Winter Activities

We are well over the halfway mark of the winter season (officially 23 days until Spring!) and while I can’t wait for the warmer weather to come back, I’ve tried to really embrace winter for all that it is this year. To be honest I don’t think we’ve had a really bad winter, the grey skies and cold temps can be daunting some days but we haven’t had unfathomable snow amounts.

winter walks at Front Park

Over the last few weeks despite the cold I set a goal for myself to get outside and get in as much fresh air as I can, even if it’s a short walk it can work wonders on my mental health. Below I share some of the places I’ve gone for walks and other winter activities I’ve done and things I’d still like to do before the season is over.

greenhouse at MLK Jr. Park

Walking/Visiting the Olmsted Parks. I’m part of a new young professionals group, YPOP for Olmsted, so when the idea was tossed out there to meet up at a park and network it was a no brainer for me to participate in as many of these meet-ups that I could. Not only have I met some pretty cool yp’s but I also walked around some parks I don’t get to visit that often. Some of the parks we walked were Cazenovia Park, Delaware Park, Front Park and MLK Jr. Park.

Another place that my niece, Savannah and I visited a couple weeks ago was the Charles E. Burchfield Nature and Art Center in West Seneca, even though the trails are short we made the most of our time exploring, rolling down snow mounds, looking at the art work and Savannah got to play on the playground for a little bit.

Tifft Nature Preserve has been another great winter spot where my niece, nephew and I have visited this winter season. Great all year round, its nice to visit and explore what’s around you.

The Niagara Wine Trail - last weekend a couple friends and myself did a day trip up to Niagara County. Spring Lake Winery was great, they offer smore’s, a glass of wine or beer (or non-alcoholic drinks) and a bonfire for an hour. Tickets are $12. This was great for the snowy day that it was. We then went to Niagara Landing, they are taking reservations for tastings which is nice because it wasn’t crowded. The last place we went was Arrowhead Winery, there space is so big that it was easy to social distance yourself from the other visitors and the view out the window was pretty nice.

Things I’d still like to do before winter is over:

• Snow Shoeing at one of the parks in the area. I hear Ellicott Creek Park may be good for this, suggestions are welcome!

• Cross Country skiing (I haven’t done this since I was in high school)

• Night Tubing under the lights at Peek’ n Peak Resort

Getting Outdoors & Catching Some Fresh Air...

Rock City Park. Olean, NY.

Over the course of these last 8-9 weeks I’ve visited some “hiking spots” around the WNY region. One of the only things helping me not spiral into a very deep depression is getting outside, getting some fresh air and being in nature. It’s really helped clear my head, not think about reality (even if its just for a few moments) and just be.

Some of these spots may be well known to most, some may not consider them real hiking places, and some may not be aware of any of these locations or have never been, regardless of any of those things, below I break down where I’ve been so far and my opinion of each place.

Hemlock Canadice State Forest. No Shoes. No Problem.

Hemlock Canadice State Forest (Canadice Haul Road Trail) - located in the Finger Lake region (about an hour and a half from Buffalo) this was a tricky place to find. There wasn’t one spot per say where you could enter and exit from a trail, at least not noticeably. I took my niece and nephew with me and we found a few spots off the sides of the road that seemed like they were hiking entrances but it didn’t look clear enough. After driving around for a little bit, we came to one spot where we got out and walked a short distance to the lake. I let the kids put their feet in the water and throw some rocks before we headed back to trying to find a more defined trail. Eventually, as I was just about to give up, we came across the Canadice Haul Road Trail, it was a nice trail, clean, quiet and not overly populated with people. We made it about 20 -30 minutes in before the kids said their legs were getting tired so we turned around. I have to remind myself they are kids and not adults.

Overall verdict, a little tricky to find a trail but once we found one it was worth it. It is a drive so I would plan this as a whole day trip, pack some water and snacks (especially if you have little ones you’re bringing with you). Another note - once we found the Canadice Haul Road Trail my cell service was very limited and spotty, keep that in mind as you plan ahead.

Rock City Park

Rock City Park - Located in the southern tier (Olean, NY) this park features an array of rock formations and hiking trail(s) that will leave every visitor happy. There is an admission to this park - $5 for adults/teens $3 for children 6-12 years old and hours of operation are 9-6pm daily (last admission to the park is 5pm). This place was easy to get to, about a hour and a half from Buffalo and was a lot of fun. My sister and I took my niece and nephew and they had a blast. For the most part adults and kids can crawl, walk, climb through, above, and in-between various rock formations that are throughout the trails within the park. They provide you with a trail map so you know what rock formations you are looking at and you get a little bit of history with each one. This is a great place to go whether or not you have kids. Its dog friendly too, as long as your dog remains on a leash. There are some steep steps and uneven, rugged terrain so if you’re looking for a nice, relaxing hike this may not be the best trail to walk.

