Hi. I will be travelling from Northern Westchester County to Niagara Falls this summer. Can anyone recommend the best route to get there, please. We will leave early in the morning (5AM) and it would be nice to see some scenery rather than highways. A combination of highways and scenic routes would be great, if possible since we will probably want to do some highway driving so the trip isn't excessively long.

I appreciate any suggestions and recommendations. Thank you.

US highway 20 through dairy farms, historic towns, vineyards, and the Finger Lakes is beautiful. It parallels the NY Thruway, so that might be your way of getting to it from Westchester. IIRC, there are connections from your area through Binghamton as well.

If you had time, Cooperstown has the Baseball Hall of Fame and a wonderful museum, Skaneateles is a charming resort, and Seneca Falls is the birthplace of the women's movement. The region was growing rapidly at the height of the Greek Revival movement in America (Syracuse, Utica, etc) so there is a lot of beautiful architecture. There is more.

IF you want scenic and aren't worried about local traffic, lights etc. I would take Rt 7 north in CT to Rt in Mass.


Depending on where you are -- head towards Ridgefield CT and then get onto 7 heading north. Pretty route.

I'd then head west on 20 at Pittsfield MA.

That's as far as I can get you.

When we lived in southern Westchester County, our favorite (and scenic) route to the Buffalo area was to cross to Tappan Zee bridge to go west across the Southern Tier on route 17, then north on 390, to 36, then 63. Continue west on 20 or 20A, and choose your route to the Falls, crossing into Canada at the Peace Bridge or using a US route, perhaps over Grand Island.

The at-grade intersections of route 17 are being eliminated as the road becomes I-86. There are spacious rest stops with picnic tables and grassy stretches, For gas and food other than vending machine fare, you will have to exit the highway. Corning might be a good target for an early lunch.

There are rest areas along 390 as well. 36 and 63 are two-lane roads through farm land and a few small towns. You may pass some roadside farmstands. Speed limit is, IIRC, 50 mph. (Just north of Mount Morris, you could drive through Letchworth State Park, picking up your westward route on the other side.) Alternatively, you could continue on 390 as far as the Rochester area and pick up the NYS Thruway to reach the Buffalo area and routes to the Falls.