Summer is here and it’s time for sailing, boating, relaxing on expansive sand beaches, visiting historic Erie Canal buildings, exploring the delights of Chautauqua Institution, and viewing a War of 1812 battle reenactment at Old Fort Erie.
These adventures are just a sampling of summertime pleasures, but they all share one word: FREE. Some activities are always free, and others are free on certain days. All provide fun and education for the whole family including the family dog in some cases.
This year is the 10th anniversary for the unique Old Erie Canal Heritage Park. It is a year of celebration as the park welcomed a major new addition: the Lois McClure, an 83-foot-long replica of an 1862 class canal schooner built in 2002 in Vermont. The design of the boat was based on two shipwrecks discovered in Lake Champlain. During her sailing days, she visited Buffalo several times for tours.
Staff and volunteers have begun the job of restoring the boat with the goal of making it accessible to visitors who will be able to go on board.
“The last boat went through Lock 52 here in 1917,” explained Darrin Rooker, Park Manager. His great-great-grandfather was a lock tender at this Lock 52 which was completed in 1853. As Rooker said, this place seems to be in his blood. It has the distinction of being one of the most intact and well-preserved 19th century locks in the state.
The lock’s closure coincided with the opening of the New York State Barge Canal the following year, which saw a widening, deepening and re-routing of the Erie Canal away from Port Bryon.
The park offers a gift shop, rest rooms, peppermint candies for children, and dog biscuits for your dog. The exhibits tell the lock’s history. From the early days of the saloon and boarding house, Maud, a large friendly looking dog, presided over the property and was even credited with saving her owner’s life. Her photos enjoy a prominent place in the exhibits.
Follow the path to the Erie House complex of three restored buildings including the saloon and hotel built by Italian immigrant brothers Pietro and Salvatore Van Detto. Inside, a friendly volunteer is happy to answer questions and tell stories of the early days. The bar and gleaming cash register are originals but, alas, there is no longer any bar service.
Privacy was rare and the rates tell quite a story: five cents to sleep sitting up; ten cents to sleep on the floor; 20 cents to sleep in a bed likely with two others; and 25-30 cents to sleep in a single bed.
Just across the Niagara River from Buffalo and a quick trip over the Peace Bridge is Old Fort Erie. The original fort was built in 1764 and located on the river’s edge below the fort that stands today. For decades, Fort Erie served as a supply depot and port for ships transporting merchandise, troops, and passengers to the Upper Great Lakes.
During the American Revolution the fort was used as a supply base for British troops, Loyalist Rangers and Six Nations Warriors.
On August 8 and 9, hundreds of historical reenactors from across Ontario and the United States will demonstrate why Fort Erie is known as Canada’s bloodiest battlefield. The annual Siege of Old Fort Erie reenactment is free and is Canada’s largest and longest-running battle reenactment.
The actual siege, also known as the Battle of Erie, was one of the last engagements of the War of 1812 between British and American forces. It took place during the Niagara campaign and the Americans successfully defended Fort Erie against a British army. During the siege, the British troops suffered high casualties in a failed storming attempt; they also suffered causalities from sickness and exposure in their rough camps.
Unaware that the British were about to abandon the siege, the American garrison launched a sortie to destroy the British siege batteries, during which both sides again suffered high losses. The Americans demolished Fort Erie before leaving the area. The attempted siege ended one of the last British offensives along the northern border.
Take a journey through time and experience what it was like during the War of 1812 as British and American soldiers clashed and cannons were fired.
The annual Siege weekend is filled with family friendly activities for all ages including historic weapon demonstrations and live skirmishes. Visitors are welcome to explore the military camps including Merchant’s Row where they can browse the wares of merchants and sutlers (those allowed to follow and supply the army) dressed in period costume and carrying on business as it was done during the early 1800s. The historical camps are designed to portray authentic 1812 soldier life including field hospitals.
Children are invited to participate in hands on activities including the “Mini Militia Kids Experience,” where young visitors can participate in simulated drills.
President Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Chautauqua is the most American thing in America.” Two years ago, the Chautauqua Institution celebrated its 150th season. Although almost a century younger than the United States, it is an ideal place to visit in this special summer.
Roosevelt was enraptured with Chautauqua and visited five times. An ardent fishing enthusiast, he was a fan of fishing for Chautauqua’s famed muskies which continue to draw visitors today.
There is a gate entrance fee during the summer season, but admission is always free on Sundays and children 12 and under and anyone 90 and older are free any day. Visiting on a warm day? Enjoy the beach and the rocking chairs at the venerable Athenaeum Hotel with a lakefront front porch. Don’t miss the free Sunday afternoon family friendly concerts and programs in the Amphitheater.
This year’s 17th annual Buffalo Day will be August 25 with special programming and free admission and parking for Buffalo area residents.
“There is no place like it,” Pulitzer Prize winning historian David McCullough said about Chautauqua Institution. “No resort. No spa. Not anywhere else in the country or anywhere in the world—it is at once a summer encampment and a small town, a college campus, an arts colony, a music festival, a religious retreat and the village square—and there’s no place—no place with anything like its history.”
Children and families have always been welcome.
“Bring the boys and girls to the Assembly,” an 1877 Chautauqua newspaper said. “They may spend half their time climbing trees or boating on the lake…but they cannot avoid seeing and hearing many things which will shape their destiny in life.”
