We continue the series on walking Buffalo, from the intrepid couple who walked every day—no matter the weather—in the first 30 months of Covid. They think (without being systematic) they walked every street in Buffalo, and many in other cities and towns, taking some 20,000 photos, some of which are shared in this series. While not itineraries, we hope to encourage others to “walk the walk,” to see, observe and appreciate Buffalo—and beyond. William Graebner and Dianne Bennett are also 5 Cent Cine’s film critics, here.
Today’s photo-essay: Buffalo’s Little-Known Trails and Paths
Unlike many urban areas, notably Manhattan and Los Angeles, Buffalo remains a marvelously mysterious space, full of trails and paths that are seldom walked or even seen. Some follow one of the area’s creeks and rivers, others—the most fascinating and unlikely ones for us—follow or skirt the city’s railroad lines, most (but not all) abandoned, the rails and ties removed.
The descriptions that follow will inevitably be brief and schematic. Detailed itineraries would not only require too much space, but would be inappropriate; these are accounts of what we have found and done. We are not suggesting that our readers do the same.
North Buffalo Trail
One of our favorite trails is rapidly disappearing, a victim of development. It runs through North Buffalo, along and atop an old rail line, roughly from the LaSalle Metro Station on Main Street to a vacant lot just north of Delaware Camera, on Delaware Avenue. The center portion no longer exists, having been replaced by Colvin Estates and, more recently, the $400,000+ homes on Rachel Vincent Way.
One can do some real hiking on both ends and enjoy the city streets in between. On the east end, the key is to get off the “North Buffalo Rails to Trails” asphalt path and up onto the old railroad right of way. We did so by heading almost straight up the steep bank of the old line. The path is obvious, and the break in it (the site of what once was a trestle) is revealing of the line’s past. We saw a buck on this portion of the trail. On the other end, the trail (heading east) dumps one off into a light industrial compound. No one seemed to mind.
Dianne on the North Buffalo Trail
Lovejoy Trail
Fortunately, development has not had the same impact on the “Lovejoy Trail,” which basically runs north/south between Lovejoy (on the west) and Sloan (on the east). It’s a locale that was once saturated by railroad tracks—in one area, about 10 lines side-by-side, now all abandoned. We’ve taken this trail many times, usually starting from the southern end, just east of the junction of N. Ogden and William Street, where a cinder path ascends to the railbed. The stone-block remains of a trestle are suggestive (and attract the young and amorous).
Just after the path skirts Frederick Machine and Manufacturing (on the left), we bore right and followed the trail to the south side of the reservoir (young folks we talked to there told us locals call it the “res”), next to a fenced railroad yard. The photos are from mid-December.
Buffalo doesn’t have many lakes. This one, in Sloan, is known by locals as the “res.”
At the end of the reservoir, we turned northeast for several hundred yards, before returning (southwest) on Lovejoy Street, with a bevy of long-gone tracks on our left. We worked our way through a grassy field and across the tracks (now just a field with submerged ties) to the reservoir, then right, back onto the up-and-down main trail until it came to an abrupt end at Broadway. Returned on city streets.
Walden Park Trail
Just off Walden Avenue, east of Bailey, there’s a nice trail—another abandoned railroad line. There’s more than one way to access it, but here’s our mini-adventure:
We had been walking the neighborhood to the north of Walden, and came upon a sign for Walden Estates (a suburban-like enclave in the city) on Walden Ave. at the corner of Bakos Blvd. We crossed the large green space known as Walden Park, angling toward the southwest corner. There, we found a short, narrow path through some bushes and trees to the side of an active railroad line.
About 100 yards to the west (right), we found our trail, up and heading north.
To the west, there’s a much lower area, also trailed, which we briefly explored. The path ends (or sort of ends) as one descends into Walden Avenue. Depending on the season (summer foliage can make the going hard), one can continue on the trail on the north side of Walden. We chose to end our excursion with a beer at one of the sheltered outdoor tables at Papa Joe’s Sports Bar & Grill, just a block or two east on Walden.
Cayuga Creek Trail
One of our first forays into the area’s waterways found us on a trail alongside Cayuga Creek, beginning on the east side of Harlem Road, at Clinton, in Cheektowaga. We found a path down to the creek by walking behind what was then (and may still be) Toyota Forklifts, the first building east of the bridge. It was May, and the bed of yellow flowers was magnificent (we later learned the plant is an invasive species known as Lesser Celandine). Some nice graffiti/accidental art under a bridge. A few fishermen. After about a half mile, the trail seemed to end and we walked north, through a grassy area under power lines, to Cayuga Creek Road. Left and back to the car.
May flowers, on the Cayuga Creek Trail
Smoke Creek Trail
We’ve spent many a pleasant afternoon along the branches of Smoke Creek, which empties into Lake Erie through the ex-Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna. We parked on Madison Avenue in the charming neighborhood of Bethlehem Park (complete with a still extant bust of Christopher Columbus), just to the south of the creek on the east side of Route 5.
