After Niagara Falls, then where to?
 

After visiting Niagara Falls we will have a couple of days before we have to return the car to Dayton, Ohio to catch a plane back to California. What are some suggestions as to where we should go? We are 58 and 65 yrs. old, walkers, not hikers, never been to that part of the country, so everything will be new territory for us. Since we are from wine country, we are not interested in visiting wineries. Any place historical, or beautiful, or quaint....thanks.

You could plan your return trip through Cleveland and see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

There's also the huge air and space museum at Wright Patterson Airforce Base in Dayton. I found the former Air Force One presidential planes fascinating.

Niagara on the Lake 30 min away in Ca.
See http://www.niagaraonthelake.com/index.jsp

Chautauqua is a gorgeous place to go. Worth a look: http://www.tourchautauqua.com/homepage.asp

Definitely fits your "historical, beautiful & quaint" wishes!

You could also take a drive over to the Canada side and maybe continue on to Toronto.

I was hoping not to retrace the same route on our way back to Ohio (Ceveland to Erie to Buffalo). Someone on another site said that the SW corner of NY is not that scenic or interesting. I would consider seeing more of Canada or else going more east in NY. But how far East and/or north go I have to go to find the pretty parts of NY? Where is Upstate NY? We always hear that term.

Upstate New York is pretty much anything north of NYC! I lived in Syracuse for three years. And, IMHO, all of New York State is pretty. But then, I've lived most of the rest of my life in Illinois!

Toronto is a little more than an hour away.

Depending on which part of the city you find yourself in, Toronto is historical, beautiful, and quaint.

If you havn't been, you really should see some of it. Here are some tips from Fodor's:

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...on=toronto@157

Many years ago we visited friends in St. Catharines, Canada (right there by Niagara Falls), and, it may sound really weird, but one of the neatest things we did was watch ships going through the Welland Canal locks. It was fascinating to see the huge ships (various countries) come into a lock, watch it rise up or go down, then out the other end. I don't know what the access for visitors is these days, but back then you could park right there and get up close.

Just "Googled" the Welland Canal... check out the info on this website --http://www.infoniagara.com/d-canal-map.html
It sounds like Lock #3 has a big visitor center.

On our Niagra trip we also went to the Berkshires and to Toronto and up to Vermont.

I'm not sure exactly how much time you have but you may want to consider the Finger Lakes area. You could visit the Corning Museum of Glass, Ithaca, Watkins Glen etc. then drive south to I-80 in PA and over to Ohio. It would be around 3 hours to get to Ithaca from Niagara Falls.

Check out www.iloveny.com for more ideas on what to do in NY, or specifically the Finger Lakes area because there are tons of quaint towns in the region.

The suggestion of Toronto is also a good one if you do not mind doubling back and returning on the same route. Toronto is about 1.5 hours from Niagara Falls. The number of miles is only around 70 but the QEW can get congested around Hamilton and as you approach Toronto. Once there, you could visit the Toronto Islands, the CN Tower, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Bata Shoe Museum, Distillery District etc.

go to the Shaw Festival, see a show in Niagara on the Lake, it is a very beautiful town. then continue on to Toronto. there is a lot to do in Toronto.

I suggest you go home via the Canadian side. Niagara-on-the-Lake for the day, then to Toronto, then back to Ohio via Highway 401 to Detroit.

Finger Lakes--gorgeous area, full of little quaint towns (many structures dating to as early as late 1700s in farm country), lots of scenery and history.

If you have a couple of days you could do either the Finger Lakes or the Ontario route and enjoy both for different reasons.

If you want quaint and beautiful, the little towns along the lakes in upstate NY are all quite charming, Skaneateles is my favourite. The Mirbeau Inn there was built with Monet in mind and it's simply wonderful. ~mirbeau.com~

There are many B&B's or lovely inns at every turn, depending on your interests. A little further east is Cooperstown, NY and even if you aren't a keen fan of baseball, the area is also interesting.

On the Canadian side, I'd suggest taking the 401 highway as far as Cambridge or Ingersoll, staying at either Langdon Hall ~langdonhall.ca~ or The Elmhurst Inn ~elmhurstinn.com~ and touring the area around Elora, St. Jacob's and Stratford (even taking in a play). It's a wonderful area too and will take you into Mennonite country.
~stjacobs.com~ Very quaint!

From Cambridge, Ingersoll or Stratford the drive to Dayton through Detroit would be about 7 hours along the 401 and I-75. On the NY side, you would likely still want to retrace your route somewhat, going through Ithaca to Ellicotville (very charming in summer or winter) and then to Dayton.

