Unity Island Park — Attraction in Buffalo

Lovely large park, with trees and the swift Niagara. I’ve heard the pools are deadly so don’t let your children swim. Sometimes the trains go by, forward and back, forward and back over the railroad bridge, as if they aren’t sure whether they want to come or to go. There’s always a Border Patrol agent in an SUV above the bridge. Men fish along the water - once in the middle of the night I saw immigrants fishing here with a large cage - catching many fish at once, maybe during a spawn. Probably illegal but it was something to see. Other times, in the summer and fall, people gather under the trees, selling kabobs and pancakes and noodles and candy and little toys. Also probably illegal but I think it’s wonderful. At night the landfill hills make an excellent place to watch the stars. Just in the water, about halfway between the two bridges, there is a carved Medina sandstone dragon, I suppose the remains of some old vanished...

This is an interesting park. Like Squaw Island to the south, this one is a bit difficult to find. You will need to cross a single-lane metal decked railroad bridge to gain access. There is parking at the park. The park itself is pretty peaceful and very safe (there is always a border crossing patrol car parked next to the international railroad bridge to the south of the park). If you meander long enough, you will come cross the first technical set of locks for the Erie Canal waterway system (the canal beings just north, where Tonawanda creek empties into the Niagara river for those curious and unfamiliar). I am unsure how frequently this lock is used, I haven't seen it in operation but it is well kept. If you take the pathway to the south west of the park just note you're walking past the sewage treatment facility and it usually has a particular smell wafting in the...

This is a park that seems to get a little abused by some of the people who use it, as there is often litter or scars from where people drive their cars over the grass. That said, it's an awesome location at the northern end of Unity Island near the Erie Canal Lock (Yes, you can watch boats/ships go through), and you can walk along the trailing breakwall north of the canal. You can also sometimes see trains crossing the International Train Bridge, and the turntable bridge to get on/off the island is cool to see, if it starts to turn when you're trying to get on/off the island, you can be trapped, though only for 10 minutes or...