Disappointed in our first visit to this lovely dog park. Small group of people and dogs already…read morewere there, it was our first visit to the park. I have medium size puppy (she's 50 pounds). 4/5 dogs there were fine, but 1 smaller dog was the boss and very aggressive. Bit at, lunged and chased my dog. The owner offered to put her dog in the other side for the smaller dogs, but never left the picnic bench seat to do so. Since my dog was shaken and cornered by all the dogs(since the boss dog(in charge) was being aggressive with mine), we left. Won't be going back.

Poop bags, by the lake, no water station, benches and picnic tables. Ample trees for shades. A lot…read moreof agility equipment. Barely any grass, mulch flooring. What is annoying is that you need an empire pass or pay day rate over the summer (memorial to Labor Day). Didn't know this is a New York State Park too? Urgh, as if taxes in ny is not high enough. Security walks around all day and will ticket you. To purchase a single pass, go to the main Emerson park entrance and buy it from the booth. I heard it is $2 but did not verify. Dog park here has two sections a large and small park, not super big. Also this park is a headache to get to, a lot of back roads

We love going to Ryder Park, which is connected to the Erie Canal Trail. It is located right next…read moreto the Town of Dewitt building. There is a fun playground with lots of swings and slides. There is a large pavilion with attached bathrooms and electricity, and there is another smaller pavilion there as well. There's also a nice trail around a cute pond and a steam that runs beyond it, and you are permitted to fish there. It's a great place to visit to ply and hang out, and is also able to be reserved for parties or events.

7 years ago when my wife and I were searching for a new home we happened by chance to drive through…read moreand take lunch at Marcellus Park. And to be honest this park with it's well maintained grounds, trails, multiple ball fields, volleyball pits, facilities, open space and overall charm was one of the deciding factors as why we now call Marcellus our home. Over the years we've enjoyed multiple events from Ole Home Days, to 4th of July as well as family picnics and parties under the pavilions to simple walks along the trails to family gatherings at the play grounds and so on. This beautiful park in the heart of Marcellus is something special.

This is a good size park with marked walking trails. They have bathrooms which is a plus! Also a…read morevery nice playground for the kids. I was pleasantly surprised at how well kept the park was. The trails were gravel which makes them easy to walk. I saw many fisherman near the creek side. They had posted open fishing starting April 1st until I think October. I asked a fisherman what he was fishing for and he said trout. Definitely check it out if your in the area.

Visited here on a whim while looking for a new playground to venture to, and it turned out to be a…read moregreat choice! I love that's it's nestled in a neighborhood (how fun to live in one of the houses across the street and have a playground right across the street!) and we chatted with several people who come here regularly. Playground looked like it was newly built and had lots of fun sections to it with a "castle/dragon" theme. A few benches and picnic tables are available as well as a big basketball court. I did take one star off for no official bathroom-- there is a porta potty which will work in a pinch, but a playground can't be 5 stars without a real bathroom. Aside from that, everything here was great. Also has a cute little free library which my daughter was very happy to pick out a book for the trip home.

Love the Christmas Tree and Festive lights at Johnson Park! They have a wonderful tree lighting in…read moreearly December!

This park is so lovely! And much bigger than I expected it to be…read more Situated along Owasco Lake, there are beach areas, a dog park, sizeable pavilions, a boat launch, and all sorts of spaces (the Merry-Go Round Playhouse Theater is also located in this park). My one complaint? There could certainly be more / better signage. When looking for the bathroom recently, the first closed one (over by Merry-Go Round) directed you to the large pavilion on the main (other) side of the park. When there, you were directed to actually use the bathrooms at the little league field (up near the entrance back on the other side of the park). Also, for newcomers who are trying to find the dog park or whatnot, some extra signage would be helpful (the dog park is kinda tucked away). TL;DR Very much enjoyed my recent visit here - I'll be back! :)

Absolutely beautiful area of Syracuse. The old brick facory buildings refurbished into office,…read moreretail and apartments. The Square is beautifully landscaped with several trees lining the streets and several lovely flower gardens. The creekwalk also passes behind Franklin Square. Wish this area had more restaurants and retail.

