Buffalo Spree Magazine

10 Great Scenic Spots in WNY

By Philip Nyhuis

While homeland security advisories ricochet from hopeful heliotrope to brilliant vermillion, this just might be the year to scrub that annual family vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, Cap d’Antibes, or Pyongyang and take in a few of the famous and lesser known sights right here in the good old WNY homeland. Stalled economy, airport delays, rising gas prices, and another long-awaited, luxuriant upstate summer—just a few good reasons to pack the cooler, grab the digicam, and explore some of the area’s most gorgeous scenery. This may mean simply gazing at the backyard flora while sipping a cold one out on the deck. But should you care to wander farther afield, the following is a shamelessly subjective list of the ten best places to begin.

1. GRIFFIS SCULPTURE PARK

The Castle at Griffis Sculpture Park.
photo copyright David Lawrence Reade,
All Rights Reserved, www.DLRimagery.com

Imagine strolling through a world-class art gallery outdoors in a beautiful natural setting of forests, hills, meadows, woodland paths, burbling brooks, and serene ponds. Griffis Sculpture Park is actually two separate outdoor galleries within a 400-acre nature preserve. Tall, monumental figures dominate a pretty hillside meadow—figures of totemic women, queens, kings, and bishops—figures that are at once awesome, mysterious, and strangely powerful. A walk in the park might reveal giant animals and insects; a tribe of sleek silver Amazonian women swimming, diving, reclining, dancing, and meditating in the woods; hollow, explorable shapes like a tall Gaudiesque tower; a metal sculpture flower garden; or a forest family of small, finely sculpted heads on handsome rectangular bases fashioned from thin metal rods. There are magnificent stone and metal monuments with colored glass panels that catch and refract the sunlight, geese in flight, a whimsical pachyderm fashioned from brake shoes and a crankshaft, a great grey ovoid that resembles a fearsome tank, and dozens of abstract metal and wood sculptures that seem a perfectly natural part of the landscape. For more information and directions, call 716-667-2802 or go to www.griffispark.org.

Forest Lawn.

2. MIRROR LAKE,
FOREST LAWN CEMETARY
Surrounded by flowering fruit trees and the mausoleums of Buffalo’s founders, former pharaohs, and illustrious citizens, Mirror Lake is a lovely little pond in the heart of this classically designed Victorian cemetery. The best spot to take in the lake is from the Birge Memorial, the most elegant and graceful monument in the cemetery. This marble peristyle with twelve fluted Doric columns, one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in WNY, was the work of George Cary, who also designed the Forest Lawn administration building and entrance gate. Cary’s nephew, celebrated sculptor Charles Cary Rumsey, created “The Three Graces,” a lovely trio of exuberant nudes bathing under a fountain out in the lake. Just over the hill behind the Birge Memorial is a forest of tall obelisks with names like Kellogg, Rand, Knox, and Laub.

3. BRIDAL VEIL FALLS

Bridal Veil Falls,
Photo by Dan Lenski.

Even though you know that the ratio of Niagara River water destined for tourism versus power generation has been meticulously calibrated by generations of number crunchers, every aspect of Niagara Falls remains an awesome spectacle. But the Bridal Veil Falls at Luna Island is a favorite of Falls aficionados because of its relatively delicate size, beauty, and thrilling proximity—all that power and danger just a few feet from your camera lens. Drive to Goat Island or park in the free municipal lot between the Turtle and the Moses (behind the Comfort Inn), walk the lower bridge to the island, and stroll the meandering path along the upper rapids to little Luna Island.

4. WHIRLPOOL RAPIDS

Whirlpool rapids.
Photo by Mike Calanan.

Directly between the cities of Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario—almost within dice-tossing distance of the casinos and wax museums—lies one of the wildest and seemingly most remote wilderness areas on the continent. The Niagara Gorge was created over the past 12,000 years or so as the power of the river falling over the escarpment kept eroding the cliff. The most spectacular rapids are in the narrowest channel of the gorge, located between the Whirlpool Bridge and Whirlpool State Park, where the river takes a sharp right turn toward the Moses Power Plant. You can hike the entire distance or simply stroll down the trail for some unforgettable scenery. Perch on a rock beside the raging river and feel the concentrated power of America’s inland seas vibrating beneath you.

