Traveling with Kids!

Traveling With Kids!

Welcome to Rochester, New York:

The city that never naps!

Whatever your kids are into, Rochester has it-with options! And no matter the time of year, this easy-to-navigate city, with an impressive past and exciting future, is ready to keep everyone happily busy... right now! In fact, Child magazine recognized the kid-attraction factor several years ago when it put Rochester, N.Y., on its list of "Ten Best Cities for Families."

Museums Are Us!

World-class museums catering to kids of every age are plentiful in Rochester and include the second largest children's museum in America: Strong National Museum of Play. This "educational playground" not only provides get-them-involved exhibits, it is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame and enchanting Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden. Featuring the most comprehensive collection of dolls, toys and play-related objects in the world, this museums delights parents and grandparents, too: They love seeing their own playthings lovingly preserved for generations to come. 

Rochester Museum & Science Center caters to the kid in everyone with interactive exhibits showcasing the fascinating and fun sides of science, history and technology. Kids can even "travel" to outer space at the museum's Strasenburgh Planetarium, which has been delighting audiences since 1968 with the world's first computer-automated star shows. Large-format movies are also shown on the planetarium's huge dome, while outside the building, a 12.5-inch diameter telescope lets the public probe night skies on Saturdays (weather permitting) from April through October.

Rochester's so "kid-centric," there's even a hands-on Discovery Room at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, where children can make animation strips and sun prints. Older kids will enjoy viewing the museum's photographic masterpieces, too, and snooping around the mansion built by Kodak founder George Eastman, as equally curious grown-ups tag along!

Stretch your kids' creative views with a stroll down ArtWalk: an outdoor gallery along University Avenue in Rochester's funky Neighborhood of the Arts.  Here, large-scale artworks mingle with whimsical benches, kid-designed sidewalks, and even artistic bus shelters. For more quirky attractions, bring your musical protégé to a Sunday recital on North America's only full-size, antique Italian organ - soaring 22 feet above the indoor Fountain Court at the Memorial Art Gallery. Or treat those teenage Goths and little history buffs to a guided tour of Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester's dramatic Victorian graveyard: It may sound strange, but it's an intriguing way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Raising socially conscious kids? Visiting the Susan B. Anthony House imparts the message that fearless tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds pays off. And the younger set may be amazed to hear they are standing in a room where a woman was once arrested for the "crime" of voting! The Women's Rights National Historic Park and National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls are an easy day trip from Rochester as well, if your kids are ready to learn about more women who made a difference.

Treat your kids to a day in the 19th century with a total emersion experience at Genesee Country Village and Museum, where 68 historic buildings, and even America's first replica of a 19th-century Base Ball park - await. The third largest living-history museum in the country, Genesee Country Village also boasts the largest collection of outhouses (more than a dozen) of any historic village in the U.S.! And with livestock to pet, bugs to chase, and hoops to roll, 21st-century kids won't even miss their Game Boys. There are lots of special events, too, from June through September, plus daytime and evening hikes all year at the museum's Genesee Country Nature Center.

For kids with shorter attention spans, a smaller historic site is the oldest structure in Monroe County: the Stone-Tolan House, built in 1790 and now maintained by the Landmark Society of Western New York. As they sit in the tavern where settlers gathered for town meetings, walk through rooms of the attached living spaces once occupied by a family's nine children, and explore the old apple orchard and herb garden, young imaginations will easily envision a pioneer's life. At the Tinker Homestead and Farm Museum, kids can also wander through rooms of an 1830s cobblestone farm house and try to figure out how vintage tools in the old dairy barn were used.

And for those train-loving kids of any age, check out the New York Museum of Transportation and the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, which are even linked by a rail track so visitors can ride between them.

 

Outdoor Pleasures

Rochester has four seasons of outdoor fun for kids and their grown-ups, too. Seneca Park Zoo provides an impressive variety of animals - including  New York state's only African elephants and fascinating Bornean orangutans - all in a stroller-friendly setting. Of course, aspiring zoologists and veterinarians will want to peak behind the scenes at the Animal Health and Education Complex and watch demonstrations that bring animals out front so kids can learn more about them. Best of all, the zoo is open every day...except Christmas!

