My Suburban Escapes

I got itchy for adventure towards the end of May as always, so I bid adieu to my sleeping babies and headed West from Indian Village to Indian Nation with a map and a goal: Niagara Falls. It’s beckoned to me like a siren on a sea rock since the day we moved here. I’d heard the
warnings of cheesiness and dashed expectations, but hey ho off I go. My road trip turned into a three-day, eight-park extravaganza of waterfalls and their constant companions, rainbows! I had never thought to connect the two, but of course sunlight shining through mist creates spectrum every time. I prefer to think of it as Road Trip Magic. “Pandemic and Parks: Perfect Pairing!” read the billboard in my mind as I began my journey. Our state parks are open, free, clean and sparsely inhabited, especially on weekdays. No packed tour buses. Plenty of parking. Rather astounding. I fancy I saw Niagara Falls closer to the way indigenous peoples did: turbulent turquoise waters gushing into a gaping maw out of which mist oozes and rainbows shoot. I’m not certain I’d be as in awe had I waited in line for hours or shared the scenery with thousands.

The flip side of course is that nothing else was open. And I mean nothing. Niagara Falls is all about tourism: wax museum, aquarium, Maid of the Mist, Hard Rock Café, trinket shops, restaurants and bars, all of which are currently shuttered. Walking back to my hotel on the edge of the ‘hood at dusk through that ghost town was a bit disconcerting, fliers blowing down empty Rainbow Avenue like tumbleweed. I stayed at the perfectly lovely and recently renovated
Courtyard Marriott on Buffalo Avenue, but in hindsight I should’ve stayed in Buffalo, or even scooted back east to Geneseo. The Doubletree by Hilton is the only U.S. hotel from which you can actually see the river. None of the hotels are on the Falls like in the movies except on the
Canadian side which was closed.

The geography and history of Niagara were much more interesting than the tourist traps. The Niagara River is actually a “strait” between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, flowing South to North unlike all rivers in America. Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan feed Lake Erie which in turn rolls 138 miles to feed the machine of the Niagara River (named “Niagara Strait” on early maps) then flows onward 35 miles to Lake Ontario. That sneaky South to North flow can be quite disorienting.

On my morning walk back to the Falls I caught my first glimpse of the magic: two huge rainbows shooting out of the mist, for my eyes only. Morning light makes it happen. I explored Goat Island from stem to stern on foot: American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Niagara Falls then
Terrapin Point and Three Sisters Islands. Goat Island is small and walkable, a must for the full effect…don’t just view the falls from the mainland Observation Points then head your merry way. My bonus was meeting a local who set the stage for the rest of my trip. His first
recommendation was to head down the roaring Niagara River a few miles north toward Niagara University in Lewiston (by car on the Robert Moses Parkway, not by barrel) to explore Whirlpool and Devil’s Hole State Parks. Hallelujah, I hit the locals’ motherlode.

From Whirlpool State Park parking lot, I took the footpath high above the riverbend (the “rim” trail) downriver towards Devil’s Hole. It’s a gorgeous walk to a stairway leading 500 steps down to the river trail. I then walked the low trail back the way to the river bend. I had asked a park ranger how I could get down there, and he politely declined a response. I’m not sure how legal it is, but the trail was well travelled by college kids, locals and fishermen. You can also walk the river trail the other way toward Devil’s Hole and ascend another set of stairs (currently under construction, so for now there’s only one way down and up). Had a picnic and a snooze on a river rock in the sun, then set out for the next glory hole, Letchworth State Park about an hour and a half east, passing through Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, 10,828 acres of swamp and
bottomland and a haven for wildlife.

Letchworth State Park is a spectacular 17-mile linear park along the Genesee River, a tributary of Lake Ontario which also flows north, with three sets of falls (Upper Falls is the southern-most and Lower Falls is the northern-most). It’s more of a “driving park” in which you get out for a
short stroll at each point of interest, the perfect park to pair with my morning’s walk of 95 flights of stairs and 10 miles (so said my phone). First I checked out and checked in the Hampton Inn in Geneseo (“safety first” when travelling solo) as with Covid nothing is certain with travel.
Geneseo is a charming town on a high bluff overlooking miles and miles of plains to the West, a spectacular sunset venue. I’m sure it’s even better when not Covid Closed, a college town with ample action. But there were plenty of places open for p/u, unlike Niagara Falls. All sorted and safe, I spent the afternoon exploring Letchworth, the “Grand Canyon” of the North.

Next morning I bee-lined for Stony Brook State Park in Dansville which reminded me of the Texas Hill Country. Hike the Gorge Trail if open (always the best option), but if closed hike on the west side of the brook’s Rim Trail and descend on the east side…much easier than East to West. Next up was Watkins Glen State Park in the tourist town of the same name at the southern point of Lake Seneca. This proved too popular, so I didn’t tarry. Most interesting thing I saw was a family of Mennonites in full garb making the long trek up the Rim Trail. I then took
Scenic Route 79 to Ithaca on the southern point of Cayuga lake. Unbeknownst to me, “Ithaca is Gorges!” is the old adage ‘round these parts. I had time for only one, and I fell in love with it: Buttermilk Falls State Park. It too was crowded as it was now the Friday of Memorial Day
Weekend. But I slipped past the “closed” gate of the Gorge Trail as several before me had and was completely dazzled as the trail revealed wonders of sculpture created by centuries of flowing water for almost 2 miles up, a gentle sloping angle which didn’t tire but did inspire.

The route I took west, 17 to 79 to 390, is stunning, but don’t get in a hurry as its heavily patrolled. The Delaware River Valley gives way to the Finger Lakes Region’s wide vistas of wine country and endless waters. New York really does have a taste of everything.

Printed as an aside:
“If time allows, stop in Hancock off 17 to buy fresh-caught smoked eel and salmon at off-the-beaten-track Delaware Delicacies Smoke House for your travel snacks.”