Day Trips - Rochester Wiki

Hit the Road for a fun Day Trip to destinations convenient to the Rochester region:

Soak Up Niagara Falls and catch dinner on the Canadian side. Gamble. Stumble back to the United States across the Rainbow Bridge, or in Buffalo via the Peace Bridge. A US Passport (or enhanced NYS "passport license") is now required for US residents to return to the states. Be polite to the Immigration agents on both sides. And DON'T "proceed to drink until you can't see straight anymore." You could lose your license (US) and wind up in Kingston Pen (CA). Remember that the legal drinking age in Ontario is 19, but it's 21 south of the border.
Letchworth State Park in the Fall - avoid taking Route 390, using a map, or any sense of urgency. Enjoy the endless winding country roads and changing leaves. Admire the stone walls, walkways, tables, and small bridges in the park. Take photos. Scream into the gorge. Trespass on the bridge, you know you want to. Find a farmer's stand or orchard on the way home and buy some apple cider!
Canandaigua Lakeside Stroll - visit the New York Wine and Culinary Center and taste NY State wines, take part in a cooking class or grab a bite to eat. Poke in downtown Canandaigua's shops and perhaps catch a free Friday night concert.
Visit Geneva - a quiet city about 45 minutes from Rochester. Take Route 5/Route 20 for a more bucolic trip.
Corning Museum of Glass - visit the museum and smash some exhibits. Walk over to downtown Corning and relish its nifty little 'Old Downtown' area. It's one of the very few small upstate cities that has maintained a vibrant downtown area.
Flying Machines in Hammondsport - the Wright Bro's may have been the first to fly, but it took Glenn H. Curtiss to commercialize and make aviation what it is today! And, he did it right here in Western New York. Drive to Rt. 54 in Hammondsport NY. and visit the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum to learn more about how a local motorcycle manufacturer applied his knowledge of lightweight motorcycle engines to flying machines and revolutionized aviation!
Visit Local Wineries in the Finger Lakes region and stay overnight in a local bed & breakfast. There are many Limousine & Transportation Services that offer wine tours. They provide either a car or limo for you to ride in so you can get nice and toasted without getting a DWI on your way home.
Visit Local Breweries or Distilleries for tasting. Be sure to take a designated driver!
A Day at the Beach - pack a picnic lunch and head down to Ontario Beach Park or Hamlin Beach State Park (a short drive west down the Lake Ontario State Parkway) for the day to enjoy the limited sunny Rochester days!
Ride the Erie Canal on one of the regional cruise boats.
Route 96 to Ithaca! The road is in great shape and the traffic is minimal. Kids will enjoy the Sciencenter (all ages) and the Museum of the Earth (6 and up, adults too). You can shop in funky stores on the square downtown and eat at the world famous Moosewood Restaurant (not expensive, very pleasant, and very tasty). Ithaca also has a bunch of good clothing consignment shops (something we are somewhat lacking in here), although all its good record stores are history. Buttermilk Falls State Park is especially nice for hiking and swimming. They even have their own wiki, Ithaca.
Ride and slide at Darien Lake Theme Park Resort. Great rides and water slides. Not all rides may be open, so call before you go if you care about a particular ride. No family restrooms, so wear those bathing suites under your clothes if you are taking a small kid of opposite gender with you. If you get stuck, go to the Lost Children's place, they may let you leave your kid there while you go change. Plan to be there from park opening to closing, there's that much to do.
Niagara-On-The-Lake is charming and exceedingly quaint. Picturesquely situated at the mouth of the Niagara River, near the western tip of Lake Ontario on the Canadian side, NOTL is the home of The Shaw Festival. Shaw Fest stages 6 to 10 polished and professional productions a season on three stages running from April through November. The town is loaded with trendy shops, stores, restaurants and pubs and more B&Bs than you can shake a stick at. In the warm months, the town is jam-packed and although the streets are full of all ages, this is not a real youthful or necessarily 'hip' crowd (no insult intended). Additional attractions include a 9-hole golf course on a bluff above the lake and the beautiful Niagara River Parkway with hiking/biking/walking/blading trail running the length of the Niagara River from Lakes Ontario to Erie. Area is also home to some of the finest Ice Wine in the world - see wineries.
Erie Canal Village near Rome NY. Erie Canal Village is an outdoor living history museum. It is a reconstructed 19th century settlement on the site where, on July 4, 1817, the first shovelful of earth was turned for the construction of the original Erie Canal. Relax as the mule drawn Packet Boat plies a section of the enlarged canal giving visitors a taste of early 19th century water travel.
Pick a road from the original US highway system - well traveled long before those nasty interstates came along - and drive its length. Explore the villages, towns and hamlets you pass through. Enjoy the trees and farms in between. Stop at a farmstand or twelve. Let us get you started: 5, 15, 15A, 20 33, 36, 39, 96, 104.
Seaway Trail - head east toward Sodus Point or beyond to see Chimney Bluffs State Park. Or go west toward Niagara Falls.
Take a look at some of the region's beautiful Waterfalls.
Find Pollywogg Hollër near Alfred, eco resort/pizza parlor - check out the photos
See "Smoldering Earth" in Centralia - spend a few hours taking photos of the steaming ground, remaining buildings, abandoned highway 61, and other sights in Centralia PA. This modern ghost town was created after an underground coal seam fire began burning in 1962. It is still burning today!
Take a ride on the Millersburg Ferry via I-390 and U.S. 15 to central PA. It is open from May to October. The Millersburg Ferry Boat is the oldest transportation system in Pennsylvania. It crosses the Susquehanna River from Millersburg in Dauphin County to an adjacent landing along U.S. Routes 11 and 15 in Perry County, approximately 2 miles south of Liverpool. The Millersburg Ferry is in the National Registry of Historic Sites. View some photographs of the ferry.