Buffalo Waterfront

It was once the dark side of town where truckers went to refuel, grain scoopers grabbed a beer and street racers burned rubber on an empty stretch of highway. Fences kept the curious away from the water and industrial debris littered empty lots. Today, the fences have come down, those lots have become parks and a bike path links the inner and outer harbors. While the occasional lake freighter still makes its way to Buffalo’s harbor, the waterfront is now home to kayakers, paddle boarders, boaters, bikers and hikers – the site of a radical transformation from desolate to destination.

Today, Buffalo’s waterfront is best experienced in four distinct locations: Canalside, which is located at the foot of Main Street in downtown; Erie Basin Marina, immediately adjacent to Canalside; the Buffalo River, which twists and turns from downtown through the Old First Ward and Valley neighborhoods; and the Outer Harbor, the massive parcel of greenspace, bike paths and marinas on the Lake Erie shore.​