If You Build It, Will They Come?

Joyce and I recently returned from a Buffalo-to-Seattle and back trip to visit with Michael, Sophia, and our newest granddaughter, Louisa.  And, yes, we drove.  Wanting to avoid certain known areas of high traffic, we used the "Canada Route" to get to Michigan and back.  Having not been west of Minnesota in ANY of our vehicle-based vacations, I used the Good Sam Trip Planner to locate and reserve campsites along our route. 

For some areas of the Country, we seldom saw other small RV's or travel-trailers sharing the road with us.  But, in others, these numbers soared.  And, depending on the time of day, they could be seen out-numbering all other vehicles with which we were traveling.

And, when it came to campgrounds, our over-night stays put us in some more-than-crowded campgrounds, regardless of how far off the beaten path we may have found ourselves; the UP of Michigan, rural Minnesota, no-where North Dakota, and mountainous Oregon.  Then, when we began our return, destination-area campgrounds became larger, more numerous, and even MORE attended.

So, what was the overwhelming realization/conclusion?

What about "us"?  Where do folks stay in Western New York when they travel here?

When I read an article last year mentioning where to go and where to stay when taking a "circle-route" around the US for those full-time RV'ers, the route COMPLETELY avoided all of this part of the State, including our "Seven Wonders of the Natural World", Niagara Falls.

Take a look at what campgrounds and the number of sites are available and you'll quickly see the probable answer.

There are NO campgrounds within 30 minutes of downtown Buffalo.  There are NO campgrounds within 5 miles of the Falls in Niagara Falls, USA, the closest being outside of the City.  In contrast, there are no less than a DOZEN campgrounds in Yellowstone and nearly as many within 10 minutes of Mount Rushmore, each garnering 100's, maybe even 1000's of RV-traveling visitors.

What is one of the largest complaints we constant from Niagara Falls business owners?  People come.  Visit the Falls.  Then, leave within 2 hours after arriving.  Having recently visited the Niagara Falls Reservation State Park, Joyce and I saw parking lot after parking lot after parking lot, with empty store front after empty store front after empty store front.  The only "density" of people/vehicles was seen directly around the Seneca Niagara Cassino.  GAMBLING should NOT be what Niagara Falls retains any tourist with.

Granted, western towns like Cle Elam, Custer, and Jackson have a, well, "western" appeal to them, but once you get past all the souvenir stands, there are still the bars, restaurants, and "necessaries" that every traveler still demands; banks, drug stores, grocery stores.  BUT, neither downtown Niagara Falls OR Buffalo have addressed any of these same offerings.  And what WORSENS the whole experience for either urban area is the total lack of parking accomodations within a reasonable distance of the urban core.  Try taking an RV into the downtown core of Buffalo and tell me where you finally find a place to park. I'll wait.