Children’s programs start as early as three years. The Boys’ and Girls’ Club for grades 2-10 is considered the oldest day camp in the country. The Youth Activities Center is a drop-in center for ages 12-17 and features a snack bar, TVs, games, table tennis and pool tables. The Special Studies program provides age-appropriate learning programs similar to programs available for adults. The wide variety of subjects available include computer skills, art, dance, music, writing, language, photography and more.
Presque Isle State Park ranks as Erie, Pennsylvania’s premier year-round attraction but summer is the most popular season. The 3,200-acre sandy peninsula arches into Lake Erie. With seven miles of sandy beaches, this is a park that is hard to top for beach and water lovers. Admission and parking are free year-round as are all Pennsylvania state parks.
Pontoon Lagoon Tours offer free, one-hour interpretive tours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Labor Day at 9am, 10:30am and 12:30pm on a first come, first serve basis. A park naturalist rides along, sharing insights about the wetland habitat and its residents.
Presque Isle is the state’s only “seashore” and offers swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, bicycling and in-line skating.
The neck of the peninsula is attached to the mainland four miles west of downtown Erie. The park creates Presque Isle Bay, a wide and deep harbor for Erie which attracts pleasure craft as well as freighters from around the globe, making the city an important Great Lakes shipping port.
During the War of 1812, Little Bay was the temporary home of the fleet of ships commanded by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Half his ships were built in Erie and Presque Isle protected them during construction. On September 10, 1813 during the Battle of Lake Erie, Perry and his men defeated the British at Put-in-Bay near Sandusky, Ohio.
The park features an ADA accessible sand beach at Beach 8 and it is open through Labor Day. The beach features a ramp and free beach wheelchairs are available. Dogs are welcome at several beaches.
The Tom Ridge Environment Center is the gateway to the park. Admission is free to the interactive exhibits and the 75-foot observation tower. It is dedicated to teaching visitors about the area and the many different forms of life that live here. It also promotes environmental awareness helping to preserve this unique area.
Waldameer Park and Water World is next door to the park and admission is free for the amusement park. Ride admission is available with an all-day pass, or you can pay for rides individually. So, if children want to cap off their day at the beach with an amusement park ride, the option is available here.
Buffalo Maritime Center’s Seneca Chief is back home at Canalside after an epic journey to New York City last fall and the return to Buffalo last month. The amazing voyage celebrated the bicentennial of the completion of the Erie Canal and attracted thousands of visitors at ports along the Erie Canal and Hudson River.
The original Seneca Chief could be called one of the most important boats in American history since it formally opened the completed Erie Canal in Buffalo on October 26, 1825. The canal totally transformed New York, the country, and the world.
The 73-foot Seneca Chief is a full-sized replica of the original boat. Hundreds of volunteers built the boat on Buffalo’s Canalside from October 2020 to June 2024 under the watchful eye of two shipwrights.
It was one of the largest community boatbuilding projects in the world and one of few constructed on public display. During the construction, visitors from every state and most every country learned of the canal’s history and watched the boat’s creation.
Building the Seneca Chief provided practice, teaching opportunities, and helped preserve traditional wooden boatbuilding skills. Free tours of this historic vessel are offered throughout the summer.
Volunteers have also built smaller traditional wooden boats, including several sailing vessels, at the center’s Arthur Street headquarters and are now available for free sails. Their designs were developed from the age of working sailboats and early motor launches.
Buffalo Maritime Center’s leaders believe that building and sailing on these traditional boats helps to deepen the understanding of the history and the relationship of Buffalonians and our local waterways.
On-the-water fleet available for free sails and tours:
• The Scajaquada is a 28-foot Lake Erie shallop boat and the flagship of the center’s on-the-water fleet. It has spent many seasons on display at the Commercial Slip, the original terminus of the Erie Canal.
• The O.K. Clark is an example of a “No Man’s Land” type boat named after an island near Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. It was developed in the mid-1800s for use in the Atlantic Ocean in the Cape Cod area and is considered most seaworthy.
• The White Electra is an example of an early 1900s electric launch. Similar boats were used to ferry passengers during Buffalo’s 1901 Pan-American Exposition. It offers free boat rides and tours of Buffalo’s Inner Harbor.
Travel Tip of the Month: For information on Old Erie Canal Heritage Park visit newyorkcanals.org or call 315-776-4112. Free audio tours are also available. For Old Fort Erie battle reenactment visit niagaraparks.com or call 905-871-0540. The actual battles will be 2pm and 8pm on August 8 and 1pm on August 9. Bring chairs because bleachers fill up quickly.
For Chautauqua Institution visit chq.org or call 800-836-ARTS. The season is June 27-August 30. For Buffalo Day, visit buffaloday.chq.org. Order your free tickets by July 11 to reserve free parking. For Presque Isle State Park visit www.discoverpi.com or www.pa.gov. Call 814-833-7424.
For Buffalo Maritime Center boat tours and volunteer programs visit buffalomaritimecenter.org or call 716-881-0111. Seneca Chief tours will be Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Sailing on the center’s sailboats is free and by reservation as is touring the harbor on the electric boat.
Deborah Williams lives in Holland, NY and is a veteran travel writer whose work has appeared in national and international publications. She is the recipient of the Society of American Travel Writers’ Lowell Thomas Gold Travel Writing Award.