4 Best Sights in Jamestown, Niagara Falls and Western New York

Reuben Fenton, governor of New York from 1865 to 1869, had this brick Italianate mansion built in 1863. It contains Victorian period rooms (some quite ornate) and exhibits showcasing the history of Chautauqua Lake, the life and career of Lucille Ball, and Jamestown's Swedish and Italian communities. Also of interest are the archival and genealogical library and the Civil War exhibits.

Ball's turquoise-and-silver-sequin cowgirl costume from a 1976 "Donny and Marie" episode, video interviews with childhood friends, and original Here's Lucy scripts are a few of the items on display in the Lucy-Desi Museum, which follows the lives and careers of the two comedy stars. The adjoining Desilu Playhouse centers solely on the I Love Lucy show, with a replica of the couple's TV apartment, a 1953 Emmy, and an interactive display where you can try your hand at the Vitameatavegamin commercial.

Two annual festivals—Lucy-Desi Days, over Memorial Day weekend, and Lucille Ball's Birthday Celebration, in early August—celebrate the two stars.

The rock outcropping here, 14 mi west of downtown Jamestown, spans 25 acres. The park has caves, 60-foot-high cliffs, and crevices said to have been used by American Indians for shelter and as places to keep meat cool in summer. Outlaws are also said to have used the rocks as hiding places. As you hike along the 1-mi self-guided trail here, you may find rare mosses, wildflowers, ferns, and oddly shaped tree roots.

Named for Jamestown native and noted naturalist Roger Tory Peterson (1908–96), who wrote the seminal Field Guide to the Birds in 1934 (which spawned today's best-selling Peterson Field Guides series), this 27-acre center seeks to educate children about nature. You may hike the wooded trails, or explore one of the natural-history exhibits. The gallery shows a selection of works by Peterson and others.