One-Tank Trip for
Oct. 4/14
By Jim Fox
It’s called the
“Enchanted Mountains” and is a four-season getaway destination for a growing
number of people from southern Ontario.
This rural part of Upstate
New York in Cattaraugus County is a landscape of country roads and scenic
drives, especially at this time of year.
A picturesque barn along the Amish Trail in Upstate New York. (Jim Fox photo) |
If you’ve seen Buffalo
TV’s Eyewitness News, it’s the area referred to as the “Southern Tier” that
gets all that snow in the winter.
Less than an hour
south of Buffalo, it takes in Allegany State Park, Holiday Valley and Sky High
Adventure Park.
There’s also the
Amish Trail and the Seneca Nation with its Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino, historic Ellicottville
has a collection of eclectic shops, fine dining and a brew pub.
The village has
been called one of America’s top adventure towns and reminiscent of something
out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Funky Ellicottville with its collection of eclectic shops. (Jim Fox photo) |
The area is so
popular with Canadians that many Ontarians own ski chalets and vacation properties,
said tour guide Jacquie Gardner of the county tourism office.
Leaf peeping
Driving the winding
State Route 219 south from Buffalo at this time of year is ablaze with the
changing colours of fall.
The prime time for
the changing colours is mid-October with great views continuing throughout the
month.
Allegany State
Park, the largest in the N.Y. State Park System at 26,305 hectares (65,000
acres), in Salamanca is a busy spot throughout the fall.
The fall colours are showing at Allegany State Park. (Handout photo) |
It’s a yearly
tradition for families and friends to camp there to take in autumn beauty, said
Gary Quattrone, park manager.
Open year-round,
the park is spectacular in the fall and visitors can drive, hike, bike or
horseback ride on the many roads and trails.
There is camping in
tents and trailers as well as furnished cabins and cottages for rent.
And, watch out for
the bears.
Allegany State Park in New York State is a busy spot throughout the fall. (Barbara Fox photo) |
The park is home to
the American black bear and there are about “50 to 100” of them, said
naturalist Adele Wellman. parks.ny.gov/parks
Visitors can view
the leaves as they climb through them at Sky High Adventure Park at the western
end of Holiday Valley.
This is an aerial
park, climbing forest and has a popular Mountain Coaster that zigs,
zags and spirals down the mountain through the trees.
Zigging and zagging through the trees on the Mountain Coaster at Sky High Adventure Park. (Jim Fox photo) |
The zip lines have
a series of platforms and bridges with 13 courses of varying levels of
difficulty built in the woods, said Jane Eshbaugh, marketing director.
The challenge
is to figure out how to get across to the next platform, while the climbing
forest is a 3-D version of a climbing wall. holidayvalley.com
Another great place
for scenic views is the Amish Trail along the western side of the county where
personalized tours are offered along with a self-driving route map.
A Saturday shopping trip to town powered by real horsepower (Jim Fox photo) |
In the Amish
community, there is no commercialization and life is still carried on without
modern conveniences including electricity and motorized vehicles.
It’s a step back in
time and as we stopped to take photos of a funky little train station
originally built in 1875 in South Dayton.
A chair used by Robert Redford in The Natural at the train station in South Dayton, N.Y. (Barbara Fox photo) |
There’s an old
wooden chair outside by the entrance and it turns out was used by Robert
Redford in the movie The Natural. The station is also in the John Candy movie
Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
The longhouse at Seneca-Iroquois National Museum (Jim Fox photo) |
Worth a visit is
the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca that explains native history and
has an authentic longhouse replica and cultural exhibits. senecamuseum.org
Where to stay
“If you don’t feel
like roughing it, there’s the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino in Salamanca,”
said publicist Tony Astran.
Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino
(Barbara Fox photo)
|
The resort has a AAA
Four Diamond luxury hotel and views of the forested mountains from the rooms, the
Spa and Salon, fine and casual dining, and entertainment.
The 11-storey hotel
has 413 rooms and suites with upscale amenities including pillow-top beds,
oversized showers, flat-screen TVs and free Internet access.
There are numerous
overnight packages that tie in with recreational activities throughout the
area, Astran said.
A fall special has
room rates from $95 a night. senecaalleganycasino.com;
1-877-873-6322
Need to know
For more
information and links: EnchantedMountains.com
or call 1-800-331-0543
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com
For more One-Tank Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca
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