President Trump’s recent rename of Lake Ontario to Lake America has created all kinds of excitement about the Great Lake — and having traveled its shores for many moons I’m here to advise on a great Lake America road trip.
The road trip will vary based on where you are coming from — but the first stop should be:
1. Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls has always been best seen on the Canadian side for panoramic views — and the American side for immersive, right-next-to-it-with-its-spray-hitting-your-face views.
The American side offers lots of activities:
View the Falls from the American Side
The best places to view the Falls on American side are:
- Prospect Point: Stand at the edge of the American Falls for breathtaking views without needing a boat
- Terrapin Point: Offers panoramic views of Horseshoe Falls and access to trails along the Niagara River to the Three Sisters Islands
- Luna Island: A small island between the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, perfect for photography and observing the falls from above
Great Things to Do
Most people who have been to Niagara Falls have taken one or both of these tours:
- Maid of the Mist: The famous boat tour takes you right into the mist at the base of Horseshoe Falls, offering an unforgettable close-up experience.
- Cave of the Winds: Descend via elevator to the base of Bridal Veil Falls and walk wooden decks to the Hurricane Deck, where you can feel the full force of the water spray.
And then don’t forget Niagara Falls State Park, which was established in 1885, making it America’s oldest state park. If you have the time, the park has over 400 acres of trails, scenic overlooks, and historical landmarks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same designer of Central Park. The park includes Goat Island, which sits between the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls, providing multiple lookout points and quiet walking trails.
Canadian Side
The Canadian side has lots of restaurants, coffee shops, and tourist souvenir shops.
Crossing from the U.S. side to Canada is generally straightforward. You cross via the Rainbow Bridge, but you’ll need your passport. You can cross on foot, by bicycle, or by car. Pedestrian crossings typically take 10–15 minutes, offering scenic views of the falls along the way.
2. Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara has been a strategic military site for over 300 years, occupied sequentially by France, Great Britain, and the United States. It is situated right on Lake America in the northwestern tip of NY State.
The fort features original 18th-century stone buildings, including the French Castle completed in 1726, British fortifications, bastions, and redoubts.
You can walk along ramparts, explore defensive walls, and view cannons and military structures. And view Lake America.
3. Lake Ontario State Pkwy to Abbott’s in Rochester
To go from Fort Niagara to next stop Rochester — you should take the Lake Ontario State Parkway (NY 947A) — instead of the Thruway.
The parkway — although not renamed to the Lake America State Parkway yet — is a pleasant, scenic 35-mile drive along the great lake.
It passes by Lakeside Beach State Park and offers picturesque curves, rustic sandstone bridges, and landscaped views of the lake, farmland, and wetlands. Note that the drive is Flat — as is any drive from Rochester to Niagara Falls — the Western part of NY State is quite flat.
4. Have an Abbott’s Soft Custard Ice Cream in Rochester
The parkway — aka route 947A — will get you to the beach front of Rochester, where you can and should try a Soft Custard ice cream at the famed Abbott’s at its 4791 Lake Avenue location — on the shore of Lake America.
Soft Custard ice cream — officially called Frozen Custard — is different than regular soft ice cream. The basic formula was invented by the Kohr’s brothers in Coney Island in the early 1900’s — it contains egg yolks and a lot of milk fat to provide a richer, creamier texture than normal soft ice cream, originally designed so that the ice cream didn’t melt so fast in a salt-water environment.
Soft Frozen Custard ice cream was a big hit at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and soon became a staple in the Rochester area via Abbott’s, which spread out through NY state, and then also the Milwaukee area. The original Kohr’s still have stores on the New Jersey shore.
5. Detour to a Winery by Lake Seneca
As you drive from Rochester to Syracuse — it is highly recommended that you take a quick detour to a winery by the Finger Lakes — in particular the wineries on either the East shore or the West shore of Lake Seneca are recommended. So you’ll either be taking a detour off the Thruway (Route 90) to Route 14 south to go to the West side of Lake Seneca and its wineries, or Route 96A to take in wineries on Lake Seneca’s East side.
Wine tastings used to be free — these days most wineries have you pay a modest fee ($10) but you get to keep the glass.
