2 Best Sights in Darien Lakes State Park, Niagara Falls and Western New York

The Ride of Steel will have your heart racing faster than the 70 mph this roller coaster reaches. It's one of six coasters at this theme park, which has more than 100 rides in all. The Viper coaster turns you upside down five times. The water park has the Big Kahuna—a more than 700-foot-long, twisting tube ride—the Grizzly Run rapids, a log flume, a wave pool, and various twisted chutes and slides. The complex includes a 20,000-seat concert amphitheater, eateries, a hotel, and a mammoth campground with 1,200 sites.

The centerpiece of this 1,850-acre park is 12-acre Harlow Lake, which has a sandy beach. Hiking, bridle, and cross-country skiing trails vein the grounds, which are hilly and wooded and include a 158-site campground (open daily from June through September and on weekends the rest of the year) with showers and a comfort station. Fishing, picnicking, snowmobiling, and ice-skating are among the other activities you might pursue here. Some hunting is allowed in season.