Fishing dock, Schoellkopf elevator both open

Soon it will be closed for the season, but one of the most fun things to do is drive down the NYPA access road and visit the fishing dock.

Go visit while you can. As soon as even a half-inch of snow hits, the Power Authority will shut it until spring.

Be ready for stairs. Working as a tour guide, I went Thursday with a couple from the Pacific Northwest here for the Sabres game. The female guest had a fancy Sony camera and was all about images.

You can access the dock by going to the Power Authority Service Road off Hyde Park Boulevard.

I customized their tour to include Three Sisters Islands as well as the Schoellkopf elevator, Whirlpool State Park and the NYPA dock.

A few hints: As of Sunday, the elevator was open.

A sign on the door reads “closed for construction” but the door to the elevator shaft, as of Sunday afternoon, was open. Respect the rules. Go in the other direction. From the bottom there is no sign on the elevator door.

Directions: Walk the rim trail north from the Discovery Zone parking lot west of the Park Police barracks north until the sign for the Great Gorge Railway Trail on the left. Half a mile in or so, a second trail takes off on the left. Follow the trail south to the Maid of the Mist winter docks.

The James V. Glynn and Nikola Tesla are in their docks. Thursday, when I saw them, workers were pressure washing them. I walked past, unnoticed, with my guests to show them the view looking at the Falls framed by the Rainbow Bridge.

Returning to the elevator, there was no warning sign Sunday afternoon. The doors were open. It was the same way last winter.