Rochester Tourist Attractions

Rochester is a vibrant city that offers many different types of activities for everyone. Here are some of the most popular activities and places to visit in the area.

Rochester: The Strong National Museum of Play

The Strong National Museum of Play was established in 1969 and was based initially on the personal collection of Margaret Woodbury Strong. It opened its doors to the public in 1982.

In the 1990s, the Museum's Board of Trustees changed its mission to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of play.

It has also refined and increased its collections to hundreds of thousands of items.

It is now one of five Play Partners of The Strong, which is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, and the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, and produces the American Journal of Play.

The museum's exhibits are themed for video games, storybooks, television shows, education, nature, history, comic books, carousel and train rides, and children's lifestyles. eGame Revolution is the first permanent video game exhibit in the US and includes the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden features thousands of butterflies and is the largest indoor butterfly garden in New York.

The Berenstain Bears: Down a Sunny Dirt Road is an original, permanent exhibit produced with the Berenstain family.

At the Museum of Play, visitors can experience two floors of dynamic, interactive exhibit spaces spread through an area as big as a city block.

See the world's largest collection of toys, dolls, games, and electronic games. Visit the National Toy Hall of Fame, World Video Game Hall of Fame, and Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden.

Seneca Park Zoo

2222 St Paul St, Rochester, NY 14621, USA

Seneca Park Zoo is a 6-hectare zoo located in Rochester, New York. The zoo is home to over 90 species, including mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish, and arachnids.

Opened in 1894, the zoo is operated by Monroe County, with support from the Seneca Park Zoo Society.

Seneca Park Zoo hosts many events throughout the year, including free-with-admission events such as conservation education days and daily 'Summer Experiences' from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day.

Popular fundraisers include ZooBrew, Zoobilation (annual gala), ZooBoo (Halloween), and Breakfast with Santa.

The Jungle Jog 5K race occurs in July yearly and boasts a course that takes runners through Seneca Park and the zoo. This 5K is extremely popular with area runners and families.

Rochester Museum & Science Center

657 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14607, USA

The Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) is dedicated to community education in science, technology, and local history.

RMSC permanent exhibits offer visitors unique, interactive educational experiences.

The Inventor Center allows visitors to participate in different main problem-solving challenges presented every four to five months.

The Electricity Theater is a science show that features indoor bolts of musical lightning produced by twin solid-state Tesla coils.

Illumination: The World of Light and Optics is a permanent exhibit that features interactive opportunities to learn about reflection, refraction, radio waves, color temperature, and many more.

The museum also teaches about local history in the exhibits such as The American Civil War: The Impact of the Industrial Revolution, Flight to Freedom: Rochester’s Underground Railroad, and At the Western Door.

Visitors can also look forward to new, exciting experiences each year through the traveling and temporary exhibits at the RMSC.

Seabreeze Amusement Park

4600 Culver Road, Rochester, NY 14622

Seabreeze Amusement Park is a historic amusement park in Rochester, New York. It is one of only thirteen trolley parks still operating in the United States.

It opened in 1879 and is the twelfth-oldest operating amusement park in the world. The park’s most celebrated ride is the Jack Rabbit roller coaster which opened in 1920.

It's the fourth-oldest operating roller coaster in the world. It is owned and operated by the Norris family, many of whom have lived on the property for years.

It serves the Rochester metropolitan area.

Charlotte – Genesee Lighthouse

70 Lighthouse St, Rochester, NY 14612, USA

The Charlotte–Genesee Lighthouse is an 1822 stone octagonal lighthouse in the Charlotte neighborhood in northern Rochester, New York, United States.

The 12-meter tower is located on Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Genesee River. It originally had ten whale oil Argand lamps. The lamps were replaced with Fresnel lenses in 1853.

In 1965, Charlotte High School students started a letter-writing campaign to save the lighthouse from impending destruction.

It is now owned by Monroe County and managed as a museum by the Charlotte Genesee Lighthouse Historical Society, a nonprofit volunteer organization.

The Lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a City of Rochester Landmark. It is open to the public.

Cobbs Hill Reservoir

80 Culver Rd, Rochester, NY 14610, USA

Cobbs Hill Reservoir is a reservoir located in Cobbs Hill Park in Rochester, New York, United States. It supplies drinking water to the city of Rochester. The source of the water is Hemlock Lake, which lies 30 miles due south of the city.

The granite gatehouse atop the hill was designed by architect J. Foster Warner in the Greek Revival style. The structure featured a wide portico with an ornate drinking fountain.

Cobbs Hill Park remains a Rochester feature into the twenty-first century and is used by joggers running the reservoir trail, sled riders gliding down the hill, sports enthusiasts playing on the athletic fields, or people partaking in the views or nature walks.