The fertile farming country stretching from Albany at the head of the Hudson to Buffalo on Lake Erie, along the route of the Erie Canal , comprises the agricultural heartland of New York State. The eastern parts - also known as Central Leatherstocking , after the protective leggings worn by the area's first settlers - are well off the conventional tourist trails. Unless you want to check out one of the specialist sports museums, like the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown , this is not a high-priority destination.

With the captivating exception of Niagara Falls , one of the continent's biggest crowd pullers, there's little to see in the northwest reaches of New York State. Standing out from the mostly flat farmland, the industrial giants of Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo each possess a couple of worthy museums, but are best approached as bases for seeing the surrounding area (Buffalo, for example, is a good base for Niagara Falls).

Erie Canal region

• Erie Canal region

Explore Erie Canal region

• Buffalo
• Canastota
• Cooperstown
• Rochester
• Syracuse

New York cities


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