58 Best Sights in Niagara Falls and Western New York, New York

This religious colony of Victorian houses 8 mi south of Fredonia was founded on the shores of Lake Cassadaga in 1879, during a period of increased interest in Spiritualism, which believes that the spirits of the dead live on and that some people can communicate with them. Today the world's largest spiritualist community has a summer season with workshops, medium readings, a research library, lectures, and a variety of recreational activities, including fishing, swimming, and picnicking. Lily Dale has lodging, restaurants, and its own volunteer fire department. You can go for the day or stay overnight, but call ahead for readings with the most popular mediums.

The narrated two-hour Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises travel the canal, viewing historic buildings and passing through five locks.

Ball's turquoise-and-silver-sequin cowgirl costume from a 1976 "Donny and Marie" episode, video interviews with childhood friends, and original Here's Lucy scripts are a few of the items on display in the Lucy-Desi Museum, which follows the lives and careers of the two comedy stars. The adjoining Desilu Playhouse centers solely on the I Love Lucy show, with a replica of the couple's TV apartment, a 1953 Emmy, and an interactive display where you can try your hand at the Vitameatavegamin commercial.

Two annual festivals—Lucy-Desi Days, over Memorial Day weekend, and Lucille Ball's Birthday Celebration, in early August—celebrate the two stars.

Martin's Fantasy Island has more then 100 rides, including a wooden roller coaster, a 140-foot-tall swing ride, and a petting zoo, and a water-park area with a wave pool, swirling slides and chutes, and a log-flume ride.

The handsome 14-room Federal-style mansion on the Westfield village green was built in 1820. The Chautauqua County Historical Society runs the house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and is decorated in high Victorian style. Displays include Civil War documents and American Indian and military artifacts.

In 1826, when Millard Fillmore was just a young lawyer, he built this simple house. The man who was to become the 13th U.S. president lived here for only four years. A National Historic Landmark, the house has been restored and refurnished to reflect life in the early 19th century.

Begun in 1977 as an adjunct to the Cornell Cooperative Extension facility, the arboretum occupies 8 acres with more than 400 unusual trees and shrubs. The herb garden has 300-plus species, and there's a popular Japanese meditation garden. The entrance is marked by a little shack on the far side of the Cooperative Extension Center parking lot.

The Niagara Gorge Discovery Center explains, through interactive exhibits and a multiple-screen movie, the natural history of the falls and the Niagara Gorge and their formation.

Niagara Falls generates power at one of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world (the largest in New York State). The visitor center, 4½ mi north of the falls, has more than 50 hands-on exhibits, including an operating model-size generator, and educational displays on energy efficiency and hydroelectric power generation. Atop the Robert Moses Power Plant, the visitor center has sweeping views of the Niagara Gorge.

The Niagara Scenic Trolley travels a 3-mi route through the park, picking up and dropping off passengers at six locations.

The Niagara USA Discovery Pass includes Niagara Scenic Trolley tickets and admission to the Aquarium of Niagara, Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, the Prospect Point Observation Tower, and the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center. It's available from the Prospect Park Visitor Center.

The earliest part of the fort was built as a French castle in 1726, and the complex later played a critical role in the French and Indian War (1754–63). You can watch colorful displays of cannon and musket firings, historical reenactments, 18th-century military demonstrations, and take part in archaeological programs. The fort is inside Fort Niagara State Park, 15 mi north of Niagara Falls.

The rock outcropping here, 14 mi west of downtown Jamestown, spans 25 acres. The park has caves, 60-foot-high cliffs, and crevices said to have been used by American Indians for shelter and as places to keep meat cool in summer. Outlaws are also said to have used the rocks as hiding places. As you hike along the 1-mi self-guided trail here, you may find rare mosses, wildflowers, ferns, and oddly shaped tree roots.

More than 400 rare and unique bicycles and related antiques and memorabilia are on display at one of the largest bicycle museums in the world.

The Prospect Park Visitor Center is surrounded by gardens and has tourist information, exhibits, and a snack bar. The visitor center's Adventure Theater shows the "thrill film" Niagara: Legends of Adventure ($11), on a 45-foot-tall screen.

The 282-foot-tall Prospect Point Observation Tower offers dramatic views of all three falls from an observation deck high above the gushing waters. When the Maid of the Mist is in operation, you can take a glass elevator to boat launch at the base of the tower.

Perched at the edge of the Allegany Mountains, Rock City is believed to have the largest exposure of quartz conglomerate in the world. Some of the towering prehistoric rock formations are several stories high. Pathways lead you over top and down through narrow crevices enclosed by huge boulders. Wear athletic footwear.

