New York's Seaway Trail: follow this scenic byway on a trip to Niagara Falls, the Thousand Islands, and quiet settlements brimming with history - Tour Of The Month

Travel America, March-April, 2003 by Ellen Clark

"OH, YOU MEAN TO WEST-chester County?" asked my California friends when I announced that my husband and I were going to upstate New York. For some reason Westerners assume that New York ends at the Connecticut/Massachusetts border, totally ignoring the fact that the state reaches all the way to Canada. And that's where we were headed, for a driving safari down the state's only official scenic byway, the Seaway Trail.

Hugging the edges of Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River, New York's 454-mile Seaway Trail snakes by sheltered bays, churning waves, thundering falls, and peaceful villages. Though technically the trail (also a national scenic byway) starts in northeastern Pennsylvania, most of it rambles through northern New York. Along the way are 19 lighthouses, 300 National Register historic properties, 23 state parks, seven Wildlife Management Areas, and 86 bathing beaches.

In Chautaugua County, at the western end of the trail, you'll find a Lake Erie marina at Barcelona Harbor, whose 1829 lighthouse (off-limits to the public) was the world's first lighthouse to be lit by natural gas. (The Chautaugua Institution on nearby Chautaugua Lake has been famous for learning vacations since 1874.) Take the trail northeast to Fredonia, an all-American village with tree-lined streets, red-brick buildings, and the White Inn, a country inn renowned for its restaurant. The restored Fredonia Opera House presents plays and films.

Lake Erie State Park, with its many hiking trails, crowns a bluff overlooking the lake near Dunkirk, which has an 1875 lighthouse open for visits and an armed forces museum on the grounds. The area's wineries--Johnson Estate, Woodbury, and Merritt Estate--offer tastings and tours.

Buffalo, the state's second largest city, is known as a city of taverns and churches. Things have calmed down since the 19th century, however, when two-block-long Canal Street had 93 saloons and 15 dancehalls. For lovers of 19th century architecture, Allentown, just north of downtown, boasts one of the nation's largest historic preservation districts. Many of the Victorian buildings house antique shops, art galleries, and restaurants. The city's Albright-Knox Art Gallery is known for its contemporary art.

Next comes the trail's most spectacular natural wonder, Niagara Falls. Western New York's greatest tourist attraction and the nation's first state park, this breathtakingly powerful water show gets more than 10 million visitors a year.

No trip to the falls would be complete without a Maid of the Mist boat ride, in operation since 1,846. Covered in disposable blue plastic slickers, boat load after boat load of tourists from around the world gets thoroughly sprayed by the thunderous deluge of Horseshoe Falls. And if that sounds too tame, you can zip around the fiver in a jet boat.

The town of Niagara Falls has attractions, accommodations, and restaurants to suit every taste. But if you're looking for a quieter area, still convenient to the falls, consider the historic town of Lewiston on the Niagara River. We spent the night in Lewiston at the Cameo Manor North, a beautiful old home turned into an elegant bed and breakfast.

Just at the point where the Niagara River empties into Lake Ontario at Youngstown sits Old Fort Niagara, a well-preserved military site. Most of the buildings are original and were erected between 1726 and 1872. During the summer months, costumed volunteers tell visitors about fort life in the 18th century, and militiamen give cannon and musketry demonstrations.

Continuing eastward, the trail passes by the rolling farmlands of Orleans County. Brown's Berry Patch claims to have been raising berries since 1804. You can pick your own berries, buy produce, or sit a spell enjoying ice cream in a homemade waffle cone with fresh fruit toppings right off the vine. Stop at Orleans County Marine Park for views of Oak Orchard River Gorge from paved paths along the rim or watch sailboats from the floating walkway along the river. In the coastal hamlet of Point Breeze, take in a romantic Lake Ontario sunset while walking along the jetties.

Just as you're getting lulled into the slow pace of rural New York, along comes New York's third largest city, Rochester. High on the list of the city's attractions are its three outstanding museums--the George Eastman House and International Museum of Photography and Film, the Rochester Museum & Science Center, with its Strasenburgh Planetarium--the first computerized planetarium in the world--and the Strong Museum, a treasure house of Americana, from antique toys and dolls to political campaign buttons and advertising memorabilia.

Travel northeast to Oswego, the largest U.S. port on Lake Ontario. Fort Ontario State Historic Site, overlooking the harbor, has guided tours and costumed guards that perform drills. Barracks, guardhouses, and powder magazines have been restored to the 1868-73 period.

Continuing north along the trail, bound for historic Sackets Harbor, there are occasional glimpses of Lake Ontario and some lovely, and I daresay expensive, riverside homes. Sackets Harbor started out as the center of military and naval operations for the northern theater of the War of 1812. Following the war, a crude barracks town was replaced by Madison Barracks, a designed military complex with stone and brick buildings. Today, some of these buildings serve as businesses and residences. In the tiny downtown area, historic buildings are being given facelifts and turned into restaurants and boutiques. The 1802 Sacket Mansion has become a visitor's center, with an orientation exhibit and gift shop.