Hamburg, NY Road Trips

1 Penn Dixie Paleontological and Outdoor Education Center, 4050 North St., Hamburg, ☏ +1 716 627-4560. Jun-Sep: M-Sa 9AM-4PM, Su 11AM-4PM. May & Oct: Sa 9AM-4PM & Su 11AM-4PM. Owned and operated by the Hamburg Natural History Society, the Penn Dixie Paleontological and Outdoor Education Center is an outdoor site where visitors can find and collect many extraordinarily well-preserved fossils of sea animals such as trilobites, gastropods, and cnidarians that date from the Devonian Period, a time 380 million years ago when Western New York was under a tropical ocean. As well, the Penn Dixie site boasts a wide variety of habitats, such as wetlands, forest, and treeless brush, that serve as home to a similarly wide variety of animal life such as wild turkey, deer, coyote, reptiles, and migratory birds. Hiking and birdwatching are also popular activities, and special events occur on a regular basis. $7, children 2-12 $6, members and children under 2 free.

Erie County Fair, ☏ +1 716 649-3900. The Erie County Fair is the third-largest county fair in the United States by attendance, and is by far the longest-standing annual event in the area. The first fair was held in 1820 on what is today the site of Sahlen Field in downtown Buffalo; the fair has been held continually since 1841 with the exception of 1943, when it was cancelled due to World War II. Today, nearly a million Western New Yorkers pour into the suburb of Hamburg each year for two weeks in the middle of August that have long symbolized the bittersweet end of summer for locals. The fair still serves its original purpose as an agricultural exhibition intended to promote and showcase the area's traditions, talents, diversity and heritage in that field, but today it also features a huge midway with a wide range of carnival rides and games, a range of live music performances each year, gaming, and myriad other attractions. $10, seniors $7, children 12 and under free. Parking $5. 1 Buffalo Raceway, 5600 McKinley Pkwy., ☏ +1 716 649-1280. Daily 8AM-4AM. The Buffalo Raceway features exciting live harness racing on its half-mile track from January through July, which is located on the grounds of the Erie County Fair in the suburb of Hamburg. Visitors can watch the races from the comfort of The Clubhouse, which offers food and drinks as well as simulcast wagering year-round, with video feeds from tracks such as the Meadowlands Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Churchill Downs.

1 Brunner's Eatery, 7171 Boston State Rd., North Boston, ☏ +1 716 649-1707. Su-Th 11AM-10PM, F-Sa 11AM-11PM. Pizza, subs, wings, tacos, pasta, soup, beer. Plenty of parking.

1 Red Roof Inn Buffalo Hamburg, 5370 Camp Rd (I-90 exit 57), ☏ +1 716 648-7222. All rooms offer data ports, expanded cable TV, coffeemakers, and free long-distance calls within the continental United States. 2 Stadium View Inn, 4414 Southwestern Blvd, ☏ +1 716 649-6206 x10. Convenient to New Era Field, Hamburg Fairgrounds, and ECC South Campus. Free cable TV with over 70 channels including HBO; refrigerator and microwave in every room. Rooms with kitchenette also available. 3 Super 8 Hamburg, 5442 Camp Rd (I-90 exit 57), ☏ +1 716 649-0505. All rooms contain coffeemaker, hair dryer, iron and ironing board. Rooms with microwave and refrigerator also available. Continental breakfast. 4 Motel 6 Hamburg, 5245 Camp Rd (I-90 exit 57), ☏ +1 716 648-2000. Check-out: 11:00 am. All rooms include 55 channels of cable TV; kitchenette suites also available. Guest laundry, outdoor pool and patio, free coffee and tea in the morning. 5 Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Hamburg, 3565 Commerce Pl (I-90 exit 57), ☏ +1 716 834-5613. Business center, small fitness center, indoor pool, WorldNews global newspaper service, laundry and dry cleaning service. Continental breakfast. 6 Sharon's Lakehouse, 4862 Lake Shore Rd., ☏ +1 716 627-7561. Sharon DiMaria operates this charming lakefront bed & breakfast 15 minutes south of Buffalo. The property's two rooms are beautifully furnished and boast stunning views of Lake Erie; ceiling fans, cable TV and DVD players are all provided. A gourmet breakfast is served each morning in the intimate atmosphere of the lovely dining room.