Niagara and Erie Shore
From the Oldest Fort on the Lakes to a Sand Spit in Lake Erie, via the Falls
The Seaway Trail saves its thunder for the finish. This chapter opens where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario beneath the walls of Old Fort Niagara, whose 1726 "French Castle" is the oldest building on the Great Lakes, then climbs the river to the continent's most famous cataract, framed from the American side by Niagara Falls State Park, the oldest state park in the United States, created in 1885 to rescue the falls from private hucksterism. Between fort and falls lies the underrated middle: the village of Lewiston, where Underground Railroad crossings are remembered at the water's edge, and the gorge parks downstream of the falls, where the river rages through a whirlpool that tourists above never see. Buffalo follows with America's best architecture surprise (Wright, Sullivan, and Richardson within one city), and then the mood changes entirely: NY 5 runs the Lake Erie shore through the grape belt, one of the world's great Concord-growing regions, where September turns the air to juice and the tasting rooms of the Lake Erie Wine Trail line the road. In Westfield, statues recall the eleven-year-old whose letter persuaded Lincoln to grow his beard. The finale is Pennsylvania's beloved sand spit: Presque Isle curling seven miles into the lake at Erie, home port of the brig Niagara's story from the Battle of Lake Erie, with beaches, lagoons, and lighthouses to close the whole 518-mile byway on a barefoot note.
Key Stops
Old Fort Niagara. Three flags, three centuries: the stone French Castle of 1726 anchors a fortress that France, Britain, and the United States each held, now garrisoned by costumed interpreters with musket and cannon demonstrations. The lighthouse and river-mouth views begin the chapter properly.
Lewiston. A gallery-and-cafe village stacked on the escarpment where the falls stood 12,000 years ago: the Freedom Crossing monument on the riverfront honors the enslaved people ferried to Canada from this bank, and Artpark adds summer concerts above the gorge.
The Niagara Gorge parks. Downstream of the falls, the river's second act: Whirlpool and Devil's Hole state parks hang rim trails over Class VI rapids and the great spinning pool, jet boats charge up from Lewiston for the wet version, and the Power Vista visitor center explains the river's other career as a dynamo.
Niagara Falls State Park. The main event, handled with Olmsted-designed dignity: Goat Island's rail-side brinks, the Three Sisters islets in the rapids, the Cave of the Winds decks in the Bridal Veil's spray, and the Maid of the Mist churning into the Horseshoe. Dawn on Goat Island, before the coaches, is the falls at their best.
Buffalo. An architecture pilgrimage between waterfalls and wine: Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House, Sullivan's Guaranty Building, the Richardson Olmsted Campus, and grain elevators reborn as Silo City, plus the Canalside waterfront and naval park where the Erie Canal met the lakes. The wings are non-negotiable; the original source still serves them.
The Erie beaches. NY 5 escapes the city past Lackawanna's astonishing marble basilica and settles into shore rhythm, with Evangola State Park's arc of sand the pick of the swimming stops.
Dunkirk. A harbor town with an 1875 lighthouse whose keeper's-house museum honors veterans, and a pier built for sunset. The vineyards begin immediately beyond.
The grape belt and the Lake Erie Wine Trail. From Silver Creek to the state line, the world's signature Concord grape country runs between lake and escarpment: in harvest season the aroma rides through open windows for miles, and the wine trail's tasting rooms pour everything from sweet heritage Concords to serious dry rieslings.
Westfield and Barcelona. The grape belt's capital pairs two charms: statues of Abraham Lincoln and young Grace Bedell, whose 1860 letter from this town convinced the candidate to grow his beard (he stopped here to show her the result), and the 1829 fieldstone Barcelona Lighthouse at its harbor, celebrated locally for its pioneering natural-gas lamp. The famed Chautauqua Institution, twenty minutes inland, makes a worthy summer detour.
North East, Pennsylvania. The vineyards continue seamlessly across the state line into Pennsylvania's own wine country, with a tidy borough center and lake-view tasting rooms bridging the byway's final miles.
Erie and Presque Isle State Park. The finale: the Erie Maritime Museum tells how Perry, his flagship Lawrence shattered at the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, transferred to the brig Niagara and won the lake (the reconstructed brig berths alongside when in port; check her sailing status). Then Presque Isle itself: a seven-mile sandy peninsula of guarded beaches, lagoon kayak trails, lighthouses, and sunset points, Pennsylvania's only "seashore" and its most visited park, where the Seaway Trail runs out of road in the best possible way.
Driving Tips
Do the falls at dawn from the park. Arrive before mid-morning, use the state park lots, and walk Goat Island first; summer middays belong to the crowds. The park never closes, and the illuminated falls reward an evening return.
Know the boats are seasonal. The Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds run roughly spring through fall (the Cave keeps a limited winter deck); a winter visit trades the boats for ice formations that justify the cold.
Carry a passport for the panorama. The full-frontal Horseshoe view is famously from the Canadian bank, one bridge away; enhanced licenses work for land crossings, and the detour takes an hour.
Stay on the gorge trails. The rim paths and the Devil's Hole stairs are safe and spectacular; the river below them is Class VI water that forgives nothing. Book the Lewiston jet boats for the legal thrill.
Book Buffalo's architecture ahead. The Martin House and several Wright sites tour on timed tickets that sell out summer weekends; the Guaranty's lobby and Silo City tours reward equal planning.
Choose Route 5 over the Thruway. The shore road is the byway; the parallel I-90 exists for schedule emergencies and returns you to the vines in minutes.
Time the harvest for the senses. Mid-September through October is when the grape belt performs, juice stands and u-pick included, and the shore maples add the color.
Enjoy Presque Isle's rare price. Pennsylvania state parks charge no entry fee, so the byway ends with free beaches; summer weekends fill the guarded ones by noon, and the multi-use trail makes the peninsula a superb closing bike ride.
Respect the lake-effect legend. Buffalo's snow reputation is earned between November and February, when bands off Lake Erie can bury the shore road in hours; winter drivers should check forecasts and keep the Thruway escape in mind.
Expect seasonal hours west of Buffalo. Lighthouse museums, the maritime museum's sailing schedule, and small-town kitchens thin out after mid-October; verify the day's openings before detouring.
For more information visit: Niagara Falls State Park (NY State Parks)