7/5/14: Exploring Lockport, NY

One day of our Niagara Falls USA vacation was planned in Lockport, NY.  This was an area I would not have thought of travelling to but I am so happy we did.  Next up in my series of Niagara Falls USA posts is about Lockport NY and all it has to offer.  First off we started with a Lockport Locks and Erie Canal Cruise.

This was a super cool experience.  I had never been on a boat going through Locks.  If you have never heard of a lock it is basically a boat elevator.  It allows boats to go through to other portions of water at different levels.  Here we are entering in to the first Lock.

 Here you can see the water filling up to rise the level of the boat.  If they had the water come in too quickly it would be too much force for the boat.  You can see it spilling in from behind Evan.

 Here you can see how the water level has risen and only the top light green part of the doors are visible.

 Here we are cruising along on the Erie Canal.

 The Erie Canal Locks sign.

 There is a little snack bar on the boat.  Lauren got a cookie and was impressed as it is as big as her head.

 Here is Lauren looking as we go in to another Lock on the way back.  This time to lower the boat.

 Here you can see how the level of the boat has dropped.

 Now the doors are opening for us to proceed through on to the rest of our cruise.

 It is about a 2 hour ride and during it the captain explains some history of the area.

Evan liked being up the front of the boat.

They also just added a paddle boat.

What a beautiful day and a beautiful view!

Here is some video:

 Find them online: http://www.llecc.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LockportLocksErieCanalCruises
Next we headed to Sweet Ride Rentals for some lunch and a smoothie.  It is s super cute little shop and the owner was so nice.

When we went in we were offered a sample of a Strawberry and Banana Smoothie and Evan realized he loved them so we ordered one for the kids.  They have great sandwiches, salads, smoothies, Italian sodas and bike rentals.

Here are some of the bikes.  They also offer Bike and Wine tours that you can see here.

I also loved that they had art that you could be a part of.  There was everything set up to recreate a few paintings.  Here is Evan recreating The Son of Man.  So adorable!

Outside there is another frame area to create live art.

Find them online:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SweetRideRentals
Twitter:  @sweetriderental
Here are Lauren and John being silly.

Right down the street is Lake Effects Artisan Ice Cream.  We headed there for a little dessert. 

Lauren went with the Blue Moon which is bright blue and tastes like Fruity Pebbles.  They had many unique flavors.  John had one called Couch Potato that had chocolate covered potato chips in it.  I went for a very adventurous Blue Cheese ice cream that was created by a chef.  It was really good.

Find them online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lakeeffecticecream
Twitter:  @lake_effect_ic

Last but not least we headed to the , Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Tour.

Here are the kids signing their guest book which is a piano.  So cool.

At first you start with a walking tour where the tour guide talks more about the area.

Here is the tour guide telling us about the 3 factories that used to be powered by the water running through the cave.

We are going in to the cave!

It was nice in the cave as it was so nice and cool on a hot day.  Here is the tunnel we just went through.

Within the cave.

This cave was actually featured on Ghost Hunters where they checked it out for ghostly spirits.  You walk through a lit up path to get to the boat ride at the end.

Here are the kids checking things out.

A view through the cave.  You can see the walkway to the left and the right is the water.

The tour guide telling us more about the cave.

Then we got on this boat to take a boat ride through a portion of the cave.

Here we are on the boat ride.

Going through the cave on the boat.

It was a really cool tour and one I would recommend.  Both kids really enjoyed it.  The whole tour took about 70 minutes and is right down the street from Sweet Ride Rentals and Lake Effects Ice Cream.

Here is some video:

Find them online:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Lockport.Cave.Underground.Boat.Ride
Twitter:  @LockportCave
When we came out we went to a small museum that they had.  Here is Lauren being funny.

Overall Lockport, NY was a wonderful place to visit and only about a half hour from Niagara Falls.  A great place to visit if you are in the area.  

Follow Greater Lockport on Twitter to learn more: @LockportDC

Disclosure:  The Lockport Locks and Erie Canal Cruise and Lockport Cave and Underground Boat trips were sponsored for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.