Active kids and teens will enjoy biking, hiking or rollerblading along miles of paved paths beside the scenic Erie Canal as it passes through charming villages such as Fairport and Pittsford. In winter, cross-country skiers are welcome on the Erie Canal Heritage Trail as well. And while it is actually less than 500 acres, the Thousand Acre Swamp in Penfield offers one of the largest wetland systems in western New York along with 10 trails and plenty of wildlife (no pets or picnics, however). Actually, the Rochester area's impressive park system is crisscrossed by hundreds of well-marked trails; but fishing enthusiasts will naturally gravitate toward the fresh-water rivers, streams and a Great Lake, where they'll find plenty of variety to reel right in. And boating types can paddle their way to great memories in a kayak or canoe.

Springdale Farm is yet another kid-pleasing stop with its amazing robotic milking parlor that lets cows milk themselves! And watch your children smile with wonder when chickadees eat bird seed out of their hands along the Birdsong Trail in Mendon Ponds Park.

 

Sporting Fun

Whether your young travelers like to take part in a favorite sport or check out the pros, Rochester has plenty of action to thrill them. During the summer, catch a game of baseball at Frontier Field, home of the Rochester Red Wings, or watch the Rochester Rhinos soccer club take on their competition at PaeTec Park. The winter season brings the Rochester Americans hockey team to the Blue Cross Arena, which also hosts games of the 2007 National Lacrosse League championship team, the Rochester Knighthawks. And for die-hard basketball fans, the Rochester Razorsharks captured a championship title during the Premier Basketball League's first season.

Kids who want to do it themselves, can try skiing or snowboarding in a supportive environment with excellent instruction at nearby Swain Winter Resort and Bristol Mountain Resort. When the weather is warmer, they can also try white water rafting on the relatively mild rapids of the Genesee River as it flows through Letchworth State Park, known as the Grand Canyon of the East. And at Rock Ventures, the largest indoor climbing wall in the Northeast, kids can safely climb around all day!

 

A Seasonal Sampler

Of course, the best times to travel with kids are weekends and during breaks from school: so here is a sample of more fun things to do in Rochester when the teachers aren't watching!

Spring Break

Summer Vacation Days

  • Seabreeze Park, the fourth-oldest amusement park in America, has more than 75 attractions, including a waterpark; one of the three oldest wooden coasters still in operation, the Jack Rabbit; and the Whirlwind, one of only three spinning coasters of its type in the U.S.
  • Free laser-light shows at High Falls on weekend nights keeps kids "ooh-ing" with delight.
  • A rare Dentzel Menagerie Carousel at Ontario Beach Park , built in 1905, becomes an instant kid-magnet as soon as its music begins to play!
  • Whispering Pines Miniature Golf, designed in 1929, is the oldest, unaltered mini-golf course in New York, and it still provides challenging fun for putters young and old.

Fall Weekends

  • The Sky Ride at Bristol Mountain provides a birds-eye view of autumn's richest hues.
  • Farmer's markets throughout the area encourage kids to find that perfect pumpkin for Halloween carving, but be on the lookout for hayrides and special activities, too.
  • Kids love getting lost in the Amazing Maize Maze at Long Acre Farms, while parents relax knowing their offspring can easily be "rescued" if they don't find the way out by themselves.

Winter Holidays

  • Rochester Children's Theatre and Theatre Young Kids Enjoy (TYKES) are two of the many excellent professional theater groups presenting quality shows for the entire family. From October through May, Rochester becomes a kid-friendly version of Broadway, minus the steep ticket prices.
  • RPO orKidStra concerts are fun for everyone, but especially designed for children of 3 to 9 years.
  • Yuletide in the Country at Genesee Country Village and Museum provides a delightful way to learn about holiday traditions of the past.

And no matter when you visit this kid-centered community, leave time for a bit of retail therapy. For a uniquely Rochester experience, don't miss the century-old Public Market where fresh produce, intriguing tchotchkes, all manner of ethnic delicacies (including the best empanadas in town), and great people-watching reign! Add a stop at one of Rochester's large malls with their kid-appealing stores, plus a carousel or special play area, and the fun of vacation shopping will be appreciated by everyone.

Got kids?

Well, congratulations!  You've now discovered the best place to take them!