There are a lot of wineries as seen in the above map. You can look them all up. The one that we recommend in our Lake America Road Trip is:
- Fox Run Vineyards — shown in our map. It is on the Western side of Lake Seneca. Fox Run Vineyards is one of the top stops on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail and is considered excellent for wine tasting. It has a friendly, knowledgeable staff, beautiful vineyard, a beautiful view of Lake Seneca, and offers high-quality estate wines.
Choosing Between East Side vs West Side of Lake Seneca for a Winery
According to NY Winery Tours: “The west side has the higher concentration of serious-wine wineries. Hermann J. Wiemer, Anthony Road, Fox Run, Lakewood. Smaller list, harder hits. The east side has more wineries, more food on site, more lake views from the tasting rooms (the road sits higher above the water on the east shore), and the famous Riesling pioneers, Boundary Breaks and Forge Cellars and Lamoreaux Landing. Bigger list, more variation in quality.”
6. Syracuse: Original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que & Coleman’s
After hitting a winery — make sure you are good to drive! — and head back up to the NY State Thruway (Route 90) and drive East to Syracuse — there you should stop in at the original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que — which has Amazing food.
Our buddy Mike Clark grew up in Syracuse and recommended the restaurant to us. Dinosaur has branched out from its Syracuse roots and has a place in Gowanus in Brooklyn. I’ve eaten at the Dinosaur in Brooklyn and the bar-b-que and food in general is AMAZING.
Coleman’s Irish Pub in Tipperary Hill, Syracuse
On a family road trip to Syracuse 10 years ago we met Mike and his brother for dinner at Coleman’s Irish Pub in the Tipperary Hill section of Syracuse. It has terrific food and great atmosphere.
7. Cape Vincent & the Thousand Islands
Next up after Syracuse is the drive North on Route 11 to Watertown, and then a drive over to the Thousand Islands area of NY State — first stop Cape Vincent via Route 12E.
I spent a summer in Watertown as a college kid working for FEMA as a Shelter Survey Technician, surveying commercial and public buildings for their applicability as fallout shelters in case of a natural or man-made disaster, so I am very familiar with the city and the adjourning area. We (a team of 6 of us) worked out of the Civil Defense headquarters in Watertown. One of our guys — might have been Arne Moilan or Tom Beck or Rick — was assigned Cape Vincent to survey. So he really knew it well.
8. Clayton NY & the Thousand Islands
I was assigned Clayton NY, and so really know the town well. I was thrown out of the Save the River office by Abbie Hoffman himself — details here.
The towns along the St Lawrence River offer great seafood and a relaxed atmosphere with beautiful views of Lake America and the St Lawrence River — and the thousand — literally over 1,000 — islands in between.
Channelside Restaurant in Clayton has waterside seating by the St Lawrence River and terrific food and drinks.
9. Alex Bay and Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands
Our buddy John Pytel was assigned Alexandria Bay — locals call it “Alex Bay” he quickly reported back to us after a first day of surveying buildings there.
Alex Bay offers the best nightlife of all the towns on the St Lawrence River (more than Cape Vincent and Clayton).
We learned that being a teenager in Thousand Islands offers a different lifestyle than most kids in America — instead of borrowing the family car for a Friday or Saturday night, you borrow the family boat for a night out with your friends, or to go to a party at a friend’s house.
There is also a beautiful state park — Keewaydin State Park — that offers all kinds of things to do: pitch a tent and stay the night (or nights), build a bonfire, fish, hike — you name it.
And then when in Alex Bay you must visit Boldt Castle — which is a castle on an island just off Alexandria Bay. You take a short boat ride over for a fee.
The castle was built by George C. Boldt, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria, as a tribute to his wife Louise. Louise was his constant companion and did a lot for the business — she was instrumental in the decorating of the Waldoff Astoria, insisting that fresh flowers were left in every room, and that such luxuries as ‘pin-cushions’ were supplied and left on each rooms dresser.
Unfortunately Louise died suddenly in 1904 at age 42, and the castle was left unfinished for 73 years — George never stepped on the island again — until the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the castle in 1977 and began restoration efforts.
Thousand Islands dressing was invented by Boldt’s chef on his private boat while sailing the St Lawrence River, and he introduced it into the Waldorf Astoria.
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