Allegany State park is a place that I have visited since I was a kid. It is flat-out beautiful! It is a series of freshwater lakes nestled in about 65,000 acres of preserved woodland among the western foothills of the Allegheny Mountains

it is located about an hour East of Erie, Pa and about an hour South of Buffalo, NY and is adjacent to I-86 "The Southern Tier Expressway." Conveniently, it is a comfortable day's drive from NYC, and Toronto as well as from DC and Baltimore. so if you livein any of these areas and and are looking for a rustic weekend...trust me, you will not be sorry.

Amenities include everything you would want. There are pull-through sites, tent sites, camper sites and even cabins available for rent. Most of the campsites and all of the cabins have electricity. There are even some group cabins for larger get-to-gethers.

As mentioned, the campsites like the rest of the park is rustic. This is not the "Parking Lot" style campsites where everyone is right on top of each other. There are plenty of sites where you will not even SEE your neighbor.

Wildlife? You want wildlife? You WILL see wildlife at ASP. Ducks, geese and other birds are plentiful. You MIGHT even see a bald eagle or two if you are lucky. Deer are abundant as are racoons porcupine and even the occassional skunk. Squirrels, chipmunks and even otters and beaver can be seen and photographed. Black bear are present too but in far fewer numbers now that the trash collection system has been centralized. (No worries though, none of the animals are tame or even that used to people...so they are all much more scared of you than you will be of them) Black Bears can be startling to see, but are generally not dangerous, The most you can expect if you come upon one is a short little "woof" before they run off. Still....you MUST store food and waste correctly to avoid a "middle of the night" visitor.

What to do. There is plenty to keep both you AND your kids busy at ASP. There are two lakes for swimming, there are paddleboat and canoe rentals and tons of hiking trails. There are even bicycles for rent (including a bicycle built for two) Much of the terrain is relatively flat so riding is an excellent way to see the area. For the kids there are nature talks and walks, playgrounds, basketball courts, tennis, kite flying, baseball and soccer area and creeks to splash in and rocks to find crayfish under. (don't know what a crayfish is? you will soon have a "Look mom!" moment)

There is also fishing and hunting - both of which require NYS permits.

Although no power boats are allowed on ASP lakes, the Kinzua Recreation area is right next door and is a very large freshwater lake with plenty of room for power boating, water skiing and "wave-running" At Wolf Run Marina (about 25 minutes away, you can rent speed boats, pontoon boats or even a houseboat that sleeps 4-6!

Tired of Nature? There is a brand new, modern casino about 8 miles from the Redhouse area on the Seneca Reservation (yes a real indian reservation) in Salamanca. Go the other way and you are in Bradford - the home of Zippo Lighters and Birthplace of Opera Star, Marilyn Horne. Probably more importantly after a week of hotdogs and hamburgers - Bradford is also the closest home of a Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut and McDonalds.

Speaking of opera, if you are in need of a little culture, check out the Chataqua Institute near Jamestown (about 30 minutes West on I-86) Action? Great Adventure - Darien Lake is a large amusement park about 60 min North, just East of Buffalo. While you are in Buffalo, drive 20 more minutes and check out Niagara Falls - you'll be amazed.

Rainy Night? Both Bradford and Olean (about 20 minutes east of Salamanca on I-86) have movies and shopping (both have walmarts for those last minute needs) and Olean has BJ's Wholesale Warehouse for that 5 lb bag of hot dogs. (Get Sahlen's)

Cellphone? Hmmmm Not alot of coverage....the office will have to wait. If you NEED to check in though, Bradford or Salamanca have coverage for most carriers.

Weather? You are about about 2000 feet in elevation so summer daytime temps can get warm (by warm I mean mid 80's) but nights are almost always comfortable (low 60's or less) No matter what time of year you visit and no matter what the temperature is where you are now, ALWAYS ALWAYS bring a jacket. Evenin August, you are just one cold front away from highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's and I have seen it snow in every month of the year but August (and my mother has seen it snow in August)

Oh... and you city dwellers....those bright shiny things you see in the sky at night. No they are no planes waiting to land at Laguardia...they are stars! Real honest to goodness stars and LOTS of em (look for the Perseid Meteor shower around the beginning of Aug)

Fall is GLORIOUS. Aim for the last week in September or the first week in October, but this can vary. Frost at night starts usually Mid-Sept and it is not unusual to see flurries by Halloween.

Winter temps can be brutal and snowfall significant so be prepared but the snow hanging off the pine forests is a sight to see. In the winter those trails you hiked in the summer become cross country trails in the winter. Snowmobiling is legal too, but required NYS registration.

So....Dust off that S'more's recipe from Girlscouts, load the kids into the minivan and come on out for a week before school starts. You might find that nature is not the only thing you reconnect with.

Campsite reservations can be made through the Allegany State Park website at [--]