Before You Go: Websites for the individual attractions mentioned in this article should be checked for COVID-related restrictions, pre-registration and/or reservation requirements to maintain limited capacity requirements, or closures or cancellations of certain features before making plans to visit any of the sites mentioned.
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It is a season for celebration in Chautauqua County as all the iconic attractions are open and welcoming visitors this summer. This is the place for water lovers with the open water of the region’s five lakes within 20 minutes of everyone.
The biggest news is the reopening of the historic Bemus Point-Stow Ferry after major repairs (https://bemuspointstowferry.org). Celebrations were held on Memorial Day weekend. The historic marker tells part of the story: “Bemus Point-Stow Ferry in continuous service since 1811 when Thomas Bemus was granted a license to operate by Chautauqua County.”
Of course, it hasn’t quite been continuous, but for 171 years the ferry was the only quick way across Chautauqua Lake for cars and trucks going anywhere until the Southern Tier Expressway bridge opened in 1982. In the beginning, it was a small log raft that was rowed or pulled across the 1,000 feet of the narrows.
In the early days, the ferry was a shortcut saving local settlers a 23-mile and three-to-five-day journey along poorly cleared trails and roads to gain access to the other side of the lake.
The ferry has long been obsolete. Why wait for the ferry when you can drive over the bridge in less than a minute? Fortunately, there are still impractical people left and a group of devoted volunteers are once again operating the ferry on weekends and Friday evenings during the summer. Cars, pedestrians, dogs, and donations are all accepted. It is a fun seven-minute experience that connects visitors with earlier times.
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A ride on the Chautauqua Belle (https://269belle.com), an authentic paddle wheeler, is another link to the lake’s past when steamboats were the main mode of transportation up and down the lake. The boat is one of only two steamboats in New York and one of a handful left in the country. This summer the Belle will once again be making stops at the Bell Tower at the Chautauqua Institution as steamboats have been doing since the Institution’s beginning in the 19th century.
Cruises depart from Mayville and Bemus Point for the historical tours. There are also lunch and dinner cruises. Drinks and snacks are available on all cruises.
Captain Mike Macko told stories of life along the lake in the late 1800s as we cruised down from Mayville on a sparkling summer day.
“We make steam in the boiler using #2 diesel fuel,” he explained as the bright red paddlewheel churned through the lake waters. “We are passing the location of the Grand Hotel that had 400 rooms and four stories. It welcomed guests from 1887 to 1904 when fire destroyed the hotel on October 17, 1902.”
What followed were three criminal trials filled with stories of infidelity, money, and intrigue. One of the owners was accused of the crime but died during the trial and his close associate Mrs. Lara Allen was convicted of arson. Since there were no women’s jail cells, she served out her prison time in the home of the county sheriff.
There were 75 hotels and inns on the lake during this era and only two from that era are still welcoming guests: the Lenhart Hotel in Bemus Point and the Atheneum Hotel on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. As we cruised along, we enjoyed front row views of the multimillion-dollar mansions that line part of the shoreline.
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Chautauqua Institution (https://chq.org) is truly one of Western New York’s greatest treasures. It was here on the shores of Chautauqua Lake, in 1874, that Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and industrialist Lewis Miller began a training center for Sunday school teachers.
There is a sense of time and tradition here, but also one of youth and excitement. Children 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.”
Admission is by gate pass and children 12 and under are free as are people 90 and over. Sundays are free to everyone — making the day a perfect one for a first-time Chautauqua experience. There is a packed schedule of classes, lectures, music, concerts, plays, religious services and sporting activities for all ages and interests during the nine-week summer season.
Chautauqua’s youth programs present a diversity of activities. From preschool to day camp, from sports instruction to informal youth centers, from enrichment classes to entertainment, and from reading to experiences in the arts, these programs offer opportunities to explore the Chautauqua experience.
Boys’ and Girls’ Club, considered the country’s oldest day camp, offers a varied recreational day camp program for ages 7–15 including swimming, kayaking, sailing, field games, nature study and arts experiences.
