Onoville Marina Park Opens for 2023
Onoville Marina Park Opens for 2023
Boaters Take to the Waters for Another Season of Fun
It’s always interesting to peek into the history books and learn a bit about the places we frequent and how they came to be. Consider the marina located on the Allegheny Reservoir in Frewsburg, NY, north of the Allegheny National Forest and west of Allegany State Park.
Now, before you think you found a typo in that sentence (Allegheny/Allegany), let me clarify. From Wikipedia we learn that in the 1700’s the Delaware Indians called all the creeks and waters meeting together Alligewinenk or, “land into which they came from distant parts.” They called the river itself Allgewi Sipo – which whites then changed to the French, Alleghene, while the Six Nations tribes called the river Ohio (Ohi;’i:o) meaning “river beautiful” in the Seneca language. There is a NYS sign on Interstate 86, on Seneca lands, indicating the name of the river below as Ohi:Yo’. To further educate you, areas around the river have an alternate spelling of Allegany as in the village of Allegany and Allegany State Park. BTW, the river is 325 miles long, and water from the Allegheny River eventually flows into the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
Onoville Marina sits on land known as South Valley which was settled by the Quakers in 1798. Ironically, although Seneca leaders, Cornplanter and Handsome Lake, had a few problems with a sawmill the Quakers built and then tore down in respect for the Seneca leaders, it was the Quakers who helped the Senecas keep their land which the Ogden Land Company wanted to acquire. Alas, no one, not even President John F. Kennedy whom the Senecas wrote to for intervention, could help when, in 1965, the Kinzua Dam was constructed, and the town was doomed to be evacuated and razed along with many small communities along the river. A hamlet known as Onoville sat where the marina was built.
Now known as one of the Chautauqua-Allegany region’s finest, yet most affordable marina and park, Onoville is open for the 2023 season! Seasonal camping sites are already sold out. (You need to jump in at the first of 2024 to have a chance of getting one.) Weekly camping is sparse as well, so get online today if you want to spend more than a few hours in the area, and your schedule is flexible. It’s very worth the time online if you can get the dates you want, with 91 miles of shoreline and secluded bays waiting for your visit. The area is “God’s country” beautiful for a day trip and your chances of seeing bald eagles and osprey are very good.
And you can make a great day out of visiting. You can rent a boat (seasonally) from the Ono Outfitters and Oasis Boat Rentals when they open at the end of May and take a spin through the beautiful waters. You can stop at the Onoville General Store or the Turtle Pit to grab some snacks to munch on your trip, then when you come back to shore, you can hit up one of the local restaurants around the Marina for a good meal to end the day.
Two great options are the Horseshoe Inn Bar & Grill and The Hide-A-Way. The Horseshoe has been around for a very long time and is located at 1105 W. Perimeter Road in Frewsburg, NY. They operate Thursday through Saturday from noon-9:00pm and on Sundays from noon-8:00pm. They serve traditional American food in a friendly atmosphere. The Hide-A-Way is located at 2597 Route 394 in Steamburg, NY and is open everyday from 11:30am-9:00pm, except Fridays and Saturdays, when they are open until 10:00pm. They specialize in homestyle family meals both formal and casual. Their motto is: “From the moment you walk in, you’re family.”
For more information, please visit http://OnovilleMarina.com. Onoville Marina Park, 704 W. Perimeter Road, Frewsburg, NY, phone 716-354-2615.