Hope that helps. Being Canadian, I hope my preference didn't show!!

raised in NY partially in the Finger Lakes area, it is a full eight hour drive from Niagara. Recommend Toronto as well. Also if you are a NYer upstate is north of Albany the Finger Lakes are in the 'southern tier'.

webecca, the entire state of New York is absolutely gorgeous. It really is. Going east in New York from Niagara is pretty much gonna take you to the Finger Lakes - wine country. So unless you have plenty of time to drive to the Adirondacks or 1,000 Islands, you should probably stick to your original plan of returning the way you came.

Unless, of course, you are willing to visit Toronto for a few days. Just be aware that it is a very large city. But what a city it is.

I would suggest for history that you visit Old Fort Niagara (www.oldfortniagara.org). It's on the American side, about a 15 minute drive north of the falls. It is a fabulous, beautiful, original condition fort that dates back to the French and Indian War. It sits directly across the lower Niagara River from Niagara on the Lake where the river empties into Lake Ontario. It has a nice museum, too. If you like history, you won't go wrong with this.

Buffalo is a very historic city and is considered to have some of the best architecture in the USA. We have wonderful restaurants and neighborhoods, and I would very happy to give you some advice if you're interested. It's a very walkable city.
Here's a link to Buffalo's convention and visitor's bureau (architecture section): http://www.buffalocvb.org/architecture_0.html

I will second SenecaGirl's suggestion for the Chautauqua. I assume she's suggesting the Chautauqua Institute. Talk about historical, quaint, beautiful. It's all three. Check out:
http://www.chautauqua-inst.org/about.html

I can't help you with Cleveland. It's one of those cities on my "list."

Have a great trip!

um...I grew up in upstate, in the Finger Lakes region, and Buffalo/Niagara was 2 hours max! And we always called it "upstate"; I think NY staters vary widely in their definitions of upstate--as long as you realize there's a whole huge place that isn't NY city!!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater is about 4 1/2 hours south of Niagara, SW of Pittsburgh. Well worth the detour.

My first suggestion would be to head to Niagara on the Lake..it is in a winery district but it is also a very quaint town with many bed and breakfasts, inns. From there I would continue to Toronto(1 hour). Once you check into a hotel, you would not need your car. Lots of wonderful restaurants, things to see, theatre, etc. Continue westward onto the 401 departing Toronto and head to Mennonite country north of Kitchener(1.5 hours from TO)..lovely towns like St. Jacobs...onward to Stratford(about 30 minutes west on Highway 7 or 8(?)..check out the internet for peformances there..back to the 401 with a return via Detroit..

"Buffalo Girl" has good suggestions...as always. I would suggest considering going to Letchworth State Park... about an hour east of Buffalo...ver scenic. especially if you drive south of Buffalo, past Warsaw and into the Park...check it out! Decide if you want to spend time in cities...toronto or buffalo...or some scenic countryside.

Definitely disagree with the idea that the Finger Lakes region is a full eight hours from Niagara. As I said in an earlier post, we lived in Syracuse for three years. Syracuse is on the opposite side of the Finger Lakes from Niagara. Niagara Falls is less than 4 hours from Syracuse. (According to the '05 Rand McNally Atlas, Buffalo to Syracuse is 154 miles.) We made the trip pretty much every time someone new came from Illinois to visit us!

Living in the Chicago 'burbs and having a daughter who goes to school in western Massachusetts, we've made the trip across New York state several times in the past couple of years. You can pretty much cross the entire state on the Thruway in eight hours.

To repeat myself again, I think the entire state is very pretty. I don't think you can go wrong no matter what part you choose to visit. I'm sure you'd be very happy with the Finger Lakes area. But, as you say you're from wine country, maybe Toronto would be of more interest to you. Because it's a city, it may be more of a contrast for you.

I have to second giro's suggestion for Letchworth. It's absolutely beautiful (it's called the Grand Canyon of the east)!

Here's a website for pictures and info:

http://www.perrychamber.com/letchworth-park.php


Also, there is quite a history behind the park and the woman who donated the land, Mary Jemison. Her family was killed by Indians in Ohio. She was a young girl, when this happened, and for some reason they didn't kill her. They marched her to their home near where Letchworth is and raised her as one of her own. They give her all the land. There's a book called "Mary Jamison: White Woman of the ???? - I can't remember the whole title. It's very interesting. Here's a website regarding the history of Mary Jemison and Letchworth:
http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/table.html

After Niagara Falls, we drove to Toronto, saw a show (Hairspray), a few sights, ate at some great restaurants and really enjoyed it. Drove back to Buffalo to depart for home.

Thanks to everyone that responded. I think we have decided that we will go to the Fingers Lake region. That area looks like our type of sight seeing vacation. Now, does anyone know how much it costs to get into New York state parks?
Since we will only be in that area 2 days, what should we not miss? So far I have checked out Watkins Glen and Letchworth. Both look interesting, but I am open to more suggestions.
I would like to vary the sights but hit the best of the best in the Fingers area. Thanks.

Letchworth, Letchworth, Letchworth!!!!!