A Watertown Post concept of the proposed Lake America National Parkway passing through New York’s apple orchard country, where the road itself becomes part of the destination and the lake disappears into the horizon.
By Hans Wilder | Watertown Post
WATERTOWN / WASHINGTON, D.C. The Watertown Post spoke Tuesday with an anonymous source in Washington, D.C., with connections to Northern New York who described the possibility of a massive National Park Service initiative built around the newly named Lake America, historically Lake Ontario.
The concept is a Lake America National Parkway stretching from Fort Niagara all the way to Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, combining a scenic national destination with a working transportation corridor. In rural areas it would be a road Americans might travel simply for the experience. In metropolitan areas, particularly around Rochester, it could become a major conveyor belt for regional traffic.
The route described to the Watertown Post would travel through Western New York’s apple orchard country, continue toward Rochester with possible tunnel sections beneath the city and Irondequoit Bay, then emerge again along the southern shoreline, through the bluffs and agricultural areas east of Rochester. From there, it would continue past Oswego and Nine Mile Point before heading north toward Jefferson County.
One of the signature pieces could be a bridge connecting Pillar Point with Point Peninsula. A large national monument honoring Lake America could rise on one side, while a major viewing platform on the Point Peninsula side would overlook the lake. The route would continue toward Cape Vincent and end at Tibbetts Point, where Lake America meets the St. Lawrence River.
The concept would include National Park Service stops, scenic overlooks, historic sites, beaches, trails, fishing access and visitor areas along the route. Instead of simply building another highway, the road itself would become part of the attraction.
There has been no formal federal announcement of the project, so for now this remains information shared with the Watertown Post by an anonymous Washington source.
That said, we’ve learned not to ignore ideas simply because they sound big.
The Watertown Post was talking about Lake America before it happened. We were talking about Greenland before it became a U.S. protectorate. We were talking about an arcade on the White House website before that happened. Locally, we were talking about Salmon Run Mall as a possible convention center before that idea entered the wider public conversation.
We’re not saying that makes every prediction correct. But……
We’re saying our finger has been on the pulse more than a few times.
So we’re putting this one out there now.
A Lake America National Parkway from Fort Niagara to Tibbetts Point, through orchard country, beneath Rochester, along the shoreline, past Oswego and into Northern New York, capped by a major bridge, monument and viewing platform in Jefferson County.
If this ever moves beyond the concept stage, it would not just change the shoreline.
It could become one of America’s great road trips.
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