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Oswego County Treasures Part 2

NYS Gazetteer Page 74, 83

It was just about this time last year when I began my Oswego County story, promising to continue relating the wonders of the sand dunes, waterfalls, and fish hatcheries.  Well, I’m pretty easily distracted but it’s finally back up to the top of my queue; there are some really great places within a hour or so drive to put on your “must visit” list...any time of year!

We had the opportunity to head northward several times this summer and fall to visit some favorite places and explore some new ones.  We’ve tried a new route a few times and it’s a pleasant change from suffering through the City of Oswego’s helter skelter traffic and the scary, narrow stretch of 104 that runs east to 104B.  Just east of Fairhaven 104A splits off to the east and takes you through Sterling and Crocketts where we pick up Route 3, a pleasant road that passes through Hannibal and Fulton.  Route 3 begins to head north, winding through Palermo, Mungers Corners (yup, we visit all the big ones), and Mexico.  We had a great breakfast at Daddy Ed’s Restaurant on Main Street in Mexico on the way home from one of our forays to the Salmon River area; I could have just feasted on their wonderful array of homemade desserts!   Once we hit Mexico, it’s only about 15 miles north to our home base in the area, Rainbow Shores Hotel.  We’re always greeted with smiles and big hugs from owner Linda Halstead and our friend Joyce Gass, chef extraordinaire.  Joyce has an incredible talent for preparing broiled seafood absolutely perfectly.  Not to mention my other favorite, Boston Baked Haddock!  On one of our visits a grinning Joyce emerged with huge bunches of fresh basil, exclaiming “you have to try the ‘shrimp wrapped in basil’ appetizer tonite!” All I can say is....WOW!

We arrived late on a Thursday afternoon and found the place mobbed.  This place is at the end of Rainbow Shores Road, an innocuous side road off Route 3 just north of Port Ontario, then down another mile of dirt road on a bluff overlooking Lake Ontario.  You don’t find Rainbow Shores Hotel unless you know about it, you’re lost, or in our case - you just like to go down narrow dirt roads to see what’s there.  It is definitely a “destination” and they’re busy seven nights a week, but this evening was extraordinary.  Outside, a pop-up tent was set up with huge kettles steaming away underneath.  Joyce came bounding out of her car animatedly waving some boxes in the air exclaiming “Look what I have!!! They’re too cool!!!”  Two boxes containing strings of red plastic lights in the shape of crabs were quickly hung up around the tent.  It was “Crab Night!”  People streamed into the restaurant non-stop throughout the evening to enjoy as much crab as they could eat.  It was snow crab on steroids, as big as I’ve ever seen; the gigantic legs and claws were super-sweet.   Ethan and I ended up covered with butter and crab broth as we feasted, resulting in a trip to the laundromat in Pulaski the next morning to wash the only jeans that we had brought with us.   It was about 50 degrees that morning and shorts just wouldn’t do.

Having rid ourselves of our seafood aroma, we stocked up on some Razor Sharp and XXXX Amish Sharp cheddar at the Colosse Cheese Store in Pulaski, then headed east on 2A, Centerville Road, which runs along the north shore of the Salmon River.  There are loads of DEC fishing access sites which are filled to overflow capacity in the spring and fall.  We picked up Route 48 South at Centerville when we saw a road to the east we just had to take: Sheepskin Road! (Wooliver Road is just around the corner...no matter where we go something sheepy seems to pop up!)  Then on to Hogsback Road, which winds around the beautiful Lower Salmon River Reservoir, and north on Route 22 for about a mile where we turned on Falls Road to our destination, the Salmon River Falls.  We looked for the falls a few years ago, but it was one of those “local secret” spots at that time.  We never did find the small footpath into the woods.  This time we were greeted by a new DEC Sign, “Salmon River Falls Unique Area” and a small parking area.  A wide path of finely crushed, packed limestone that’s accessible to people with disabilities winds into the woods for about 1/5 mile where there are now fenced off overlooks providing a fantastic view of the falls; at 110 feet high and about 100 feet wide it is a magnificent sight.  We continued on the Upper Gorge trail through the woods; it’s much less developed but an easy walk under a canopy of hardwoods and hemlocks with yellow and orange jewelweed and ferns billowing along the path.  On a later trip, we tried out the Gorge Trail; its switchbacks descend a very steep 100 feet to the Riverbed Trail; not for the faint of heart or those with no balance like me!  Maybe some other time when it’s not so slippery.

Heading back toward Rainbow Shores, Pipeline Road to Route 22 makes a nice loop that ends up in Altmar and one of our all-time favorites, the DEC’s Salmon River Fish Hatchery.  It’s an incredible place to take your kids and you can easily spend a couple of hours or more.  You can begin your visit by watching a short and very informative video then wander through an extensive display of huge tanks that give you an up close and personal view of Great Lakes fish. 

The “hatchery” portion of the facility is amazing. The egg incubation capacity is 21 million eggs!  From a high balcony you get a view of the Start Tank Room where 56 tanks can hold 3,200,000 chinook, 900,000 coho, and 900,000 steelhead.  These all develop from eggs that are taken from wild fish that were raised and imprinted at the hatchery, released into Lake Ontario, and returned to the hatchery in three to five years to spawn.  Brown trout and landlocked salmon are also raised here; the browns are transferred in from other DEC hatcheries and the landlocked salmon come in from the Adirondack Fish Hatchery in Saranac Lake, as eggs almost ready to hatch or as fingerlings.  Outdoors you can view fish in two dozen outdoor rearing ponds and 10 adult holding ponds and there are picnic tables on the beautiful grounds. Also notable...the facility has one of the nicest public restrooms you’ll find anywhere! For information on DEC fish hatcheries and links to each one visit http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/fish/foe4chat.html or call (315) 298-5051 for info about the Salmon River Fish Hatchery.