Timothy J. Burvid Ice Rink

Ask locals about Cazenovia Park Falls and you'll likely get little more than quizzical looks: even more so than Buffalo's other natural waterfall, Forest Lawn Cemetery's Serenity Falls, this is truly a hidden gem. Strange, because it's easily the more impressive of the two — by comparison with its counterpart which is little more than a series of rapids, the horseshoe-shaped Cazenovia Park Falls is a six-foot (1.8-m) vertical plunge along Cazenovia Creek over a ridge of dark, oil-rich shale. The scene at the falls is a very changeable one — after heavy rains the falls might be temporarily submerged again, and during the dry summer months the flow often slows to a trickle, but come at the right time and you'll bear witness to a lively affair of trout or bass jumping up the cascade as anglers try their luck.

Straddling Cazenovia Creek in the southeast corner of the city, Cazenovia Park is most famous as the site of an eponymous 9-hole golf course that's arguably the finest in the city. More than that, though, this is a place of wooded walking paths, serene creekside views, and friendly games of pickup baseball on well-manicured diamonds. There's also a swimming pool and an ice rink. When the park was first built, the creek was dammed to create the large Cazenovia Park Lake, on the shore of which stood a pleasant, airy lodge (still in existence today as the Peter J. Crotty Casino) with charming views over the water from the veranda. Athletic fields, a carriage concourse, a bandstand, and gardens almost as extensive as South Park's rounded out the original offerings. In 1925, Cazenovia Park's size was almost doubled by the addition of a golf course to its east end; though not designed by Olmsted, the seclusion of the new portion from the rest of the park means that the divide between Cazenovia's two halves seems nearly seamless. Aside from the lake, which was drained in 1965 due to persistent problems with flooding and pollution (revealing the previously submerged Cazenovia Park Falls; see below), the park remains mostly true to its original design and is in better shape than many of the other Olmsted parks in the city.

Aside from the scads of Irish-American not-for-profit groups who have their home offices here (such as the Gaelic-American Athletic Association and Rince na Tiarna Irish Dancers), the Buffalo Irish Center also includes a pub which, every Friday and Saturday night, plays host to live music featuring local bands of diverse genres — everything from country to hard rock to Dixieland jazz. For those in the mood for something more Irish, head down to a seisiún if you're in town at the right time: held on the third Sunday of each month, these hoedowns of traditional music, dancing, and storytelling feature Guinness on tap and plenty of merriment.

Seneca Indian Park is a tiny, out-of-the-way patch of lawn in a quiet residential neighborhood near the city line, but the historical importance of the site is huge. During the early 19th century, the land was part of the cemetery next to the Seneca Indian Mission Church, which was located a few steps away on what's now called Indian Church Road. Originally buried here were such Seneca luminaries as Chief Red Jacket and Mary Jemison, the "White Woman of the Genesee"; their remains were moved to Forest Lawn Cemetery and the grounds of the Glen Iris Estate at Letchworth State Park, respectively. It's said that the Buffalo Creek Reservation's longhouse was located on the site too; while that's not certain, it was definitely somewhere nearby. Commemorating the site's historical importance are a trio of large boulders, on which are placed historical plaques explaining local Seneca history.

Secluded at the southeast end of the Olmsted park of the same name, Cazenovia Park Golf Course is the larger and better-maintained of South Buffalo's two golf courses. An easy, flat course perfect for beginners, golfers at Cazenovia play in a simple but extremely pleasant setting, with nice wide fairways and hazards that mostly consist of the huge shade trees that are peppered here and there throughout the course. As well, Cazenovia Creek, which bisects the course through the middle, serves as a water hazard on the 3rd and 9th holes. Cazenovia is a nine-hole course, but those who want a full 18-hole round can play the course through twice as a discounted price: each hole has two separate tees, making for a distinctive experience for each go-round. Cart rental is available — not that you'd need one, this course is easy to walk — and there's a putting and chipping green and a snack bar.

Named for a former county sheriff native to South Buffalo, this 3½-acre (1.4-ha) park is located on the Bailey Peninsula, at the junction of Cazenovia Creek and the Buffalo River on the west side of Bailey Avenue (parking is at the northwest corner of Bailey and McKinley Parkway; a footpath leads over the creek to the peninsula). Along with the Seneca Bluffs upstream, Higgins Riverfront Park is different from the other elements of the Buffalo River Greenway in that the site was never used for heavy industry, being located too far upstream for freighters to go and away from any railroad tracks. Today, it's a wetland habitat for the type of wildlife that frequented the area prior to urbanization, such as fox, snapping turtle, beaver, white-tailed deer, and birds such as kingfisher and great blue heron. At the bank of the river there's a kayak launch and some nice places for fishermen to cast their lines, or you can take it all in while strolling along one of the manicured walking trails.