11 Hidden Gems in New York, According to a Native New Yorker

Sam's Point Preserve and Ellenville Ice Caves

Neighbor of the Catskills, Sam's Point is the highest peak in the Shawangunk Mountains – nicknamed “the Gunks”. This natural area is located within the Minnewaska State Park Preserve, a popular destination for locals to hike, climb, and soak up the scenic scenic views of Indian Rock.

If you visit, don't miss the opportunity to explore the park's Ellenville Fault Ice Caves, a series of trails and glacial caves carved out by the movement of the Earth's core. These ancient homes are culturally significant because they were once used as gathering places and shelters for Native American communities. Also worth a visit is the 187-foot Verkeerder Kill Falls, which can be seen from the trails (although the falls themselves are on private land).

Buffalo West Side Bazaar

Condescension from salespeople at Buffalo's West Side Bazaar can truly change lives. This international culinary and retail market is made up of stalls owned by immigrants and refugees who received a microloan from Buffalo's Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI). For many, it was the first step towards a new life.

WEDI, a nonprofit business incubator, not only provides microloans to these budding entrepreneurs, but also offers educational programs to help them succeed. The Bazaar's newest location opened in 2023 on Niagara Street and features an African grocery store and food stalls serving Egyptian, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Korean and Congolese cuisine, and more.

Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum

Opened in 2002, this small but important museum shares the resilient stories of 982 refugees – most of them Jewish – who arrived in the country as part of the United States' Safe Haven program during World War II. Most of these refugees, many of whom had escaped Nazi concentration camps, were housed at Fort Ontario in Oswego. The exhibits here provide a poignant insight into their journey and experiences escaping persecution in Europe.

Genesee Village and Country Museum

Growing up in the Finger Lakes region, I looked forward to the annual field trip from elementary school to Genesee Village and Country Museum (GCVM), where history comes to life. Despite opening its doors over 50 years ago, this living museum has surprisingly remained unknown to many residents outside the area.

Three American villages are located on the museum's 600 acres, where 68 homes and buildings were relocated from nearby towns. They include the Gas Light District (1860-1900), Center Village (1830-1870), and the Pioneer Settlement (1790-1820), the latter housing a farm, a pottery studio, a one-room schoolhouse, and a brewery in activity. Special events are held there throughout the year, including a naturalization ceremony at the Landing House on July 4 and holiday programming highlighting the Christmas traditions of the cultures that settled Northern New York State in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

The New York Amish Trail

One thing that grew out of my upstate childhood was a fascination with the Amish. Although most of this community is in Pennsylvania, there is also a concentration of Old Order Amish in the southwest region of upstate New York. To learn more about this culture, travel through the pastoral countryside of Cattaraugus County and the Chautauqua-Allegheny region south of Buffalo to discover The New York Amish Trail.

Hand-painted signs identify stores and small businesses where the public can purchase baked goods, jams and crafts such as handmade quilts. (Stores are closed on Sundays and some on Wednesdays.) Additionally, while you may feel the desire to take photos for social media, the Amish prefer not to be photographed.

Ganondagan State Historic Site

Located in Victor, Ontario County, the Ganondagan State Historic Site allows visitors to experience five centuries of Indigenous art, culture and history, as well as learn about the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and its message of peace. You can also tour a life-size Seneca bark longhouse that was recreated based on Native American life here in the 1600s.

Rochester Public Market

More than 300 vendors populate the City-run stands Rochester Public Market, open since 1905. Vendors offer locally sourced produce, as well as meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, and a variety of prepared foods from the Finger Lakes region. The market is also home to cafes, brasseries and restaurants, including Velvet bellywhere Chef Jeremy Nucelli prepares some of the best sushi and Asian-influenced cuisine in Rochester.

At the end of November, the market transforms into a holiday market, decorated with twinkling lights and selling fresh-cut Christmas trees, wreaths and crafts. There are also special events with music, shopping, horse-drawn carriages and an appearance by Santa Claus.

Sonnenberg Gardens

Although it has been open since 1973, I only discovered this treasure when I attended a friend's wedding in the beautiful Sonnenberg Gardens and Manor in Canandaigua. Once the summer home of a wealthy financier, this 52-acre estate is now a historic park and one of only two public gardens owned and managed by the New York State Parks system.

The Sonnenberg Estate includes a late 19th-century Queen Anne-style mansion, a greenhouse complex, and nine world historic themed gardens. The first phase of a $1.1 million transformation has been completed and the site will soon add a new cafe, visitor center and education space. The area is open from May to October.

Valcour Island

Accessible only by boat, Valcour Island attracts nature and history lovers with its recreational and camping opportunities, as well as its connection to the American Revolutionary War. Only a few miles long, it is one of six islands in Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh, New York, and was the scene of a pivotal battle during the Revolutionary War.

There are 29 primitive campsites on Valcour Island and seven miles of hiking trails, one of which will take you to the Bluff Point Lighthouse, built in 1874 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors must coordinate their own boat to the island (from Peru to New York), as there are no ferries or public transportation.

Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center

This little museum and heritage center sits on the banks of the Niagara River, the last barrier to freedom for slaves traveling north via the Underground Railroad. The museum's permanent exhibit, “One More River to Cross,” takes visitors on an immersive guided journey through the museum, telling the personal stories of freedom seekers fleeing the South before and during the Civil War. From the museum, located in the former 1863 U.S. Customs House, you can also cross the street to stand among the remains of the Bridge to Freedom, where most slaves entered Canada.

Bridge over the Hudson

Although popular with Hudson Valley travelers, I only recently discovered the Bridge over the Hudson – the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world. As its name suggests, this 1.28-mile steel cantilever bridge spans the Hudson River and connects Poughkeepsie to the east and Highland to the west. While it once served as a railway bridge, it was reinvented as a pedestrian bridge in 2009 and is now a great place to run, walk, cycle and admire the spectacular leaves in the fall.