Overall - fun, dog and kid-friendly, there is a cost to enter, definitely a place to go for those looking for an adventure.

Akron Falls - About a 35 minute drive from Buffalo this is a nice, big park and has a playground area (even though we didn’t go there). The trails are easy for the most part and the view of the waterfall is very nice. Only downfall I would say - the people crowding near the waterfall to take pictures, it made it hard to safely social distance. My niece and nephew really liked this location. The accessibility and ease of walking around I think they favored. The waterfall was a perk.

Knox Farms - About a 40 minute drive from Buffalo, this is a favorite of mine (and Harlie’s). The park is big enough to walk the trails, have a picnic or simply sit on a bench and just stare out at the beautiful scenery. Now that the dog park is open you can also let your best pal run around in the designated areas if you so choose. I like the ability to properly social distance yourself at this park. I also like the little reading library along one of the trails. My niece and nephew have been here a few times throughout the summer and they enjoyed it very much. Harlie loves when I take her for walks here, its one of the first spots I took her to as a puppy and she still loves it to this day.

Reinstein Woods - About a 15-20 minute drive from Buffalo, Reinstein Woods is bigger than what I thought it would be. it has multiple trails with beautiful lily ponds, its really forestry in a residential area where you may not think it would be and they have great directional signage at the main entrance so people are properly entering and exiting the trails and staying socially distanced. My niece and nephew liked this place up until they saw signs to be cautious of ticks and then they thought they were going to get one on them so it made it not so pleasant. No dogs are allowed here, but overall I thought it was a nice place, close to home and I would definitely go back.

Presque Isle State Park

Presque Isle State Park - Located in Erie, PA Presque Isle was about a two, to two and a half hour drive. My sister and I took my niece and nephew to go to one of the many beaches on site, but they have an abundance of trails that you can bike, walk, run or roller blade on and beautiful views of the Lake Erie. The kids loved the beach, even though it was one of those extremely hot days, they loved being in the water and playing in the sand. This was a great day trip, and cost next to nothing (outside of gas & toll money really). It’s definitely a place I’d go back to and spend more time at. As we were leaving the park a turtle was crossing the pavement and it was pretty cool to see it trucking along.

Buckhorn Island State Park - Located on Grand Island this park is about a 20-25 minute drive from Buffalo and borders the Niagara River. This park was another pretty cool spot with a handful of trails to walk around and some take you right up to the waters edge. Dogs are allowed and its a pretty easy walk, mostly flat in the areas I was. It goes close/alongside the Grand Island Bridge and some of the views are pretty cool to see. I saw some kids fishing and also saw some kayakers and people riding bikes while I was there.

Artpark - about a 45 minute drive from Buffalo, I’ve been to Artpark more times this summer than I think I have been in the last few years. First was to walk around and see the multiple art pieces they have on property, the second was for the drive-in movie series they are hosting this summer and the more recent was for an Art of Walking event where they incorporated a guided walk through the site with nature and creative art performance. It was pretty cool. This place offers not only a nice place to take a walk, but is a good place to take the kids and let your creative spirit come alive. The Public Art they have on display also provides good conversation points if you’re with someone else or with kids and if you’re not, it still offers your creative juices to flow.

Tifft Nature Preserve - located at Buffalo’s Outer Harbor, this is a classic spot for me. Not only is there so much nature, natural beauty and wildlife, but my niece and nephew enjoy this spot a lot. With the various trails they never seem to get bored and only want to explore more when they are there. The trails are easy to walk through and its a short drive from the suburbs. No dogs are allowed. They do offer nature programming throughout the year which is nice for anyone looking for something to do other than just walk around at your leisure.

Harlie posing at Chestnut Ridge.

Chestnut Ridge - Located in Orchard Park, another classic place to visit, I love the hills that the Ridge offers, provides for a good workout. I also enjoy the various trails you can go on. When I visited the park was pretty busy, there were outdoor fitness and rec classes, people watching the sunset and people just out for a leisurely stroll or jog. It wasn’t bad but I could definitely see where socially distancing may be hard to do in some areas when you’re passing by people. Harlie enjoyed her walk here.

There are still a handful of places on my list that I want to check out before the weather gets cold. What are some of your favorite hiking spots or places you like to go to get outside and get some fresh air?

