Buffalo Harbor State Park

Urban park in Buffalo, New York, USA

42°50′46″N 78°51′42″W / 42.8460°N 78.8618°W / 42.8460; -78.8618Area190 acres (0.77 km²)^[2]Created2015 (2015)^[3]Operated byNew York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic PreservationVisitors283,077^[4]OpenAll yearWebsiteBuffalo Harbor State Park

Buffalo Harbor State Park is a 190-acre (0.77 km²) state park and marina on the shore of Lake Erie in the city of Buffalo in Erie County, New York. The park encompasses Gallagher Beach, the former NFTA Small Boat Harbor, and the waterfront land in between.^[2]

The park is 1 of 80 New York State Parks that are in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, with the park experiencing 3 minutes and 46 seconds of totality.^[5]

History

Buffalo Harbor State Park was created in 2014 from a portion of a larger transfer of 340 acres (1.4 km²) of land from the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to the Empire State Development Corporation. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation was scheduled to take over park operations in November 2014.^[6] The $15 million development of the new park is part of an overall initiative to revitalize Buffalo's outer harbor.^[2]

The park officially opened to the public on May 24, 2015.^[3] Although first-year visitors praised the park's modern playground,^[7] some marina slipholders expressed displeasure with the marina's new operator, a private company from Tennessee.^[8]

A second phase of park improvements, featuring $3.76 million in breakwall and revetment enhancements for the park's harbor, was announced in November 2015. Plans call for the installation of a paved walkway and bike path for accessing the breakwall, in addition to improved lighting and a new fishing platform.^[9] The improvements are scheduled to be completed by fall 2016.^[10]

Park facilities

The park features a 1,000 slip marina, boat launches, a fish cleaning station, a nautical-themed playground, and picnic pavilions, and a restaurant. A beach is also available, however swimming is not permitted as of 2015.^[1]^[3] Kayak rentals and improvements to the park's restaurant, including the addition of an 1,800-square-foot (170 m²) patio, were announced in 2016.^[11]^[12]

References

^ ^a ^b "Buffalo Harbor State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sommer, Mark (August 27, 2014). "Buffalo's first state park to start taking shape on outer harbor". The Buffalo News. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Schneider, Avery (May 24, 2015). "New York's newest state park is Buffalo's newest waterfront attraction". WBFO 88.7. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
^ "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ R, Mike (September 22, 2021). "New York 2024 Eclipse State Parks Resources". CosmosPNW. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
^ "Governor Cuomo Announces New Buffalo Harbor State Park". Office of the New York State Governor. May 12, 2014. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
^ Sommer, Mark (June 9, 2015). "Add a kid-friendly playground to waterfront attractions". The Buffalo News. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
^ Sommer, Mark (November 6, 2015). "New marina operator had a choppy start at Buffalo Harbor State Park". The Buffalo News. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
^ Mroziak, Michael (November 24, 2015). "Second phase of Buffalo Harbor State Park work set to begin". WBFO 88.7. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
^ "Governor Cuomo Announces Next Phase of Multi-Million Dollar Transformation Underway at Buffalo Harbor State Park". Office of the New York State Governor. November 23, 2015. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
^ "State Parks Announces New Restaurant and Additional Recreation Activities at Buffalo Harbor State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. May 6, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
^ Mroziak, Michael (May 6, 2016). "New eatery Charlie's Boat Yard opens in Buffalo Harbor State Park". WBFO 88.7. Retrieved June 4, 2016.

