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Much more than just a place to park boats, the Erie Basin Marina is popular with Buffalo residents during the summer as a place to walk, jog or bike, enjoy an ice cream cone and cool lake breezes, or just relax and watch the people go by. A longtime fixture on Buffalo's waterfront, the Erie Basin Marina is next to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park, the Canalside redevelopment, the Waterfront Village Condominiums, and the Buffalo Light, which was built in 1833 and is the oldest existing building in Buffalo still on its original site. The marina also boasts such amenities as a snack bar and ice cream shop (The Hatch), a pair of upscale restaurants (Templeton Landing and William K's), a waterfront boardwalk that provides access to the small Emerald Beach, and an observation tower that boasts excellent views of downtown, the West Side waterfront, Elevator Alley, Lake Erie, the Niagara River, and Canada. Also here are the Erie Basin Marina Gardens, whose 200 different species of plants come into bloom each spring and summer along Erie Street and which serve not only as a delightful attraction for visitors but also as a test garden for floral and seed companies to experiment with growing their plants in a Northeastern climate.
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The Moondance is a 51-foot catamaran that offers two-hour cruises on Lake Erie. Four cruises depart daily from the Erie Basin Marina, and passengers can take advantage of an open bar, sound system, and ample space for sunbathing. Group charters and banquet packages are available.
During the warm months, the Miss Buffalo II takes visitors on their choice of three sightseeing cruises that cover various parts of Buffalo's waterfront. The basic Narrated Sightseeing Cruise takes in the sights along the upper Niagara River including the old Buffalo Light, the Black Rock Canal, and (on the opposite side of the river) Old Fort Erie. The Historic Buffalo River Tour explores Buffalo's mighty industrial past with a visit to the old Erie Canal terminus and "Elevator Alley", a stretch of the Buffalo River adjacent to the harbor that is lined with historic grain elevators. The Landmark Tour uses Buffalo's scenic harbor as a base to explore the magnificent architectural landmarks of downtown. Tours leave from the Erie Basin Marina rain or shine. Parties, corporate events, and private charters are also available.
Located adjacent to Canalside, the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park opened in 1977 and consists of three historic warships: the USS Little Rock, a cruiser which served in the Mediterranean Sea during the Cold War as a flagship for the Second and Sixth Fleets of the U.S. Navy and is now the only guided missile cruiser in the country on display; the USS The Sullivans, a destroyer that saw intense action in the Pacific theater of World War II; and the USS Croaker, a submarine that also saw action in the Pacific during WWII. These ships are open for self-guided tours during the warm months. There is also a museum on site that displays memorabilia such as Medals of Honor awarded to area residents.
Serene and scenic cruises on Lake Erie and around the harbor are to be had on the Spirit of Buffalo, an unmissable 73-foot schooner that affords them the opportunity to experience a trip aboard a traditional 19th-century sailing vessel. Day cruises, sunset sails, and a Wednesday "Wine in the Wind" Cruise featuring local vintages from the Niagara Peninsula are all offered; kids love the Pirate Cruises that sail on Saturdays and Sundays. All cruises leave from the Commercial Slip at Canalside. Private charters are available as well.
A work of local artist Casey Riordan, Shark Girl is a life-size fiberglass statue of a young girl with an old-fashioned blue dress, bright red shoes, and a great white shark for a head that's been perplexing — and polarizing — visitors to Canalside since it was unveiled in 2014, borne of a partnership between the city government and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery aimed at promoting works of public art around Buffalo. Shark Girl is a recurring character in Millard's repertoire of paintings and drawings — a representation, she says, of "the existential conundrums of life, love, family, and loss". She sits atop a boulder on one of the whipple-truss bridges over the restored canal.
The shipping industry was greatly important to Buffalo's economy in earlier times, and the Lower Lakes Marine Historical Society's mission is to pay tribute to and increase awareness and appreciation of, that facet of local history. To that end, a wide variety of historic artifacts, old photographs, models, and interpretive materials relevant to the Great Lakes shipping trade are displayed in a warm and airy museum in what was once the offices of Howard H. Baker and Company, a ship chandlery that served Buffalo Harbor in the 19th century.