Named for Jamestown native and noted naturalist Roger Tory Peterson (1908–96), who wrote the seminal Field Guide to the Birds in 1934 (which spawned today's best-selling Peterson Field Guides series), this 27-acre center seeks to educate children about nature. You may hike the wooded trails, or explore one of the natural-history exhibits. The gallery shows a selection of works by Peterson and others.

A center for New York's Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the 20th century, this 9-building community (it originally held 14 buildings) was once home to as many as 500 craftsmen, aka Roycrofters. The community was founded in 1895 by Elbert Hubbard, who had met William Morris during his travels in England. Existing campus buildings include the Roycroft Inn, the 1902 blacksmith shop and the furniture-making and bookbinding building (both now housing artisan and antiques shops); and the old chapel, now the town hall.

A fully restored 1912 passenger depot offers a fascinating look at the history of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, whose anticipated arrival led to the creation of the city of Salamanca. Exhibits include old switches and lanterns, an extensive collection of vintage photographs, and a restored red caboose outside.

The history and current culture of the Seneca Nation and of the Iroquois Confederacy is explored at this museum on the Allegany Indian Reservation. Displays include a partially reconstructed longhouse, silver and beadwork, baskets, corn-husk items, sculptures, and paintings.

Photos, exhibits, and memorabilia pay tribute to western New York's steel workers and what was once the largest steel plant in the world, Bethlehem Steel. The museum is open only three days a week from 10 to 2.

It all began in 1874, when John Heyl Vincent, a Methodist minister, and Lewis Miller, an industrialist, set up a training center for Sunday-school teachers here. The Chautauqua Institution rapidly grew into a summer-long cultural encampment. More than 2,000 events take place here in summer, including lectures, art exhibitions, outdoor symphonies, theater, dance performances, opera, and open-enrollment classes.

The village has small winding streets lined with gas lights and beautiful Victorian houses, which are often outfitted in bright colors, turrets, multiple gables, and gingerbread trim. The Miller Bell Tower is the most recognizable landmark on the lakeshore and has become the symbol of the institution; tunes are played three or four times a day, and the Miller Bell is rung manually 15 minutes before amphitheater lectures and evening programs.

Seats for the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and other large events held at the 6,500-seat Chautauqua Amphitheater are on a first-come, first-served basis. Musicians as diverse as Peter, Paul, and Mary; 10,000 Maniacs; Glenn Miller; and Natalie Cole have performed in the theater, which has a roof and houses an enormous pipe organ. Norton Memorial Hall, a 1,365-seat art-deco building, is where the Chautauqua Opera Company presents four English-language operas each season.

The institution's recreational activities complement its cultural opportunities. You may fish, swim, play tennis, golf, or rent sailboats, motorboats, or canoes from the concessions on the lake. The village, a National Historic District, also includes B&Bs, hotels, inns, guesthouses, apartments, and condominiums, as well as several restaurants and eateries. You may use a car when dropping off and picking up your luggage, but otherwise car usage is extremely limited here. Lots near the entrance gates offer daily and long-term paid parking. A free shuttle bus and tram travel through the campus during the season. Narrated bus tours of the grounds are available.

Five miles of nature trails, boardwalks, and a cattail marsh make this wildlife refuge near the Lake Erie shore an ideal place for hiking, bird-watching, and picnics. The 264-acre preserve is part of the Buffalo Museum of Science.

Gain admission to eight of the town's sites and gain access to a hop-on, hop-off narrated trolley tour (July and August only) with the Tour Lockport pass, available from the Erie Canal Discovery Center and other sights.

Rare and one-of-a-kind toys are on display at this museum, which also houses a collection of Fisher-Price toys from 1931 to the present; a huge fully furnished dollhouse; circa-1970 puppets from the locally syndicated Commander Tom Show; and changing exhibits. The Fisher-Price toy store is next door.

From this park 2 mi north of Niagara Falls you get great views of the giant whirlpool that occurs in this part of the Niagara River. A sharp turn in the river is responsible for the swirling waters. Steps and trails lead down 300 feet into the gorge, where you may fish. It's a nice place for a picnic while watching the cable car from the Canadian side glide hundreds of feet above the whirlpool.

After President William McKinley was assassinated at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated as the nation's 26th president in the library of this Greek Revival mansion. You can take guided tours and view exhibits and gardens. Architectural walking tours are also available. The site underwent a major yearlong renovation in 2008 to rebuild the carriage house and to update and add exhibits.