External links

New York State Parks: Buffalo Harbor State Park

Protected areas of New York

Federal

National Historic Sites and Historical Parks	Eleanor Roosevelt Harriet Tubman Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt Martin Van Buren Sagamore Hill Saint Paul's Church Saratoga Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Women's Rights Kate Mullany House affiliated Thomas Cole affiliated
National Memorials	Federal Hall General Grant Hamilton Grange Statue of Liberty
National monuments	African Burial Ground Castle Clinton Fort Stanwix Governors Island Stonewall
National Trails	Appalachian Trail North Country Trail
National Seashores and Recreation Areas	Fire Island Gateway Upper Delaware
National Wildlife Refuges	Iroquois Long Island Complex Amagansett Conscience Point Elizabeth A. Morton Lido Beach Oyster Bay Sayville Seatuck Target Rock Wertheim Montezuma Shawangunk Grasslands Wallkill River
National Forests	Finger Lakes
Wilderness Areas	Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune

State parks
Allen H. Treman Allegany Amherst Amsterdam Beach Battle Island Bayard Cutting Arboretum Bayswater Point Bear Mountain Beaver Island Beechwood Belmont Lake Bethpage Betty & Wilbur Davis Big Six Mile Creek Blauvelt Bonavista Bowman Lake Braddock Bay Brentwood Bristol Beach Brookhaven Buckhorn Island Buffalo Harbor Burnham Point Buttermilk Falls Caleb Smith Camp Hero Canandaigua Lake Canoe-Picnic Point Captree Catharine Valley Trail Caumsett Cayuga Lake Cedar Island Cedar Point Chenango Valley Cherry Plain Chimney Bluffs Chittenango Falls Clarence Fahnestock Clark Reservation Clay Pit Ponds Cold Spring Harbor Coles Creek Conesus Lake Connetquot River Crab Island Croil Island Cumberland Bay Darien Lakes De Veaux Woods Deans Cove Delta Lake Devil's Hole Dewolf Point Donald J. Trump Earl W. Brydges Artpark Eel Weir Empire – Fulton Ferry Evangola Fair Haven Beach Fillmore Glen Fort Niagara Four Mile Creek Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Franny Reese Frenchman Island Galop Island Gantry Plaza Genesee Valley Greenway Gilbert Lake Gilgo Glimmerglass Golden Hill Goosepond Mountain Grafton Lakes Grass Point Green Lakes Hallock Hamlin Beach Harriet Hollister Spencer Harriman Hart's Brook Haverstraw Beach Heckscher Helen L. McNitt Hempstead Lake High Tor Highland Lakes Higley Flow Hither Hills Honeoye Hook Mountain Hudson Highlands Hudson River Hudson River Islands Hunts Pond Iona Island Irondequoit Bay Jacques Cartier James Baird John Boyd Thacher Jones Beach Joseph Davis Keewaydin Keuka Lake Knox Farm Kring Point Lake Erie Lake Lauderdale Lake Superior Lake Taghkanic Lakeside Beach Letchworth Lock 32 Lodi Point Long Point – Finger Lakes Long Point – Thousand Islands Long Point on Lake Chautauqua Macomb Reservation Margaret Lewis Norrie Mark Twain Marsha P. Johnson Mary Island Max V. Shaul Mexico Point Midway Mine Kill Minnewaska Mohawk River Montauk Downs Montauk Point Moreau Lake Napeague Newtown Battlefield Niagara Falls Nissequogue River Nyack Beach Oak Orchard Ogden Mills & Ruth Livingston Mills Old Croton Aqueduct Old Erie Canal Oquaga Creek Orient Beach Peebles Island Pinnacle Pixley Falls Point Au Roche Reservoir Riverbank Robert G. Wehle Robert H. Treman Robert Moses – Long Island Robert Moses – Thousand Islands Robert V. Riddell Roberto Clemente Rock Island Lighthouse Rockefeller Rockland Lake Sampson Sandy Island Beach Saratoga Lake Saratoga Spa Schodack Island Schunemunk Mountain Selkirk Shores Seneca Lake Shadmoor Shirley Chisholm Silver Lake Sonnenberg Gardens Southwick Beach St. Lawrence State Park at the Fair Sterling Forest Steuben Memorial Stony Brook Storm King Strawberry Island Sunken Meadow Taconic Tallman Mountain Taughannock Falls Thompson's Lake Trail View Two Rivers Valley Stream Verona Beach Walkway over the Hudson Waterson Point Watkins Glen Wellesley Island Westcott Beach Whetstone Gulf Whirlpool Wildwood Wilson-Tuscarora Wonder Lake Woodlawn Beach