This square is such a beautiful place in Syracuse. We went in April and enjoyed the tulips all…read moreblooming, as well as the Magnolia and other flowering trees. I went back in mid-May and was delighted to find a huge blooming Japanese wisteria! It's a beautiful, tranquil square. When things are blooming, it is THE hot spot for photo shoots.

Super interesting to learn about the Erie Canal at this "heritage park" that is also a bit of a…read moremuseum. Nearly eight years to construct, it was completed in 1825 and linked Albany New York with Buffalo, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. It was the greatest engineering accomplishment at the time, some 563 miles of canals across the state. But as times changed and canals were no longer the most efficient method of transport, much of the Erie Canal has been abandoned. Steamships and later more modern barges go around New England along the Saint Lawrence Seaway. And then it switched to railroads and later, trucks on superhighways like the one I used to get here. This parking area is for passenger vehicles and RVs only. Trucks are not permitted. There is a four hour parking limit. [Review 1535 of 2024 - 451 in New York - 22558 overall]

"Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal." Can't get that song out of my head while I'm here. (You can find…read moreit on y'all tube: https://youtu.be/gIIM1mHfJ0U ) The first question that seems to come up when I talk about abandoned locks is "Why was it abandoned and where is the water?" Without going into an elaborate history of the Erie Canal (tough for me to do) the original "Clinton's Ditch" was "4 and 40," that is, 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide, which soon became too small. The Erie Canal was widened to "7 and 70," that is, 7 feet deep and 70 feet wide and in many places was moved. This is one of those cases. This lock was built as a part of the newly widened Erie Canal and used until about 1917 when the canal was widened once again, and also rerouted to the north which bypassed Port Byron entirely. Lock 52 was abandoned, now preserved for your enjoyment. You can access the lock as a rest area on the eastbound New York Thruway at mile marker 309 but if you're not on the superslab, you can access the lock from NY 31 (Rochester Road) in Port Byron. There is a museum and display inside the building you can check out before (or after) you access the lock itself. The museum is not a comprehensive history of the canal system in New York, which is probably fine for those of short attention spans or those who are itching to get back on the Thruway and make time. There is an incredible model of the lock that was created for the 1893 Columbian Exposition (the "White City") in Chicago. For some reason, the model is a mirror image of the prototype. Just the same, viewing the model gives one a mental image of how the locks worked in the halcyon days of the Erie Canal. Just outside the door is a three-sided kiosk with three interpretive panels that describe the lock, tell you about the original canal system and how it is currently configured, and what the canal meant to the town of Port Byron. The lock is an interesting juxtaposition of 19th Century transportation technology with 21st Century communications technology. In other words, you can download an app to your cell phone and access audio descriptions of points in the lock and the historical park. With the app, you can be your own docent and virtual tour guide! As you walk up the trail that was the towpath, you'll find a collection of buildings that were a part of the Port Byron lock environment. You'll find a tavern, a blacksmith shop, and a mule barn. Animals were well cared for on the Erie Canal, the animals were a key component on the canal. From that spot, you can observe the original canal leading up to the locks. Note the ashlar stone lining the canal. There was a dry dock across the way, it was filled in after the canal was relocated in 1917. Incidentally, there was originally only one lock here, the shorter of the two. It was "twinned" with a larger lock so barges coupled together could lock through without the delay and expense of being untied to lock through separately. It also allowed eastbound traffic to lock through while while westbound traffic could lock through at the same time. Don't rush out to see it just yet. First of all, it's open limited hours. The museum is seasonal and I might have been the last guest of 2020. (I was there late in the afternoon on Halloween, the last day of the year.) The museum will reopen on April 1, 2021 and hopefully we won't need masks anymore.