Nearby Attractions
FAMILY FARE
Strong National Museum of Play: The country's only museum dedicated solely to the study of play, the Strong features dozens of interactive exhibits for children of all ages. These include:
The High Falls Center and Interpretive Museum: Located in the historic Waterworks Building beside the city's original power source, the Center is in a unique place to tell the history of Rochester. Visitors begin at the base of the massive glacier that carved out our varied landscape and journey thousands of years through every stage of our development as America's original boomtown. Here you'll find both hands-on exhibits to engage the young as well as historical art and photographs to stimulate the young-at-heart.
Even if you pass up the edification of its Interpretive Museum, there is simply no missing a view of our majestic High Falls. Whether you take it in from the Pont du Renne bridge or the Genesee Brew House and Museum, the most famous of our three waterfalls stands at nearly 100 feet of furious energy, long the city's life's-blood and still one of her natural sources of power.
The Rochester Museum and Science Center: A huge, three-story institution dedicated to celebrating our area's natural history and unique heritage of science and technology, it houses, among its many permanent exhibits, these rotating and yearly attractions:
Seneca Park Zoo: Since 1894, Rochester's zoo is over fifteen acres of exhibits ranging from the penguins and polar bears of "Rocky Coasts" to the four African elephants of "A Step into Africa", the only such in New York State. Our 90 species include mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish, and arachnids, all within the confines of this Frederick Law Olmstead-designed park.
GROWN-UP FARE
The Eastman Museum: The splendid home of the legendary Kodak founder now houses one of the most comprehensive collections of photography in the world. Guided tours of the mansion can be enjoyed at 10:30 am and 2 pm and of the Galleries at 1 pm. The latter includes the Corridor Gallery's ongoing exhibit, From the Camera Obscura to the Revolutionary Kodak, a three-part exploration of the history of photography itself from its ancient roots to the dawn of the daguerreotype and wet- and dry-plate age to the development of George Eastman's own Kodak in 1888.
The Memorial Art Gallery: Located on the original campus of the venerable University of Rochester, the MAG's permanent collection of nearly 12,000 objects has been described as one of the state's best balanced outside of New York City, ranging from Monet to Winslow Homer and Cezanne to Albert Paley. Inside and out, the Gallery's 14 acres are replete with 5,000 years of art history, from the currently featured 16th century Indian miniatures in the Lockhart Gallery to the modern sculpture park lining University Avenue and much more.
The Susan B. Anthony House: 17 Madison Street was the home of the nation's most famous suffragette for the 40 most politically active years of her life. As well as being open for tours, the visitors center features the exhibit Susan B. Anthony, American Hero, which highlights her work as a reformer, her 1872 arrest for voting, and her friendship with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and fellow Rochesterian Frederick Douglas.
HIKING and PARKS
Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, designed six parks in Rochester. They include:
Just outside of the city, Ellison Park is 447 acres of the most beautiful wilderness that our region has to offer, offering a bounty of hiking trails on its steep slopes and the level flood plain of the Irondequoit Creek.
Just down the road from Ellison is the splendid Corbett's Glen Nature Park, boasting 2 miles of trails with a viewing deck and seating area overlooking the park's three waterfalls.
The sparkling waters of its reservoir are but one of the views that the 109 acres of Cobb's Hill Park and the adjoining Washington Grove offer, not least one of the finest view of our fine city and some of our oldest oaks.
The final resting place of some of Rochester's most remarkable residents, Mount Hope Cemetery is a masterpiece of Victorian funerary architecture. A brief walk around this peaceful and beautiful arboretum will take you to the graves of Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas, and founder Nathaniel Rochester himself.
For those who want a closer look at our Great Lake, venture north to Durand Eastman Park! Explore the 977 acres that have framed our waterfront so well since 1909, replete with over 400 varieties of native and foreign trees, shrubs, and plants and of course the ghostly presence of the county's most famous apparition, the White Lady.
Strong National Museum of Play: The country's only museum dedicated solely to the study of play, the Strong features dozens of interactive exhibits for children of all ages. These include:
- The National Toys Hall of Fame, whose recent inductees include the Super Soaker, the Rubik's Cube, the Rubber Duck, and dozens more.
- The Dancing Wings Garden, the largest such New York State, houses thousands of butterflies from around the globe.
- The World Video Game Hall of Fame, whose numbers include The Legend of Zelda, Oregon Trail, and the World of Warcraft, among many others.
- Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?, a celebration of four decades of the TV series, featuring a scale model of the famous 123 Sesame Street stoop among other familiar landmarks.
- And, in true Rochester fashion, the Wegmans Super Kids Market, where kids can play both grocer and customer and even create a commercial in the WKID studio.
