Getting Oriented

Anchored by the tenacious city of Buffalo and the inescapable Niagara Falls, western New York is wedged between Lake Erie to the west, Lake Ontario to the north, Rochester and the Finger Lakes to the east, and the Pennsylvania border to the south. In the northwest corner is the Niagara River, which connects lakes Erie and Ontario and is shared by the United States and Canada.

From Interstate 90 (New York State Thruway), the main entryway to the region, expressway spur Interstate 190 at Buffalo leads across Grand Island to the Robert Moses Parkway into Niagara Falls. The parkway continues north to Lewiston and then Youngstown, where the Niagara River empties into Lake Ontario. The scenic Great Lakes Seaway Trail traces the region's perimeter in the north and west, along lakes Ontario and Erie.