Niagara Falls, NY – Local fun family things they don’t tell you about in the brochure!
I just got back from a trip through the upstate New York area around Niagara Falls. Now, being one that likes to mix a little pleasure and local life on my trips, I took a half day to do some local looking around and there’s two items to let you folks know about that make for a really nice few hours diversion into the local life and history.
Pop on the Robert Moses Parkway going north. It’s an easy road to find and I didn’t hit much traffic. Exit off on 18F going into Lewiston and take it all the way up to Fort Niagara Beach. It’s not but a few miles and you follow the river gorge all the way up. It’s a nice quiet pleasant drive up to the beach and depending on the time of year, can be a nice cool shady one as well. You’re going to have to navigate around the park a bit to find the little beach head on the north side. There, depending on weather, you should have a really nice view of Lake Ontario and Toronto on the other side of the lake. If you like to skip stones, there’s some of the nicest and flattest just piled up on the shore waiting for you to see how many skips you can wing that stone before it disappears below the water.
Just west of the beach park is the restored old Fort Niagara. It’s changed hands several times since the first outpost was erected in 1679. The current fort is a very well maintained and restored structure from the War of 1812 era fort and is really an interesting site! The Old Fort Niagara Association runs the place and for a very small fee you can take a self guided tour around. It’s really a fascinating place to walk through and, depending on the seasons, there may be some historical military weapons, etc., demonstrations going on. Over the Memorial Day weekend, the association had demonstrations from the old bow and arrows, through flintlocks, muskets, weapons from the major wars and conflicts to current day – as well as some of the more interesting historical points behind the design and reasons why the weapons were chosen for use. It was really enlightening! More details on the fort and park are at https://oldfortniagara.org/
After you leave the fort, take 18F back south again towards Niagara Falls and into Lewiston.
Now Lewiston isn’t a town you’re very likely to hear about on the evening news. Not much has happened or happens in Lewiston, it’s a nice quiet upstate New York town. The historical society will tell you that in 1813 James Monroe was the first US President to visit the place and on September 6, 1901, William McKinley dropped by on his way to the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo where later that day he would be shot. Perhaps he had his last meal in Lewiston…who knows…
Now, I didn’t mention Lewiston because of Monroe, McKinley or any other of the reasons the local historical society will mention to you. The historical item I found of most interest occurred on August 7, 1975. On this date, John Roberts bought what was then, I believe, an old general store downtown and converted it into a restaurant he would later name “Apple Granny”. In the years since 1975, this family run restaurant downtown has grown into an eating establishment that serves not only the local folks but the local flavor. It’s laid back atmosphere, really pleasant staff, and tasty menu offerings made for a really nice end of day trip relaxing dinner before heading back to the falls for some night photography.
So, next time you take the family up to Niagara Falls, take a few hours, hit the fort, beach and on the way back, grab a bite at Apple Granny’s before calling it a night. It will add some moments of pleasantness to your trip as it did mine.
I’m Don Rima and that’s the way my trip around Niagara Falls went, From Where I Stand.
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