5. OLD FORT NIAGARA

Old Fort Niagara,
Photo by Jim Bush.

Although the first fort here was built in 1679, the present fort dates back to 1726 when France built the extant chateau that the British later dubbed “the French Castle.” Britain conquered the fort in 1759, then yielded it to the United States in 1796. During the War of 1812, the British recaptured it but ceded it back to the U.S. at the end of the war. As befits a fortification of such strategic and historic importance, Fort Niagara commands a magnificent view of Lake Ontario and the mouth of the Niagara River. If you visit on a clear day, you may be able to discern the skyline of Toronto across the twenty-seven miles of Lake Ontario. This summer, during July and August, visitors can go back in time to the early years of the fort to meet soldiers and fur traders, examine a flintlock musket, learn how to load 18th-century artillery, and take in a series of special exhibits and programs that focus on the early struggle for control of the Great Lakes. For more information, call 716-745-7611 or go to www.oldfortniagara.org.

Chautauqua,
Photo by Laurie Waters, from her book
A Year in Chautauqua.

6. CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION
It started out as a Sunday school camp, then became a common noun as chautauquas featuring lectures, concerts, and plays sprang up and toured throughout early 20th century America. Every July and August, the little gated Victorian village of Chautauqua attracts musicians, artists, writers, and leading thinkers on the social issues of the day as well as some 150,000 paying visitors to its quaint streets, hotels, and performance halls on the shores of Lake Chautauqua. Ease into a ladder-back rocker on the verandah of the Athenaeum Hotel with a cool lemonade and the world seems a decent, reasonable, well-ordered place again.

Zoar Valley
Photo by Phil Nyhuis.

7. ZOAR VALLEY
Treat yourself to an awesome hike through the deepest canyon in WNY. In this spectacular gorge, the rushing waters of Cattaraugus Creek have carved and smoothed out the rocks of the streambed until they look like Henry Moore sculptures. There are moss-lined trails through an old growth forest filled with wildflowers, immense fluted cliffs with shimmering waterfalls, and lots of deep pools and smooth rocks for skinny dipping and sunbathing.

8. ERIE BASIN MARINA

Erie Basin Marina,
Photo courtesy Buffalo CVB and Angel Art.

Sure it’s popular. With good reason. This spit of rocks and asphalt curving into the old Buffalo harbor has great views of downtown, the old lighthouse, summer sunsets, and sailboats on Lake Erie. And then there are the flowers. A 300-foot flowerbed features one of the country’s top test gardens of All-American Rose Selections plus more than 200 varieties of specialty annuals bedded along pretty brick pathways. The peak rose bloom is the last week in June and the first week in July.

9. LETCHWORTH PARK

Letchworth,
Photo by Mike Calanan.

You know if they call it the Grand Canyon of the East, you’ve got to tear yourself away from the blackjack tables some morning and drive down to the north rim to have a look. Actually, there isn’t a rim at all, just a gradual green descent into a forested park with three different canyons and a series of simply beautiful waterfalls. But you won’t be disappointed. For an unforgettable overview, climb the stone steps to the railroad trestle high above the gorge and watch the turkey vultures soaring over the Portage Canyon below. Or simply relax in front of the Glen Iris Inn and enjoy the splashing of the photogenic Middle Falls. For more information, call 585-493-3600 or go to letchworthpark.com.

10. CHIMNEY BLUFF STATE PARK

Chimney Bluffs,
Photo by Jim Kauderer.

Tall jagged peaks and ridges of hard clay and stone rise up along the shore of Lake Ontario east of Sodus Bay. Formed by ice age glaciers, the bluffs have been eroded by lake waves, snow, and rain to create these razorback, knife-edged formations. Follow the wildflower trail into the woods and up the back of the cliff edge. Or walk down the shore and loop back through the woods trail. www.rochester-info.com/chimney.htm.

Philip Nyhuis is a hiker, birdwatcher, stargazer, and frequent contributor to Buffalo Spree.

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