Lancaster, NY Outdoor Activities

Named one of America’s top 100 driving ranges by Golf Range Magazine in 2011, Broadway Driving Range & Miniature Golf invites golfers to launch towering drives under covered hitting bays toward a target field that stretches more than 350 yards. Golfers who favor a natural feel can hack through a bucket of balls at the range’s all-grass hitting areas; synthetic hitting mats cater to refined sand wedges that consider divots uncouth. Laid-back clubbers can practice pendulous putts at the complex’s miniature-golf course, where players circle around a barn built in 1932 through a farm-themed circuit of 18 miniature fairways featuring antique farm tools. Broadway Driving Range can cool down clients with soft-serve custard from Green Acres Ice Cream.

A Golden Griffin emblem presides over Canisius College Athletics’ 17 sports teams, which traverse grass, water, and hard court in search of victory. As part of the NCAA Division I’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Canisius’s athletes face off against other East Coast schools including Marist College, Niagara University, and Loyola University Maryland. From the stands, a sea of blue and gold cheers on the men’s basketball, hockey, and lacrosse teams, the women’s soccer, softball, and volleyball teams, and the adjunct professors’ annual soapbox derby.

Perched at the bow of the pirate ship, the captain's parrot braces for stormy weather. But in the case of the pirate-ship inflatable at Pirates Plank, the feeling of choppy waves isn't generated by water below, but by the youngsters hopping on it. Kids can also jump around on a _Pirates of the Caribbean_–themed bounce house before navigating around the tranquil ponds decorating the 18-hole miniature-golf course.

Elsewhere, Pirates Plank hosts races on its go-kart track, gamers in its video arcade, and players in its batting cages aiming for homers or to hit balls back into the machine they came from. The snack bar keeps visitors reenergized with tasty treats, and birthday parties entice attendees with unlimited soda and popcorn, arcade tokens for each guest, and mini-golf passes for future visits.

Despite spending most of their 125-plus-year history as a minor-league organization, the Bisons began play as a major-league club from 1879–85. All told, nearly 3,000 players and managers have donned the Bisons uniform, including 20 who have been immortalized in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Currently, the Bisons compete every summer for an International League title, as well as the Thruway Cup—a regional- and bragging rights–based trophy chased by the Bisons, the Rochester Red Wings, and the Syracuse Chiefs. The Bisons have done half of their competing since 1988 at Coca-Cola Field, which boasts the largest video board in the minors and an infield kept moist by hoses that spray water and not soda as the field’s name would suggest.

The dedicated teaching professionals at Village Glen Tennis Club oversee a wide variety of programs for adults and juniors of all skill levels, earning the club recognition as a Top 50 Tennis Welcome Center of 2007 from the U.S. Tennis Association. This honor followed on the heels of a major renovation of the club’s facilities in 2006 by a new management team, who modernized the six hard and eight clay courts and brought in new nets instead of pealing white picket fences. Today, players can take up the game through a series of classes that help them progress alongside players with similar abilities or hone specific strokes through drills designed to isolate and improve their technique. Players excited to show off a shiny new forehand or a pitch-perfect grunt can do so through the club’s adult leagues or socials.

Awash in the aromas of all manner of edible creations, the air in Cazenovia Park buzzes with the strums of guitars and cheerful chatter as Taste of South Buffalo’s festivities carry on into the night. Throughout the day, chefs from area restaurants such as Brick Oven Bistro & Deli and Blackthorn Restaurant & Pub can be found serving up hearty helpings of their signature dishes. In the background, live music from local artists Jane Jane Soundsystem, The Voice contestant Zack Joseph, and So Far So Good add a toe-tapping component to the proceedings and facilitate synchronized eating routines.

Taste of South Buffalo’s loaded schedule of events mingles food with entertainment, starting off with a USA Track & Field-sanctioned Mike Diggins Memorial 5K walk and run at 8 a.m. Afterward, the Buffalo Warriors take on the South Buffalo Catholic School's parents in a basketball game at 11 a.m. Other events include a split-club drawing and a taping of the game show Duck, Duck, Goose wherein elementary students answer questions culled from 36 categories in an attempt to scoop up various prizes.