The High Falls Center and Interpretive Museum: Located in the historic Waterworks Building beside the city's original power source, the Center is in a unique place to tell the history of Rochester. Visitors begin at the base of the massive glacier that carved out our varied landscape and journey thousands of years through every stage of our development as America's original boomtown. Here you'll find both hands-on exhibits to engage the young as well as historical art and photographs to stimulate the young-at-heart.
Even if you pass up the edification of its Interpretive Museum, there is simply no missing a view of our majestic High Falls. Whether you take it in from the Pont du Renne bridge or the Genesee Brew House and Museum, the most famous of our three waterfalls stands at nearly 100 feet of furious energy, long the city's life's-blood and still one of her natural sources of power.
The Rochester Museum and Science Center: A huge, three-story institution dedicated to celebrating our area's natural history and unique heritage of science and technology, it houses, among its many permanent exhibits, these rotating and yearly attractions:
- The Strasenburgh Planetarium, which on November 5 features from 10 am to 4 pm spectacular presentations on constellations, the history of flight, and the disoveries of the Juno space probe.
- Haudenosaunee Days, an exploration of Iroquois culture past and present, is a two-day series of presentations ranging from storytelling to modern beadwork and basketry to seldom-seen artifacts from the WPA Indian Arts Project.
Seneca Park Zoo: Since 1894, Rochester's zoo is over fifteen acres of exhibits ranging from the penguins and polar bears of "Rocky Coasts" to the four African elephants of "A Step into Africa", the only such in New York State. Our 90 species include mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish, and arachnids, all within the confines of this Frederick Law Olmstead-designed park.
GROWN-UP FARE
The Eastman Museum: The splendid home of the legendary Kodak founder now houses one of the most comprehensive collections of photography in the world. Guided tours of the mansion can be enjoyed at 10:30 am and 2 pm and of the Galleries at 1 pm. The latter includes the Corridor Gallery's ongoing exhibit, From the Camera Obscura to the Revolutionary Kodak, a three-part exploration of the history of photography itself from its ancient roots to the dawn of the daguerreotype and wet- and dry-plate age to the development of George Eastman's own Kodak in 1888.
The Memorial Art Gallery: Located on the original campus of the venerable University of Rochester, the MAG's permanent collection of nearly 12,000 objects has been described as one of the state's best balanced outside of New York City, ranging from Monet to Winslow Homer and Cezanne to Albert Paley. Inside and out, the Gallery's 14 acres are replete with 5,000 years of art history, from the currently featured 16th century Indian miniatures in the Lockhart Gallery to the modern sculpture park lining University Avenue and much more.
The Susan B. Anthony House: 17 Madison Street was the home of the nation's most famous suffragette for the 40 most politically active years of her life. As well as being open for tours, the visitors center features the exhibit Susan B. Anthony, American Hero, which highlights her work as a reformer, her 1872 arrest for voting, and her friendship with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and fellow Rochesterian Frederick Douglas.
HIKING and PARKS
Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, designed six parks in Rochester. They include:
- Genesee Valley Park, located on the east bank of Genesee, boasts two full golf courses, canoeing and fishing access of the mighty river.
- Highland Park, which yearly hosts Rochester's Lilac Festival, is designed to seem like a natural occurrence of trees shrubs, and flowers. In addition to its 1200 lilac shrubs, you can find Japanese maple, 35 varieties of magnolia, barberry, dwarf evergreens, and 700 varieties of rhododendrons, azaleas, mountain laurel, horse chestnuts, spring bulbs, and wildflowers.
- The aforementioned Seneca Park is 297 acres of hiking trails, open fields, and a walking path around its beautiful pond. Its 100 plus year old zoo is only part of the attraction!
- Heralding terrific views of the oft-overlooked Lower and Middle Falls, Maplewood Park hosts a nationally accredited rose garden, tennis courts, and a fishing pond.
Just outside of the city, Ellison Park is 447 acres of the most beautiful wilderness that our region has to offer, offering a bounty of hiking trails on its steep slopes and the level flood plain of the Irondequoit Creek.
Just down the road from Ellison is the splendid Corbett's Glen Nature Park, boasting 2 miles of trails with a viewing deck and seating area overlooking the park's three waterfalls.
The sparkling waters of its reservoir are but one of the views that the 109 acres of Cobb's Hill Park and the adjoining Washington Grove offer, not least one of the finest view of our fine city and some of our oldest oaks.
The final resting place of some of Rochester's most remarkable residents, Mount Hope Cemetery is a masterpiece of Victorian funerary architecture. A brief walk around this peaceful and beautiful arboretum will take you to the graves of Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas, and founder Nathaniel Rochester himself.
For those who want a closer look at our Great Lake, venture north to Durand Eastman Park! Explore the 977 acres that have framed our waterfront so well since 1909, replete with over 400 varieties of native and foreign trees, shrubs, and plants and of course the ghostly presence of the county's most famous apparition, the White Lady.