This park is so lovely! And much bigger than I expected it to be…read more Situated along Owasco Lake, there are beach areas, a dog park, sizeable pavilions, a boat launch, and all sorts of spaces (the Merry-Go Round Playhouse Theater is also located in this park). My one complaint? There could certainly be more / better signage. When looking for the bathroom recently, the first closed one (over by Merry-Go Round) directed you to the large pavilion on the main (other) side of the park. When there, you were directed to actually use the bathrooms at the little league field (up near the entrance back on the other side of the park). Also, for newcomers who are trying to find the dog park or whatnot, some extra signage would be helpful (the dog park is kinda tucked away). TL;DR Very much enjoyed my recent visit here - I'll be back! :)

Awww, this place is adorable for your dogs to spend time with other ones. It's a clean dog park and…read morehuge, it's split up on two sides for little dogs/puppies and bigger dogs. It's near the boat dock so you can enjoy the water too. It's off on it's own place so comes off very peaceful. There's water dishes and sometimes pools for them to play in. It's a great outlet for them and their health.

Large enough for many dogs to play and have space. GPS was confusing and sent me to the boat yard…read more Beautiful park for boaters, kids and dogs. You can rent kayaks too. Close to town.

This is an indoor dog park, the only one in the area, so great for bad weather days. They have…read moreattendants on duty and the over all cleanliness is awesome. They have ramps, and tunnels and other toys to play with but mostly it is very large for running. The entire place is fenced with gates and rubber floors whihc malkes it very safe. All dogs are required to be tested and have vaccination records before entrance.

Medium sized fully fenced dog park with a partition separating large dogs from small dogs. Pea…read moregravel mostly so the dogs didn't get too dirty despite the drizzly weather. BYOB (bring your own bowl) for the pups to drink water. There was a faucet but that's it. Bathrooms nearby and located within a nice little park.

Pretty place to go for a walk away from the hustle & bustle of Syracuse :) would recommend for…read morewatching dogs play when you're stressed with finals.

This dog park is great! It is about a 1/4 acre for the large dog area and small dog area each. It's…read morenice that these are separated. It does have strict rules but that makes it really well maintained and a nice place to take your pup. There is usually water for the dogs, and dog bags for owner convenience. There are benches to sit on under umbrellas in case of rain, and it's completely fenced in- plenty of space for our 70 lb pup. Overall, this is an awesome park to take your pup and an asset to the area!

Super interesting to learn about the Erie Canal at this "heritage park" that is also a bit of a…read moremuseum. Nearly eight years to construct, it was completed in 1825 and linked Albany New York with Buffalo, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. It was the greatest engineering accomplishment at the time, some 563 miles of canals across the state. But as times changed and canals were no longer the most efficient method of transport, much of the Erie Canal has been abandoned. Steamships and later more modern barges go around New England along the Saint Lawrence Seaway. And then it switched to railroads and later, trucks on superhighways like the one I used to get here. This parking area is for passenger vehicles and RVs only. Trucks are not permitted. There is a four hour parking limit. [Review 1535 of 2024 - 451 in New York - 22558 overall]

"Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal." Can't get that song out of my head while I'm here. (You can find…read moreit on y'all tube: https://youtu.be/gIIM1mHfJ0U ) The first question that seems to come up when I talk about abandoned locks is "Why was it abandoned and where is the water?" Without going into an elaborate history of the Erie Canal (tough for me to do) the original "Clinton's Ditch" was "4 and 40," that is, 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide, which soon became too small. The Erie Canal was widened to "7 and 70," that is, 7 feet deep and 70 feet wide and in many places was moved. This is one of those cases. This lock was built as a part of the newly widened Erie Canal and used until about 1917 when the canal was widened once again, and also rerouted to the north which bypassed Port Byron entirely. Lock 52 was abandoned, now preserved for your enjoyment. You can access the lock as a rest area on the eastbound New York Thruway at mile marker 309 but if you're not on the superslab, you can access the lock from NY 31 (Rochester Road) in Port Byron. There is a museum and display inside the building you can check out before (or after) you access the lock itself. The museum is not a comprehensive history of the canal system in New York, which is probably fine for those of short attention spans or those who are itching to get back on the Thruway and make time. There is an incredible model of the lock that was created for the 1893 Columbian Exposition (the "White City") in Chicago. For some reason, the model is a mirror image of the prototype. Just the same, viewing the model gives one a mental image of how the locks worked in the halcyon days of the Erie Canal. Just outside the door is a three-sided kiosk with three interpretive panels that describe the lock, tell you about the original canal system and how it is currently configured, and what the canal meant to the town of Port Byron. The lock is an interesting juxtaposition of 19th Century transportation technology with 21st Century communications technology. In other words, you can download an app to your cell phone and access audio descriptions of points in the lock and the historical park. With the app, you can be your own docent and virtual tour guide! As you walk up the trail that was the towpath, you'll find a collection of buildings that were a part of the Port Byron lock environment. You'll find a tavern, a blacksmith shop, and a mule barn. Animals were well cared for on the Erie Canal, the animals were a key component on the canal. From that spot, you can observe the original canal leading up to the locks. Note the ashlar stone lining the canal. There was a dry dock across the way, it was filled in after the canal was relocated in 1917. Incidentally, there was originally only one lock here, the shorter of the two. It was "twinned" with a larger lock so barges coupled together could lock through without the delay and expense of being untied to lock through separately. It also allowed eastbound traffic to lock through while while westbound traffic could lock through at the same time. Don't rush out to see it just yet. First of all, it's open limited hours. The museum is seasonal and I might have been the last guest of 2020. (I was there late in the afternoon on Halloween, the last day of the year.) The museum will reopen on April 1, 2021 and hopefully we won't need masks anymore.

Heritage Park is a nice spot for finding recreation in the Cicero-North Syracuse area. I recently…read morevisited the park to play disc golf and played through the 9 hole course twice through. The course has 2 sets of tees so you can play each hole slightly differently each time through. The disc golf course is beginner friendly, though there is some occasional pedestrian traffic walking the trail that you need to watch out for. One of the tee areas has you tossing near the parking lot, and I wasn't a fan of that (I do think that may have been moved recently). The course is a mix of open holes and some wooded holes - a good quick round is easy to knock out here. The park has a children's playground, basketball courts, and a nice walking trail. It checks a lot of boxes for a fun spot to visit.

Park has all the essentials for a neighborhood: tennis court, baseball diamond, picnic tables, dog…read morepark, able parking, small playground, walking paths, and disc golf. I went for the disc golf, which was 9 holes and a tad confusing since the map was burned on the bathroom building. There are colored wooden cubes to tee off at each of the 9 holes, with the assumption that certain colors are harder difficulties, but yellow is not always the farthest or hardest. There are no pars listed so it's not for hardcore throwers but it's a decent walk. Baskets could also be improved with a stripe of colored paint to make them more visible, since there's no map or markers even pointing in the right direction like at most courses. It's flat, one hole through a wooded area, and relatively easy for a nice stroll while tossing frisbees with a friend.

Whilst I do like the park in it's entirety, the best part of Jamesville Beach Park is it's huge dog…read morepark. One thing I noticed about this park is that dogs are in general better trained here-- and that is because they have to be. This park is not fenced in like other dog parks. Instead, it is a huge open set of areas, including a path through the trees. You need to ensure your pup has good recall, likes to stay around you, or you'll need to make sure they are on a leash. I have only had a few hiccups here is with people not being the best trained. One person, without a dog, was just giving treats to all dogs that came up to them which was a bit frustrating and a bad behavior to teach. Also, people are terrible about picking up poop. You'll find dog poop and bags of dog poop everywhere--some of this I will blame on the park as its huge and there are only 2 places to put it. However. Its a huge place for my dog to run and he enjoys it-- and so do we, and as a bonus, he sleeps the rest of the day.

The dog park at Jamesville Beach is a special place for me and my dog! We have been taking her…read morethere consistently since she was a puppy and it was an excellent way to get her used to other dogs from day one. She has built a lot of independence there and she knows our walking route by heart. It's beautiful, well maintained, the trails offer a variety of difficulty, and there are several swimming spots for the dogs. It's a great place to take a nice walk after work to help yourself and your dog unwind.

My first time on this trail and it's really pretty. The trail is gravel lined and easy to walk. The…read moredownfall for me is that it's so short about .80 of a mile. I normally walk with my friends 3-4 miles so we had to go back and forth a couple of times. On this hot day it was good to have a tree lined trail. The wild flowers were in bloom and the sound of the water made it feel relaxing. I will be back.