When we think of public parks, what often comes to mind are semi-wild spaces with trails that guide visitors responsibly through woods, perhaps an educational center or a lodge for rent, and signage on the history and ecology of the place.
Devil’s Cove Park has none of these things. It is all wild. At the moment, the only indication that it is a Monroe County Park is a small sign tacked to a single tree. You need a GPS to find it.
The park is made up of two close but unconnected parcels of land set into the sylvan, sandy bluffs on the eastern shore of Irondequoit Bay, just south of Route 104. The space is gorgeous, almost untouched, thick with old foliage, and home to dozens of animal species and native vegetation. It is also entirely surrounded by private property and the bay, making it the only county park that’s accessible only by water.
There are no plans to develop it for human recreation, making it an ideal place for fishing, bird watching, hiking, or just soaking in the pleasure of being enveloped in the green paradise of the cove.
“Those 18 acres are going to be left natural,” Monroe County Parks Director Patrick Meredith said on a recent trip to the park. “We're not going to build or put in a parking lot. We're going to have just a trail to it and it will be left for birding and pollinators in the area.”
Two parcels of land make up the 18 acres that are Devil's Cove Park. Monroe County bought the parcels separately, the first in 2000 and the second in 2009. Meredith visited the park on a hot, sunny day in June with three department employees who tagged along on a CITY-organized excursion to the cove. They came in part because the park is so tough to access that only one of them had ever been. Monroe County Parks Assistant Director Chris Kirchmaier recalled canoeing to the park about 10 years ago.
The park is named for the existing Devil’s Cove, which itself has mysterious origins. Local lore has it that the cove is haunted. One version tells of warring British and American ships playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek in the dense pocket of foliage off the main bay. Cannonballs are said to have been found in the waters.
Meredith offered another theory: that Devil’s Cove is so-named because its bluffs jut out to give the water the appearance of a pitchfork when viewed from above.
The park’s two parcels, which together form the 20th of the 22 Monroe County parks, were two separate acquisitions purchased in 2000 and 2009, and are identified formally by their two “SWIS numbers” — Statewide Information System code numbers for parcels of land — and informally by the nicknames “Jack Doyle Acquisition” and “Sandra Orlen Acquisition.”
In 2000, then County Executive Jack Doyle facilitated the purchase of 10 acres of land in what he called the effort of “saving one of the county’s most environmentally sensitive areas from ever being commercially or residentially developed.”
Indeed, the parcels that immediately surround the park on the bluff house waterside residences that range from modest cabins to elaborate vacation homes. Boats are moored at wooden docks that stretch into the bay here and there.
The remote Devil's Cove Park is 18 acres of untouched land in the shadow of Route 104. Two small islands that guard the entrance to the cove are also developed. One is beautifully manicured with a house and garden. The other has a broken-down cabin, some ominous-looking trees, and is aggressively defended by a flock of cormorants, a protected species. That island was recently sold in a private transaction.
At the time the first parcel of Devil's Cove was acquired, Doyle said that the land “will be used for the most passive recreation you could possibly have for a park, and the most spectacular and tranquil place for anyone to commune with nature.”
He went on to say, “It is our intention to limit the use of the land to low-intensity recreational uses such as trails and fishing,” and that conservation efforts would preserve the “valuable habitat of plants and birds, and decrease erosion of the bay’s steep and sandy embankments.”
The park’s second parcel, acquired in 2009, is 8 acres named for the Sandra Orlen estate, from which it was purchased. The Orlen family was known for the Glen Edith restaurant on the bay in Webster, which they operated from 1925 until it closed in 1996.
Shaped like a rhombus and located across Devil’s Cove from the long and narrow Doyle parcel, the Orlen parcel entrance is entirely surrounded by reeds and was not accessible when CITY visited.
Meredith and Kirchmaier acknowledged having no idea what to expect of the park, noting that no county official has visited in years.
“I just hope to find it respected,” Meredith said. “Hopefully we don’t find any major surprises.”