Smoke Creek, looking west toward Route 5
On the north side of the creek we found a path/road/ combo heading up the waterway to the east. Access along the creek ended about 1/3 of a mile ahead, dumping us out onto a massive rail yard—with some active tracks—which in 2021 (and probably still) served as a storage area for colorful, rusted vintage trains!
One of several vintage trains on the tracks in Lackawanna
We poked around for a while, watched some helmeted young folks on their trail bikes zipping around, then headed across a large grass field and back into the neighborhood for some sidewalk walking. Mulberry Italian Ristorante, which looked intriguing, is on Jackson Avenue, which fronts Smoke Creek on its south side.
Black Rock Trail
We’re quite familiar with the “Black Rock Trail,” because we walked it often to access the long-abandoned King Sewing Machine factory (now inaccessible) at Crowley and Rano Streets. The trail follows the railroad tracks that emerge from Canada, cross Unity Island, and enter Black Rock, soon curving left and north, crossing Amherst and Austin Streets and Hertel Avenue before skirting the former King factory. Soon after, a branch curves right/east to an eventual dead-end in back of the Home Depot. Got it? We have used many points of access and egress: west of the viaduct on Hertel; at a shopping center on Tonawanda Street (south side of the complex, the one with the Dollar General); or off the southern end of East Street in lower Black Rock. The trail, a wide cinder path, is far removed from working tracks to the east, although, depending on the point of access, we had to cross active tracks to reach the “trail.”
On what we call the Black Rock Trail, looking south
The Black Rock Trail features an informal dump site of tires and other stuff, a good deal of graffiti on bridges and walls, wooded areas where people have camped or lived—ample evidence that one is walking on a long-abandoned rail line.
“Campsite” on the Black Rock Trail
One section of the trail, used by youthful operators of ATVs, includes a jump and banked turns.
The Black Rock Trail is also frequented by bicyclists. We like to think of it as an informal “people’s” park.
Pep Boys Deer Trail
It’s almost not believable, but not far from the busy intersection of Elmwood and Hertel, south of the Elmwood Avenue Pep Boys (which is just south of Home Depot), there’s a lovely wooded area with several paths, including a well-worn main path. We have accessed the area from Lawn Avenue on the west (the path begins just beyond the concrete blocks at the end of the street) and through a large, well-used opening in the fence on Elmwood, just south of Pep Boys. There may be some shopping carts, but in November of 2020, we also saw 2 deer, one of them with a substantial set of antlers. The main trail is short—about a 5-minute walk.
Deer sighting on the Pep Boys Trail
Exiting the trail onto Elmwood Avenue
More recently, we also enjoyed the vast, surreal, post-apocalyptic open area (once the site of M. Wile) south of Home Depot, which we accessed off Elmwood through a hole in the fence, followed by some neighborhood children on bikes. Exiting at the north end of Norris Street, we explored the area of small homes and apartment complexes that make up the “Military” neighborhood to the west.
Thruway Trail
We’ve driven “the 90” for decades, without knowing that there’s a substantial, and intriguing, trail on the west side of the Thruway, between Seneca Street (on the south) and Indian Church Road (to the north). The “trailhead” is off Seneca Street (traveling east), just before it crosses the 90. Like many other Buffalo trails, it’s an abandoned rail line. One can catch glimpses of the elevated line while driving south on the Thruway.
The first portion is straightforward: Thruway on the right, woods and houses on the left. A chain link fence marks the spot where the 400 makes a wide turn for East Aurora. Here we saw two men on ATVs.
Further on, the trail drops down to street level (because the bridges have been removed), crosses Indian Church Road to the east of Tim Russert Park, then rises again, passing the ruins of a viaduct, before the going gets rougher: a fence to squeeze through, a dense and trailless woods.
Things open up at a grassy expanse along what we discovered is the National Fuel Security Operations Center (“No Trespassing” signs, but an open gate and no one around). A wild turkey, moving at a speed we had not thought possible, fled the scene.
Between National Fuel and the Thruway
At Mineral Springs Road, we turned east under the Thruway, followed Emporium Avenue south to its end, then back west, under the Thruway, at the railroad tracks, reuniting with the trail and return. The collection of columns under the Thruway at the end of Emporium is a work of art.
Under the Thruway at Emporium Avenue
East Side Through-the-Block Trails
About the only good thing about all the demolitions on Buffalo’s East Side is that the empty lots created by the destruction of so much housing have fostered a network of informal, through-the-block paths. This is especially the case to the west of the Central Terminal, once the heart of the city’s Polish community. Residents use these paths to shorten the route from a mini-mart or the neighborhood school. There is so much open space, and so many paths, that it may be possible to walk 7 or 8 blocks, east to west or west to east, without accessing a side street.
Also see:
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Look Up! Roofs and Roofers
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Buffalo’s Mini-Marts
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Remembering 9/11
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Street Humor
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – The Yard as Spectacle
How to Take a Walk in Buffalo – Beware of (the) Dog
How to Take a Walk—in Buffalo, and Beyond—Halloween
©William Graebner
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