Science After Hours/SpaceFest

Guys! Have any of you ever been to the Buffalo Museum of Science, Science After Hours events? A couple of weeks ago my sister and I attended the SpaceFest for Adults as part of the featured events for the museum. The event highlighted everything “space” related - I mean, like, viewing the City of Buffalo from the rooftop to having an opportunity to see the Kellogg Observatory and look through the Lundin telescope. There was a member of the science museum’s astronomy team on hand to tell us about the Kellogg Observatory and also tell us what we were viewing in the telescope (we got to see the sun before it set, which was pretty rad!)

photo thanks to my sister, Amber

Not only was the event fun, you learned more about the solar system, had a chance to be a part of interactive exhibits, could listen to talks taking place, got to see cool views of the City, and you were able to enjoy the museum after hours - for adults only.

just one of the views from the top of the roof deck at the Buffalo Museum of Science

The science museum hosts Science After Hours events almost every month with the next one taking place at Tifft Nature Preserve on June 20th - Tifft at Twilight- an event I attended a couple years ago, its a team effort in accomplishing a treasure hunt on the nature preserve. If you can, check. it. out!

AND if you’d like an opportunity to check out the Kellogg Observatory you can check it out with regular museum admission Wednesday’s (weather permitting) as the museum has extended hours. On Sunday’s you can gain access to the roof deck between 12-3 p.m. (also weather permitting). For all the details on the roof deck and K.O. click here.

-B

My Morning With Seek Axiom and Bkindcity

This past weekend I got to send my Saturday morning with two friends who honestly bring out the best version of yourself. If you know me personally, you know I'm not a big fan of being in front of the camera- I prefer to be behind the scenes, but I wanted to do something different and just have some fun, so I asked Ryan from Seek Axiom to take some photos of me that I can use for my blog. Katie from Bkindcity joined us as well. Thank goodness she did because she fixed me up, provided some tunes for the day and told me what to do because I had no clue most of the time. We started the day at Tifft Nature Preserve. Ryan captured some really amazing photos and some fun candid ones too. Here are some of my favorites from this location.

We then headed up Fuhrmann Blvd. to Wilkeson Pointe {of course I had to get some shots at my work!} Here are a couple of my favorites from that location.

From the Outer Harbor we headed to "my roots" the east side of Buffalo. We visited the Broadway Market while they were having there BBQ & Brews event on the rooftop and we captured some of these shots below.

And then we ended at the corner of Fillmore and Broadway at the new Welcome mural that was created and completed a couple weeks ago.

One of the best things I got out of this day was not just pretty amazing photos, but it was the opportunity for me to be around new friends, to learn more about them and to just have fun and live life in every experience I get to have. Each experience we get to have shapes us into the person we are and right now in my life I want to seek more opportunities, so in the words of Seek Axiom "Seek everything you have yet to experience."

Thank you Ryan and Katie for a fun day full of laughs, I can't wait to do it again! - xo - 

-B 

Friday Finds

Its been a crazy few weeks and my blog has taken a backseat to other things going on in my life. Since I had a few minutes though I thought I would share some of my finds from this past week. Have a wonderful weekend!

-B

{This yummy Loganberry One Roq vodka drink was the perfect ending to a busy event day. The company was even better!}

{On my way to Tifft Nature Preserve I found one of my new hang out spots this summer at the Outer Harbor}

{Driving behind one of my favorite businesses in town. Their homemade bread is so good}

{One of my favorite days of the summer, this year was event better because I got to see a good friend who is touring with the headliner. Seeing my friends successes makes me happy.}

#BuffaloLinks

Its the first #BuffaloLinks post for 2016. And with it comes a lot of fun events taking place throughout the rest of January. From outdoor to indoor events, winter in Buffalo doesn't have to be as dreadful as some make it. Whether you hit up Chestnut Ridge park for sledding, Fountain Plaza for ice skating, Riverworks for curling and ice hockey or Tifft Nature Preserve for some snow shoeing Buffalo has a lot going on. Here is a list of events that look like they are going to be fun to attend:

Chillabration at Canalside - January 15th

Be a part of the Guinness Book of World Records and take part in what may be the Longest Ice Line and help Make a Wish WNY. My cousin Nathan {wish teen} will be leading the line.

{photo- Canalside}

Makers Buffalo has a lot of fun DIY projects over the next few weeks. Check out a full list here

{photo- Makers Buffalo}

Learn all about energy at Energy Day at the Science Museum on January 23rd.

{photo Buffalo Science Museum}

Exercise and brunch- why not- Sip n' Stretch at Marcy Casino on January 24th is an event I have tickets to. Knowing I will be burning those calories so I can enjoy a mimosa afterwards is enough motivation for me to work hard during the class.

{photo Sip N Stretch event page}

Looking to learn more about this city and the history behind it. Explore Buffalo is the perfect place to go for tours. And on January 23rd they are kicking off a Winter Celebration to share all of the awesome things coming up.

{photo Explore Buffalo}

A light show and more is coming back to Buffalo's Botanical Gardens at the end of January. Lumagination was on my list of events to attend last year and never happened, so this year I've made it a priority.

{photo Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens}