Rochester are like a regional scavenger hunt! These maps and itineraries help you explore our expansive backyard, from Wells Barns and barn quilts to cobblestones and street art. Discover the meaning and history behind some things you see along our roadways and waterways.

Cobblestone Structures

The Cobblestone Museum sponsors a “Cobblestone Trail,” highlighting nearly 100 separate cobblestone sites in Orleans County. This driving tour is intended strictly as a “roadway tour.” No access beyond the roadway should be presumed to any private property.

“Cobblestone Landmarks of New York State documents a nineteenth-century building phenomenon peculiar to Upstate New York. Using glacially-formed cobblestones native to Central and Western New York regions, pioneer artisans of the 1830s perfected a folk art technique without precedent in America.

They created various decorated walls on hundreds of buildings for approximately thirty years. Today, their creations are unique among all those structures erected in the Great Lakes region before the Industrial Revolution rendered such craftsmanship economically obsolete.” [source]

Craft your own driving tour using the following resources:

• Cobblestone Info Base
• Cobblestone Landmarks
• Map: Distribution of Cobblestone Structures in New York State by Counties
• Google Map: Orleans County Cobblestone Structures

Lighthouses Along Lake Ontario

These lighthouses along Lake Ontario’s southern shore in New York State can all be reached within a two-hour drive from Rochester, and each one offers a breathtaking view of the lake.

1. Fort Niagara Lighthouse
2. Olcott Lighthouse
3. Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
4. Oak Orchard Lighthouse
5. Braddock Point Lighthouse
6. Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse
7. Sodus Bay Lighthouse
8. Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse
9. Salmon River Lighthouse

Freethought Trail

This is a collection of 151 marked and unmarked sites important to the history of radical social reform in west-central New York State. The Freethought Trail is site-focused, designed especially for the history enthusiast who yearns to understand—and, in better times, to stand on—the spot where a historical event occurred, regardless of whether or not the site is marked or interpreted today. Some Freethought Trail sites feature historical markers or museums; others are unmarked and may be unknown to area residents.

Self-Guided Tours of Rochester

If you are a fan of history and architecture, you will thoroughly enjoy these self-guided Landmark Society tours of The City of Rochester. Explore the Hundred Acre Tract, Rochester’s oldest “neighborhood,” and see the Court House Square, now the home of the Monroe County Office Building. Or East End & Cultural District, which begins at Rochester’s famed Eastman Theatre and Eastman School of Music that anchor the city’s cultural district. It continues through historic residential neighborhoods and urban-style restaurants, bakeries, nightclubs, and coffee shops—all contributing to the ambiance of the city’s vibrant East End.

Self-Guided Public, Open Air Art

Rochester has a vibrant street art culture, with dozens of murals, graffiti, and other forms of public art on display throughout the region. The art is diverse and includes commissioned works by professional artists and pieces created by community members. These murals capture historical moments and current social and political issues. Areas mentioned here offer a high concentration of wall art, but look for pops of color as you explore the region’s cities, villages, and back roads through the countryside.

Wells Barn Driving Tour

“The excellent Wells barns that do survive are increasingly appreciated as living history, and pride of ownership combines with sentimentality for things past to prompt present-day owners to preserve them. They are used for various purposes, from country club headquarters to farm machinery storage, from chicken ranches to private dwellings. All stand as a collective monument to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of J. Talcott Wells and as a legacy for future generations.”

Melville, J. (Fall 1986). Countryside cathedrals. RMSC Focus, 22-26.

Wells Barns achieved designation in 2018-2019 as one of the League’s “Seven to Save” list of endangered properties across New York. Look for the signature “Lazy W.” Wells Barns are sometimes called “Country Cathedrals” because their interior construction resembles the Gothic Arch.

Driving Tour #1 Google Map / PDF

Driving Tour #2 Google Map / PDF

These barns are all on private property. Please stay in your vehicle at all times. And since you can’t see inside each barn, check out the patent for Wells’ unique design solution and watch this video.

Drive past the Wells Homestead on Scottsville-Mumford Road in Garbutt. The historical marker reads, “Birthplace of John T. Wells, inventor of the famed Wells Truss. Some 200 barns using this system were built from 1886 until 1942.”

Barn Quilt Trail Driving Tours

Barn Quilts are large, colorfully painted squares (typically 8′ by 8′) displayed on the front or side of a barn. The patterns usually have special meaning to the owner, representing a specific heritage, story, or memory. Download a design to color your barn quilt.

​“So often, in rural America, all we know is get up and put one foot in front of the other, go to work, come home, cook dinner, wash the dishes, go to bed, and do the same thing. And as the times get harder and harder and harder, we forget how to dream. I like to think that developing the quilt trails is allowing people to dream.” 

Donna Sue Groves, Originator of the Barn Quilt Trail

Wyoming County

The Wyoming County Barn Quilt Trail began in 2016 thanks to local citizens, businesses, and artisans’ efforts to introduce visitors to their roughly 90 magnificent works of art. Build your digital tour map!

Each quilt is unique and has a name reflecting its purpose and message. It stands alone as a beautiful artwork, and its placement on the home or business makes it an integral focal point of the spectacular landscape found throughout Wyoming County!

LeRoy, Genesee County

With the help of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, the LeRoy Historical Society has offered free maps of the four barn quilt trails. The maps can be obtained in numerous places in LeRoy, including the Jell-O Gallery, the Chamber of Commerce in Batavia, and the LeRoy Historical Society. You can also visit their website to request a brochure.

Orleans County

This quilt trail was established in 2006 when local farmer Lora Partyka (Partyka Farms, Inc.) rallied members of her community in Kendall, NY, to work hand-in-hand with her in creating a local quilt trail, following the example of other trails. Maps to the entire Country Barn Quilt Trail are available at Partyka Farms.

Currently, the Country Barn Quilt Trail has grown to include more than forty barns and other buildings adorned with hand-painted quilt squares throughout the farming communities of Orleans County, near the southern shores of radiant Lake Ontario.

Along the trail, you will find numerous farm markets, antique shops, ice cream stands, summertime grills, fine restaurants, art offerings, gift shops, roadside wildflowers, and abundant beautiful views.

Independent Walks Along the Genesee Riverway

Tour Blend has partnered with the Genesee River Alliance to create and promote an “Independent Walks” series along the corridor. You can enjoy these audio-guided walking tours while following recommended safety guidelines. Download the free Tour Blend iOS app or a two-page brochure for each tour.

Tours include the Eco Loop at High Falls District, Lower Falls, Downtown Riverfront, Charlotte & Port of Rochester Loop Tour, and Genesee River South Loop.

Quirky Roadside Attractions

If you’re familiar with Roadside America and Atlas Obscura, you’ll know both sites are dedicated to plotting odd roadside attractions all over the United States (think America’s largest ball of twine). Spend a day checking out these unique & unusual roadside attractions—shoe trees, a skeleton army, a metal dragon, a shark girl—within 2.5 hours of Rochester.

Fairy Doors of Dansville Walking Tour

Fairy Doors of Dansville is a fully accessible trail of little doors, each a unique piece of folk art that often reflects the nature of its host’s business or location. There are dozens of whimsical little doors in the business district, with many more signs of the fairies and gnomes in the trees of Pioneer Park next to the Dansville Area Historical Museum. Fairy Trail maps can be picked up in the North Dansville Town Hall entryway on Clara Barton St. and at Fairy Door hosts during business hours. For more information, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

Are there other self-guided tours you enjoy?

Your insights and experiences are valuable. Please share them in the comments.