Looking for a nice place to visit by the water (Buffalo: apartments, how much)

[gt87]

Hi everyone, I'm visiting Rochester in the next few weeks to visit a few apartments for my move next summer. I figured since we were their we might as well make the best for it and enjoy the little bit of summer we have left. That being said, what is a nice place/beach to visit by the lake. I was considering Ontario Beach Park but I have heard a lot of bad things about that place i.e sketchy people, drugs, fights, etc. Is it really that bad or does it just get a bad rep for a few isolated incidents? Are there any nice beach areas on any of the nearby finger lakes? Mainly looking for a place to take a dip and let the kids play in the sand. Thanks!

[AJNEOA]

Hamlin Beach State Park. It's a little bit of a drive, but an enjoyable one. Stop on the way (or way back) and get a burger at Schallers.

Ontario Beach Park is perfectly safe btw. It can get busy in evenings and on weekends however.

[dietlbomb]

Lake Ontario is beautiful, but it is cold (according to today's weather report, it's in the upper 60s right now).

The smaller finger lakes would be a better bet for swimming.

[gt87]

which one of the finger lakes would you recommend? Are there nice public beaches? And I agree with lake Ontario being cold. I was at westscotts park near sackets harbor yesterday and it was pretty chilly

[db2797]

How much time do you have for your trip to the Finger Lakes? I would highly recommend Canandaigua Lake. It's the largest touristy Finger Lake near Rochester. Only about a 25 minute drive from Rochester. There's a little beach on the lake although I do think it costs a few dollars for access to the swimming area. The waterfront there is beautiful. Ignore the ugliness on the other side of Lakeshore Dr. though because there is a very large project (North Shore) starting up there. There's also a hidden neat little walking gem called "Lagoon Park" down near the lake too.

This is the walk I do frequently. Although walk through Kershaw Park where it's showing walking on the outside of it:
City Pier, Kershaw & Lagoon Park Walk in Canandaigua, NY, United States | MapMyRun

If you have time you can visit downtown Canandaigua too. There a lot of neat shops and it's a very historic downtown. Canandaigua is actually older than Buffalo and Rochester so it has some really cool history. Susan B. Anthony's trial for voting was conducted in Canandaigua. The person who got the Erie Canal off the ground devised his scheme for how he was going to get it started while in debtor prison in Canandaigua. And there's a beautiful mansion, garden museum called Sonnenberg Garden.
Sonnenberg Gardens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also, Ontario Beach is very, very safe. Don't worry about safety down there. The few isolated issues have been blown way out of proportion. I've walked down Ontario Beach more times than I can ever count and have never had one single incident.