Durand Eastman Beach — Attraction in City of Rochester

One of the best views in this city. Parking is usually not an issue. The beach is down a slight hill with sights of boaters, jet skis & people enjoying the small amount of summer that upstate New York gets. People do swim here as well as grill. However, in my opinion the best part of Durand, as the locals call it, is not tge beach portion. The most interesting portion is behind the beach. There is an old castle grounds. White Lady's castle. You climb stairs to a wooded area, not very dense but well shaded. There is a large portion in solid condition of a castle wall. Perfect spot for a picture. In the background is trees and the water. If you follow the path it brings you down a variety of trails to more water and another castle structure. This water is NOT for swimming. If you plan on going down these trails wear...

Visited here MANY times during a one-month stay in the area.

There are several options to park here: 3-4 different parking areas depending on which section of the beach you want. (3 had bathrooms, 1 did not and was more of a long extension on the side of the road than a parking lot). Lots of flat rocks to put a camping stove or grill. Appears that fires are allowed as well. Beautiful view, gentle waves, lots of people enjoying the beach both on boats and on the shore. Except for some rogue jet skiers, everyone was respectful of everyone else - music wasn't too loud, dogs were fairly controlled, etc. Was busy during weekends and holidays, but after work on weekdays, it was usually very quiet and peaceful. Saw several photoshoots here as well. Overall,...

Great beach, quieter and shorter walk than Charlotte beach. Water seems a bit cleaner. Shade available along the treeline. We usually go to the beaches east of the lifeguarded portion because of a ridiculous ban on all pfd use. Our youngest uses a puddle jumper, which is a coast guard approved pfd, aka a life jacket. The official beach area prohibits those and requires you to be within arms reach of kids. So we go outside their patrolled area. My kids are good swimmers, I like the additional security of them wearing a pfd. If I could get a straight answer out of the lifeguards there on what is allowed and what isn't I might return, but 3 consecutive trips with different answers about pfd use and we just avoid the guarded area all...