State parks

State historic sites
Bennington Battlefield Caumsett Clermont Clinton House Crown Point Darwin D. Martin House Fort Crailo Fort Montgomery Fort Ontario Ganondagan Grant Cottage Herkimer Home Hyde Hall John Brown Farm John Burroughs Memorial (Woodchuck Lodge) John Hay Homestead Johnson Hall Knox's Headquarters Lorenzo New Windsor Cantonment Olana Old Croton Aqueduct Old Erie Canal Old Fort Niagara Oriskany Battlefield Philipse Manor Hall Plantings Fields Arboretum Sackets Harbor Battlefield Schoharie Crossing Schuyler Mansion Senate House Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion Staatsburgh Steuben Memorial Stony Point Battlefield Walt Whitman Birthplace Washington's Headquarters

State historic sites

Preserves and sanctuaries

Public preserves	Albany Pine Bush Forest Preserve Adirondack Park Saint Regis Canoe Area Santanoni Preserve wilderness areas Catskill Park Hudson River Estuary Long Island Pine Barrens Reinstein Woods Rome Sand Plains Tahawus Vischer Ferry Welwyn
The Nature Conservacy	Accabonac Harbor Andy Warhol Visual Arts Arthur W. Butler Memorial Atlantic Double Dunes Bear Swamp Calverton Ponds Chaumont Barrens Clintonville Pine Barrens Coon Mountain Deer Lick Denton El Dorado Beach Eugene and Agnes Meyer Everton Falls Freund Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Hannacroix Ravine Henry Morgenthau Indian Brook Assemblage Ironsides Island Kenrose Limestone Rise Lisha Kill Long Island Center for Conservation Long Pond Lordsland Lower Poultney River and Saddles Marrion Yarrow Mashomack Mianus River Gorge Mildred E. Grierson Memorial Moccasin Kill Montauk Mountain Moss Lake Mount Holly Nellie Hill Neversink O.D. von Engeln Otter Creek Pawling Peconic Estuary Big Woods Pine Neck Roger Perry Memorial Ruth Wales Schunemunk Mountain Shadmoor Silver Lake Bog Spring Pond Bog Stewart Lewis A. Swyer Thompson Pond and Stissing Mountain Uplands Farm West Branch Whitbeck Memorial Grove
Other preserves	Angle Fly Baxter Bergen-Byron Swamp Black Rock Forest Brandreth Park Cornell Botanic Gardens Ferncliff Forest Great Camp Sagamore James Lime Hollow Louis Calder Center Louis C. Clark Sanctuary Mohonk Peabody Plotter Kill Sam's Point Svend O. Heiberg Memorial Forest Teatown Lake Reservation Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center Turkey Mountain Turner Brook Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Woodlawn Zurich Bog

Other (lists)
National Historic Landmarks National Natural Landmarks Botanical gardens and arboretums Nature centers New York City parks POPS WWI New York state forests wild historic sites parks wildlife management areas Trails rail trails

Category
Erie County
Nassau County
New York City
NYS DEC
NYS OPRHP
Commons

Protected areas of Erie County, New York

Federal

National Historic Site	Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural

State

State Parks	Amherst Beaver Island Big Six Mile Creek Marina Buckhorn Island Buffalo Harbor Evangola Knox Farm Strawberry Island
State Wildlife Management Areas	Great Baehre Swamp Hampton Brook Woods Motor Island Spicer Creek Tillman Road
State Forests	Onandanga Escarpment Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve Zoar Valley
State Historic Sites	Darwin D. Martin House

County

County Parks	Akron Falls Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Chestnut Ridge Como Lake Eighteen Mile Creek Ellicott Creek Emery Grover Cleveland Golf Course Sgt. Mark A. Rademacher Memorial Scoby Dam Sprague Brook Wendt Beach

City of Buffalo

City Parks	Broderick Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park Cazenovia Park–South Park System Delaware Park–Front Park System Lafayette Square Martin Luther King Jr. Niagara Square