Solé at Woodlawn Beach — Attraction in Town of Hamburg

We stumbled upon this place a few years ago, and gave it a five star review. It was an absolutely awesome spot, family friendly, or a darn good buffalo alternative to South Beach Miami (kidding, but seriously a great scene) over the years we went here with our children from baby age to about kindergarten age. We had a good time as adults, they had a good time as kids.

Flash forward to today (June 2021)

If you want a front row seat to the decay of our culture, this is the place for you. I kid you not, at one point people came and set up a stripper pole and we’re dancing on it in the middle of the afternoon

Maybe that’s your thing, so here are some tangible facts:

1. Police now check bags, I certainly don’t condone people going to the beach and getting wasted, but a hard-working American family should be able to have a beer out of a can if they choose. You used to be able to buy beer on the beach here if you want it

2. while there are police, they are unable to do anything about what seems like a rowdy and frankly unsafe environment

3. you will not catch much more than a two minute break between scripted, apathetic chants from lifeguards over the loudspeaker saying such things as“ please do not throw the football in the designated swimming area“ and over and over and over again yelling at people more for liability sake than their safety for doing anything but standing in the water like a statue. Not even beach balls are allowed.

4. The restaurant that used to be on the inland side of a dune in a beautiful natural sand setting with large trees providing shade is now wide-open; the beautiful hundred year old trees were cut down for social distancing last year. Over the years, our children have enjoyed early dinners in the sand and perhaps a little bit of live music. Now, at ages six, four, and 18 months, they were not allowed to sit at the tables because they are not 21. This was at 5:45ish PM. We left, and do not plan to return

This beach is a fantastic example of New York State Failing completelyTo provide a nice time, a safe place, and any logic whatsoever.

RESPONSE TO OWNER RESPONSE:

I see where you are coming from - the majority of the disappointment is cultural, I have no idea what has happened, but it’s not just your beach, it’s not just Buffalo, or New York, it seems to be our whole country. People acting aggressively and violently in public places ruining everyone’s fine.

The other major disappointment is how much the restaurant area has changed… I remember a beautiful, shady area in the sand next to the tiki bar where We would sit as a family, kids and all, and enjoy food and live music. Now the kids aren’t allowed to (we are very responsible parents, we wouldn’t make bad decisions for them). The entire vibe of the place has changed. Not for the best. I will revisit the park, I will revisit this review. If I could just delete it, I would. Your response is appreciated, for now I will add a star and reevaluate later. For what it’s worth, it used to be a...

The spot itself is beautiful, & very close to downtown Buffalo (about 10-15 min drive). Huge parking lot as it is popular & can get very crowded. After walking down the boardwalk through a cool little nature walk, I emerged to find this vast stretch of beach that made me feel like I was in FL for a second. The sand near the entry is nicer, it gets rockier (with like microgravel & some small sticks) the closer you get to the shoreline. There were bathrooms & also an adult bar/grill with a sanded area roped off for those over 21 to drink & play games or sit & chat, before the boardwalk to the beach. On the beach was a tiki bar, playground, & volleyball nets (only vball was open/being used, probably due to covid-19 restrictions). There were lifeguard chairs, but none on duty at the time (also due to Covid I believe) but someone else said they're on duty til 5pm. It was $7 to get in (State Park). The beach itself was very crowded & pretty loud (lots of people playing loud music, large families or groups, kids, etc.) so if you're looking for relaxation or less people, try Sunset Bay, or one of the Niagara County beaches. But if you're looking for a party spot, it's definitely one. I didn't swim while there, as the water was a bit cold, & some consider it to be dirty there, but a lot of people were swimming. There were a lot of boats pulled up in the water, too. A unique aspect of this beach is the presence of massive wind mills to the north along the shoreline. You are allowed to bring your own coolers & food onto the beach. People also had whatever floatation devices they wanted to use, no special rules...

We went to Solé at Woodlawn Beach for the first time, and It was an overall good time. When arriving, there is someone in a booth that charges you to park, which was $7. The parking lot was decent size and Nicely paved but very crowded. There is a Yellow building, you cant miss that has Bathrooms in the middle, Event area, gift shop and also The Solé Bar and Grill at the back which played live music, had cornhole set up and some seats in the sand to really give you that beach feel where you can enjoy your Drinks and food. There was plenty of seating and also seats at the bar and the staff was very polite. There was also a small Merch set up of Buffalo jerseys and clothing which was cool and just had a great atmosphere.. Food was pricey and small portioned but that comes with the Location being right on beach. To access beach you can go either side of the yellow building, and they have walk pads down to help you get to the beach and also a Ramp on the one side.. The beach has A lot of Rules which can be a Hassle to some, so I'd recommend reading them before going. Which smoking, vaping, Dogs, and Alcohol I believe were all Not allowed and there are plenty of police around to enforce this. There was also quite a bit of Large dead fish on the Beach shore which is never a great View but it was an overall fun and cool place to go to if you have never. I...