Places to Explore

• Allegany State Park

• Bemus Point

  Bemus Point is the largest community on the north shore of Chautauqua Lake. Its main attractions are its waterfront and its handful of good restaurants. In summer the population swells with vacationers... (more)

• Buffalo

  Snow, the Buffalo Bills, and the gateway to Niagara Falls are just some of the things that come to mind when most people think of Buffalo. While it is true that the city is hit by at least one to four... (more)

• Chautauqua and Mayville

  The 856-acre village of Chautauqua, bordering Chautauqua Lake, is something of a Mayberry, with Victorian homes lining its narrow, hodgepodge streets. It's overtaken entirely by the Chautauqua Institution... (more)

• Darien Lakes State Park

• East Aurora

  East Aurora has earned the nickname Toy Town, U.S.A. because of the many toy companies that have been based in this tiny town over the years. It remains the headquarters of Fisher-Price, which is connected... (more)

• Ellicottville

  Holiday Valley, a popular regional ski resort, is Ellicott's main draw. This is where Buffalo and Rochester area residents go to get in some weekend skiing. But the small village also has a cute main street... (more)

• Fredonia and Dunkirk

  Dunkirk, one of the few harbors along the east coast of Lake Erie, was named after Dunkerque in northern France, and in 1851 became the terminus of the longest railroad in the world. Dunkirk's historic... (more)

• Grand Island

  The low and flat Grand Island is the largest of the islands dotting the Niagara River between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. (In fact, it's larger than Manhattan.) Two spectacular high-arching bridges ($1... (more)

• Jamestown

  Jamestown, founded in 1811, is at the eastern end of Chautauqua Lake. One of its claims to fame is that it was the childhood home of Lucille Ball. It was here that Ball first performed her wacky comedy... (more)

• Lockport

  The city of Lockport has five sets of operating locks along the Erie Canal. The busy lock system still operates in much the same manner as it did nearly a century ago. The historic district downtown surrounds... (more)

• Niagara Falls

  Niagara Falls has inspired artists for centuries. English painter William H. Bartlett, who visited here in the mid-1830s, noted that "you may dream of Niagara, but words will never describe it to you."... (more)

• Olean

  Olean, founded in 1804, is a community of 16,000 nestled in hills formed by receding glaciers. It's home to St. Bonaventure University, two community colleges, and manufacturers of assorted goods from... (more)

• Salamanca

  Salamanca, on the broad Allegheny River, has the distinction of being the only U.S. city on an American Indian reservation (the Allegany Indian Reservation). The region was settled by the Seneca Nation... (more)

• Westfield

  As the home of a Welch's plant, Westfield calls itself the grape-juice capital of the world. Several wineries are nearby, off U.S. 20. Antiques stores and craft shops cluster around the village square... (more)