Free things to do in Rochester

13 places in Rochester with free entry or no charge, based on guide listings and map data.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Do
Buffalo Bills Training Camp
football
The closest the Rochester area gets to major-league team sports is the Bills' annual summer training camp, held since 2000 in northern Pittsford. There's lots to do besides just watch practices, too; you can participate in interactive games, peruse the merchandise, or try to get some autographs. You can get a lot closer to the players here than at the stadium in Orchard Park!
Late Jul - late AugFree (parking shuttle $1)
See
Image City Photography Gallery
A gallery devoted to photography with a new show every four weeks. If a work strikes your fancy, feel free to purchase it!
Tue-Sat noon-6PM; Sun noon-4PMFree
See
RIT City Art Space
A small-ish art gallery operated by RIT, featuring the work of fine arts students, faculty, alumni, and other artists of note.
Sun Thu 1PM-5PM, Fri Sat 1PM-8PM (closed during university breaks)Free
Do
ROC City Skatepark
Nestled inside a cloverleaf onramp, in the shadow of the Frederick Douglass – Susan B. Anthony Bridge, the ROC City Skatepark finally opened in 2020 after more than 20 years of dreaming and over 12 years of actual planning and construction. The half-acre (2,000 sq m) park is designed for all types of wheeled sports from BMX to skateboarding to scooters, and the city hopes it serves as a big tourism draw for enthusiasts.
Daily 8AM-9PMFree
Do Not mapped
Clarissa Street Reunion
Many years ago, Clarissa Street was known as "Rochester's Broadway", home to the best jazz clubs in the city. Urban renewal in the 1960s and 70s left its unfortunate mark on this neighborhood, but every August people come back for one day to celebrate the place it used to be. Live music is the main draw, but you'll also find a parade and other typical festival fare.
3rd Sat in Aug, 10AM-9:30PMFree
Do Not mapped
Corn Hill Arts Festival
The Corn Hill neighborhood, with some of the city's oldest and prettiest homes, is just south of downtown along the river. This festival celebrates the neighborhood's long history with over 400 arts and crafts exhibitors, plus the standard live musicians and food vendors.
Mid-JulFree
Do Not mapped
Erie Canalway Trail
This trail, which will eventually stretch across the state, is being created from the former Erie Canal towpath, where the mules would walk to tow the barges along. Though the walking paths are open year-round, the canal is drained, kept empty, and less scenic between November and May. During the winter time, however, the canal trail is virtually deserted, and provides an excellent place to snowshoe and cross-country ski.
6AM-9PM dailyFree
Do Not mapped
Harborfest
Ontario Beach Park likes to kick off the summer beach season with Harborfest weekend, a great excuse to visit the park and enjoy the amenities. In addition to the usual carousel rides and beach activities, you'll find a sand sculpture contest, a beach volleyball tournament, a classic car show, live music and food trucks. Saturday night sees a boat parade of lights. Charlotte businesses offer specials all weekend.
late Jun (Fri-Sun)Free
Do Not mapped
Imagine RIT
Rochester Institute of Technology's innovation and creativity festival showcases what happens "when the left brain and right brain collide," featuring hundreds of student projects from every corner of the university. Robotics, music, sign language, virtual reality, ecology, and weird science are just a few of the many subject areas covered; in fact, most of the projects take elements from multiple disciplines and combine them in innovative ways. Plenty of food, hands-on exhibits, and kids' activities make for an unbeatable value for a day out.
Last Sat in April 10AM-5PMFree
Do Not mapped
Park Ave Summer Stroll
Park Avenue is one of the most eclectic neighborhoods of the city, and this festival showcases its artisans, merchants, and artists. It's a scaled-back version of the Park Ave Festival that ran for decades but got a bit too big—and a bit too far from its founding principles of neighborliness and fun. The Summer Stroll has been instituted in its place to restore the original community feel.
Early Aug: 10AM-6PMFree
Do Not mapped
ROC Holiday Village
Rochester has tried several times over the years to host winter festivals, to varying degrees of success. The current version focuses on the holiday season, with all activities concentrated within Martin Luther King Jr. Park near the Strong. There's free ice skating (and free skate rentals) at the pond, a shopping village, a large lodge with drinks and entertainment, private igloos available for rent, and of course visits with Santa. Locals might get more out of it than visitors, but it's still a great way to have some fun in the cold.
Dec until Christmas; Wed-Fri 4PM-10PM, Sat 11AM-10PM, Sun 11AM-6PMFree
Do Not mapped
Rochester International Film Festival
Movies on a Shoestring
One of the only film festivals devoted to short films, this annual event has been a fixture in Rochester for almost 70 years. It's only three days long, but you can see dozens of films in that time if you attend all four sessions. Many of the filmmakers attend to talk about their films.
early JunFree
Do Not mapped
Rochester Lilac Festival
For ten days every May, Rochester's flagship festival celebrates the community—and its flowers—in beautiful Highland Park, designed by renowned landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted. The park's world-famous lilac collection was started by horticulturist John Dunbar in 1892 with 20 varieties. Today, over 500 varieties of lilacs cover of Highland Park's. The usual summer festival staples are all here, such as kiddie rides and food vendors, but also tons of activities, a parade, a craft show, a festival-sponsored 5K race, and a packed schedule of music and entertainment. You can even buy Highland Lilac perfume!
Mid-MayFree

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Rochester (CC BY-SA 4.0).