This was a nice walk to see the falls. The path is well marked and clear for walking. There are…read morestairs. We found a 60 year old Chapman slide gate in the closed position. No handwheel at the top. Unlikely to be operational. Picture with red at the bottom. Years of Rust.

This place is an absolute treasure! I love the finger lakes and I've been everywhere and how I've…read moremissed this amazing place is beyond me. The gorge trail and rim trail were so beautiful and scenic we had an absolute blast here and I want to come back again very soon! There is tons of parking and trails and camping as well! What an absolute gem of a park!

A wonderful place to enjoy. We always take a trash bag to…read moreclean up after those that are inconsiderate.

This used to be private property, not sure what changed (liability concerns?), but it seems to now…read morebe a popular attraction for all. I hope no one ruins it, it is a nice, easy to access mini retreat.

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! :)

Nice beach, pretty shallow, small area but has a lifeguard which helps if you want to relax. Beach…read morewas sandy, a little rocky. Volleyball net, seems like a place to boat launch, kayak.

Was great trip. Cabins are great! Lake fun with swimming, boating and fishing! Kids loved it!read more

Baltimore Woods is a beautiful place to wander in the woods, through fields, up and down valleys,…read moreor through the small arboretum. Kids love the Foxes Den natural playground, adults love the diversity of habitat, wonderful wildflowers, well maintained and marked trails, and as part of the NYS Birding Trail-the diverse birdlife. Baltimore Woods offers a wide selection of outdoor programs, led by educators on staff. They also have educators that teach about Natural Science in all the elementary schools in the city of Syracuse school district. Head out for a quiet walk, a fun romp for kids, bird watching, and a program that piques your interest.

I can't believe I've never been here and I lived in Syracuse all my life!!! That being said I will…read morebe back many more times now. It's such a lovely place. The trails are marked and are dirt or gravel. I went with the Men's and Woman's garden club and we had a guide which was very helpful. Many of the plants are named with markers. The trails we took were flat but the guide told us they have a steep one so look at the map if you don't want to go up hills. They do many educational programs here also so I will be following them on Facebook to check some of them out.

Quiet little outdoor spot. There are better outdoor spaces to choose from, but this isn't bad.read more

No dogs allowed, probably because people didn't clean up, but I still see dogs with those who don't…read morefollow the rules. Stop deleting my review.

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.

Had a wonderful chat with volunteer Bob at the visitor center before heading out on the 3+ mile…read morenature drive. He gave us some tips about where we might see certain types of birds and he was absolutely spot on!! We spotted a pair of bald eagles in the tree line and after a 5 minute wait or so, they treated us to a flight right over the car to soar over the water on the other side of the drive. It is absolutely amazing that this wonderful resource is free to enjoy. The visitors center is accessible to those using mobility equipment and the drive is a wonderful way to enjoy the wildlife without a hike.

Very pretty reserve, lots of wildlife. If you like birding this is a good area to be in. This is…read moreonly a drive through trail but there are lots of walking trails nearby!

We stopped here on our way camping a couple weeks ago. The playground was fun, and included a…read morelittle zipline. The splash pad is huge. Staff sprays off everyone's feet so they don't bring in beach debris. The swimming beach is so shallow. My boys walked for the longest time and even when they started to swim, they could still stand if they wanted. Warm, too. Not the softest sand, but the way out into the lake isn't too bad. The way back, it feels a little more prickly. Guess the rocks face away from the beach. Plenty of parking, seating and shade.

Seneca Lake State Park has several good things going for it. It's nice to look at and clean; it's…read morealso a fun place to head for if you want to go jogging or take a walk. Tip: There's a path here which (upon closer examination) is actually an old street that's in a pretty far-gone state of disrepair. It's so far gone that it's actually too rough to ride a bike on :-( I suggest you learn from our mistake - if you're actually intended to go for a bike ride, you should seek out another destination.

Sampson State Park set on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake. With a long history since the days of…read morethe Revolutionary War, WWII Naval training camp and soon after an Air Force training base during the Korean War. Today, roughly 2,000 acres of open space for mobile campers, tenters, and even fixed cabins for rent. Family friendly throughout the grounds. Boat launch, lakeside beach, play grounds, snack shop, game room, outdoor movie theatre and a Camp Store for replenishing camping needs and the ever popular S'mores refills. On-site, many former military roads and infrastructure during WWII Naval base, and Korean War Air Force base, including a Military Museum on-site built in the 1960's. We enjoyed a day walking and driving around the grounds and a good old fashioned picnic along the shore. Later an ice cream at one of the snack shops.

Wonderful state park with spacious RV sites, great facilities and beauty. Close to wineries and…read moreoodles of trails.