Most often people describe Chautauqua as “paradise” or “utopia” and it does seem to be a community out of another time where children can safely bike around the grounds, take a sail on the sparkling lake, play on the sand beach under the watchful eye of a lifeguard, or learn about such creative endeavors as sand painting. It is easy to feel as you have tumbled into a lost world when you pass through the gates. President Teddy Roosevelt was enraptured with Chautauqua and visited five times. He declared “Chautauqua is typical of America at its best.” Nine other U.S. presidents have also visited.
The historian and author David McCullough said, “There is no place like it. 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.”
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Panama Rocks Scenic Park (https://www.panamarocks.com) is reputed to be the home of the most extensive formations of a glacier-cut, ocean-quartz conglomerate in the world, forming a ridge a half a mile long. The history of the rock formations dates back about 350 to 400 million years ago.
It has always been a place of mystery and fascination for me. I first visited on expeditions from a nearby summer camp. It was established as a privately operated park in 1885 and has remained so ever since. It quickly became a popular tourist attraction and there was even a hotel that operated here until World War II.
By the turn of the century the rocks had acquired a reputation as a lovers’ escape because of the many concealed niches in the rocks, away from prying eyes. The attraction was also a popular honeymoon retreat.
The Eries and later the Iroquois sheltered among them, storing meat in ice caves deep in the ridge. Local legend has it that a gold shipment is buried somewhere here, supposedly hidden and then lost by the robbers of a nearby bank.
Panama Rocks has a one-mile trail. Visitors can explore off trail and discover passageways, caverns and caves. Wear good footwear and bring flashlights for exploring the caverns. Children must be closely supervised. There are no railings, and many tree roots cross the trail.
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Midway State Park (https://parks.ny.gov/parks/167/details.aspx) in Bemus Point along the shores of Chautauqua Lake is a real family treasure and the perfect amusement park especially for younger children. Opened in 1898 it is one of the oldest continually operating amusement parks in the country.
Visitors can take a nostalgic ride on the vintage carousel, play a game of mini golf, take a spin on the tilt-a-wheel, ride a train, climb a wall, race on the go cart track. Kids love the bumper cars. Parents and young children enjoy the fun slide. There is also an arcade and small park museum.
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Long Point State Park (https://parks.ny.gov/parks/109/details.aspx) is also in Bemus Point and offers an expansive sand beach, concession stand, boat launch and boat rentals including kayaks and canoes. The lake is well known for fishing and especially the muskellunge or muskie that are native to the lake and are noted for their size. They must be at least 40 inches to keep!
The award-winning National Comedy Center (https://comedycenter.org) in Jamestown is hosting Riverside Saturdays this summer through August 7. There will be music, an outdoor café/bar with fun activities for the entire family, ending with a free outdoor movie comedy.
The museum itself is the country’s official cultural institution and museum dedicated to the art form of comedy. The state-of-the-art museum celebrates comedy’s great minds and unique voices.
The more than 50 immersive exhibits take visitors on an interactive journey through comedy history. It is not designed for younger children but middle and high school children who like to laugh will certainly be fascinated by their visit.
Lucille Ball, a Jamestown native, left the city to launch her comedy career from the train station that is now part of the comedy center. The center also operates the nearby Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum (https://lucy-desi.com) which features exact recreations of the studio sets from the most beloved TV comedy of all time. It explores the lives, careers and legacy of the “First Couple of Comedy.”
Jamestown was also the birthplace of beloved cartoonist Brad Anderson, the creator of the lovable Great Dane Marmaduke and the popular cartoon. He grew up in nearby Portland and often included his family, friends, pets and local landmarks from his childhood in Chautauqua County in his comics. Stop and visit the Brad Anderson & Marmaduke Statue next to the town hall in Portland. It is a wonderful statue full of action — Anderson is trying to draw his cartoon and Marmaduke has a ball in his mouth and is pestering him to play.
Travel Tip of the Month: For more information go to https://www.tourchautauqua.com or call 866-908-4569.
Deborah Williams lives in Holland, NY. She 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.