Kirchmaier, who has been with the Parks Department for 22 years, could be described as an amateur but highly knowledgeable naturalist. He chimed in periodically to point out flying and fishing bald eagles, heron, turkey vultures, and swans, as well as swallows ducking into and out of the nest-holes they had excavated into the sandy face of the bluffs. He also noted invasive plants choking out native species.
After warily rounding the cormorants’ island in our rented pontoon boat, our group eased into the cove and looked for an entry point onto the land of either parcel. It was a tricky task given the steep, tree-covered terrain. Thick stands of reeds and cattails formed a barrier between most places the parcels met the water. In other spots, dense bay weeds and fallen trees prevented us from getting the boat within a couple hundred feet of shore.
Two parcels of land make up the 18 acres that are Devil's Cove Park. Monroe County bought the parcels separately, the first in 2000 and the second in 2009. No docks, no beach. The most accessible shores showed evidence of water levels dropping a foot or two, which Meredith said is cyclical.
We killed the motor and dropped anchor, having drifted into some blessed shade well into the cove. Embraced by the forest on almost all sides, our group alternated between passively staring at the foliage reflecting off the water and taking in the monstrous dragonflies that flitted low above the drink. It was easy to forget civilization with the cacophony of birdsong drowning out the barely audible rumble of traffic on 104.
Kirchmaier pointed out red-winged blackbirds and bright orange-breasted Baltimore orioles, and mused about the age of the white oak trees growing right up to the shore. He figured they could be as old as 150 years. Both he and Meredith agreed that the parcels likely contain old-growth stands of trees — a rarity in Monroe County, which was largely developed as farmland except in a few notable spots of tricky terrain, like these bluffs.
We eyed the half-hidden logs and thick weeds and discussed who would brave what we estimated to be about three feet of murky water, and the danger of losing a toe to snapping turtles, to get to shore.
In the end, our colleague, WXXI’s Veronica Volk, took the plunge and waded through the waist-deep water, and hiked up the steep hill to the top of the ridge. Returning about 20 minutes later, she reported no trails, plenty of birds and squirrels, and not much else.
Meredith, the parks director, comes from a building construction background, and a big part of his job is overseeing infrastructure upgrades to lodges and other amenities at the county’s parks. But his impression of Devil’s Cove is that it should be left as it is.
“I wouldn't change a thing about it,” Meredith said. “I think you'd get the most enjoyment from it just by being in the water, taking in the sounds and the sights like we have today. It’s just a beautiful, tucked away area.”
There’s something hugely refreshing about Devil’s Cove Park in that it’s an out-of-the-way place to recharge your batteries, but also in the knowledge that, unlike so much of the available empty space in our world, there’s no rush to change it.
Meredith said he thinks it would be a mistake to make this park more human-friendly.
“Everything doesn’t need to have everything,” he said.
IF YOU GO:
Devil’s Cove Park is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. There is a carry in-carry out rule, and a general request to leave the space as you found it. Pets are welcome but should be leashed and cleaned up after. Bug spray and vigilance against ticks and poison ivy are recommended.
It is advised that visitors approach the cove north of the islands, as the inlet south of the islands is filled with fallen trees.
CITY’s use of a pontoon boat prevented easy access to the land. Visitors could pull a canoe or kayak right onto the limited shore areas. Wear waterproof shoes regardless, as the terrain itself is partial wetland. We recommend launching from the metal dock at Abe Lincoln Park (call the county parks office ahead of time to be sure the lodge is not rented out) or from Bay Park West (available for launch anytime). We estimate the trip via canoe or kayak would take about 30 minutes to an hour to reach the cove.
If you use your own vessel, Kirchmaier says it’s a responsible practice to clean off your boat to prevent carrying invasive species from one body of water to another.
The county site says that permissible activities at Devil’s Cove include hiking and cross-country skiing, but bear in mind that there are no groomed trails to take.
Be mindful of the fact that the parcels are surrounded by private property, with no border markers. Otherwise, happy exploring!
www.monroecounty.gov/parks-devilscoveEDITOR’S NOTE 7.8.22: An earlier version of this story noted that a private island off the coast of Devil’s Cove was for sale. It was sold subsequent to the story being published and the article has been updated to reflect the change.