We got beautiful weather for the Fourth of July Weekend. No rain in sight and hot, but tolerable temperatures. Hopefully we get more of this throughout the summer. I decided to spend some time exploring the city. There are so many great things to do in Buffalo, both inside and out, but I’m going to highlight a few of the outdoor activities I enjoyed this weekend.
Let’s start with Delaware Park and Hoyt Lake. We are super blessed to have access to water in Buffalo. I love being out on or by the water. I went to get some excerise walking around Hoyt Lake. It was nice to get active while enjoying the scenery. If you want to take a quick trip around the lake, you can rent one of the flamingo pedal boats.
You can rent the boats at $20 for a 30 minute ride or $25 for a 60 minute ride. They seat up to four people. You can get more details on the flamingo boats and the other boats available for rent at Delaware Park here.
If boats are your thing, head down to Canalside. There are a few boats you can catch a ride on. I was on a budget and just wanted a quick 15 minutes on the water, so I hopped on the Queen City Bike Ferry.
It costs one dollar each direction and technically just goes straight across the Buffalo River. However, our captain manuevered out further in the water to make a turn to get into the slip properly, so the trip was about 7 to 10 minutes. I was just enough time to enjoy the breeze from the water and take some amazing pics. For a $1, you can’t really beat it just to get out on the water for a sec.
If you have money to blow, there are “Big Boy” boats you can ride on. Buffalo Boat Tours has the Spirit of Buffalo, Harbor Queen, and Big Kahuna. You can find more details here.
There are also some smaller pedal boats, paddle boats and water bikes you can rent from Water Bikes of Buffalo. You can find more info here.
There’s plenty of food vendors at Canalside to enjoy. You can also check out the The Buffalo Heritage Carousel is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 am to 7 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. The cost is $3 to ride. There are also several displays that tell the story of the Carousel’s history.
The Buffal-O Ferris Wheel at Riverworks is open. Along with a zip line and other fun activities.
Then there is Buffalo Bike Tours. I had the opportunity to join a Buffalo Bike Tours ride. Marc Moscato, the founder and tour guide of Buffalo Bike Tours, led the way. We were joined by a family and a couple of guys visiting from Toronto. Even though it was raining and we were soaked, I really enjoyed it. I felt like a tourist in Buffalo, learning new things about the history of the city…