Discover Niagara County: Water, History, and Nature

A trip to Niagara County can be planned in many different ways: with thundering waterfalls and boat rides, museums dedicated to technological and regional history, or days in nature among forests, meadows, and wetlands. Choosing a vacation apartment or vacation home allows you to focus on your own interests and combine culture, outdoor activities, and family-friendly experiences.

Water Experiences and Notable Parks

Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in America. Maid of the Mist offers a particularly up-close experience, with a round-trip boat ride into the turbulent waters of the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls. Fort Niagara State Park has a boat launch providing access to the Lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario. This gives you a range of water experiences to choose from when planning your trip, so not every day has to look the same.

Mobility between individual attractions can also play a role when choosing your base. The Discover Niagara Shuttle is a free hop-on, hop-off service at designated stops. Its Lockport route connects Niagara Falls and Lockport and serves the stop at the Erie Canal Discovery Center. Connect Niagara can deviate up to three-quarters of a mile from the route for passengers who are unable to reach a scheduled stop.

Technology, History, and Carousels

The Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum is housed in the factory building of the Allan Herschell Co., which is listed on the National Register. Admission includes all exhibition areas as well as the interactive rides Number One Special, also known as The Big Carrousel, and Kiddie Carrousel. The Jeanette E. Jones Children's Gallery offers interactive activities for families; it also houses a Kiddie Carrousel. The Music Hall provides exhibition space for the collection of band organs.

In the Wurlitzer Music Roll Department, historic equipment that is still operational demonstrates how paper music rolls were made. The collection includes more than 1,600 original hand-punched master music rolls dating from around the turn of the 20th century. The Erie Canal Discovery Center is an interactive multimedia museum about the beginnings of the Erie Canal in the 1820s and houses the Lockport visitor center. At Lockport Locks, the lock system allows boat traffic to travel up the Niagara Escarpment. Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises also offers a narrated two-hour cruise on the Erie Canal, during which passengers are raised and lowered 50 feet through Locks 34 and 35.

The Lewiston Museum, with exhibitions on the history of the Town and Village of Lewiston in New York State, and the Van Horn Mansion offer further insights into regional history. The fully restored Victorian mansion can be explored from the basement to the attic and provides information about the history of Newfane.

Nature, Outdoor Activities, and Local Experiences

For days outdoors, Wilson Tuscarora State Park encompasses more than 395 acres of forest, open meadows, and wetlands with diverse plant and animal life. A 4-mile nature trail is available for hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. There are also opportunities for fishing, a boat launch, and an 18-hole disc golf course. Artpark complements this selection with numerous hiking trails, natural areas, fishing piers, and picnic areas; art, theater, and rock camps are offered there for young people.

Local history and culinary experiences can also be part of your plans. The Newfane Apple Harvest Festival is a free annual event held in September that has featured food, music, and performances for more than 40 years. Chateau Niagara Winery is located on a 31-acre property along Eighteen Mile Creek in Newfane, New York, and produces handcrafted wines from its own production, including Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, and dessert wines.

For younger visitors, Olcott Beach Carousel Park offers a 1928 Herschell-Spillman carousel, a historic arcade, and historic rides for children. The park is open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. When searching for accommodation, you can therefore consider whether water, museums, nature, or seasonal family experiences should be the focus of your trip. The pages on Niagara Falls, Lockport, Youngstown, and Olcott can help with further orientation.

You can discover additional destinations via Saratoga, Cayuga County, Madison, and Broome.

For the overarching travel overview: New York.