Broderick Park (now Freedom Park), Bird Island Pier (AKA Nowak Pier), & Shoreline Trail: Niagara River

November 2023

Address: I used Google Maps to: Bird Island Pier Parking, Robert Rich Way, Buffalo, NY

Parking: Paved, Room for 30+ vehicles

42-22 degrees at 10:30 AM - 1:25AM, gray and snowy, no real wind today

Portable toilet at the parking lot (for use in only the most dire of circumstances).  Restrooms are also available during the times when the snack shack is open.

Parking and entrance to the trail is free.

Dogs on leads were allowed but Wesley stayed home because we planned on stopping at a restaurant and a few shops on the way home.

The pier is described as 2.2 miles but we were stopped by a wire mesh grating at less than .25 miles so we only were able to walk to where the Peace Bridge goes overhead.  This walk has been on my list for a year or so and I have been looking forward to seeing the Niagara River from a different view than is afforded when heading up or down the 190.  My family and friends joined me for this walk hoping to burn off Thanksgiving Dinner but even though we pottered around the park, read the interesting information boards (this was an important site for slaves seeking a path to freedom in Canada which was in view across the Niagara River), and then explored a bit of the Shoreline Trail, we we still fell short of 2 miles.  Unfortunately, the Buffalo Sewer Authority lends a distinctive air to the Shoreline Trail which was the encouraging nudge we needed to seek a warmer environment elsewhere.

The pier is concrete and the Shoreline Trail is pavement.

We only saw three fishermen and a few people on the Shoreline Trail.

The pier is not shaded and the trail has trees on the non-river side.

There was an abundance of trash throughout the park.

Mosquitos did not bother me in this snowy weather.

This is an area where shorts in warmer weather would not be a problem.

I saw seagulls, ducks, and many tree species.

For more information: https://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/businesses/broderick-park/ & https://bnwaterkeeper.org/freedom-park/

Nearby: 

Pearl Street Grill & Brewery,  76 Pearl St, Buffalo, NY 14202 https://pearlstreetgrill.com/

Good food, good service, clean bathrooms, and a good variety on the drinks menu.