Rochester to Buffalo drive: Distance, time & best road trip stops
The best stops on the Rochester to Buffalo drive are the Jell-O Gallery, Six Flags Darien Lake and Akron Falls Park. By car, the distance from Rochester to Buffalo is 74 miles. That makes for a driving time of one hour and 13 minutes.
The drive from Rochester to Buffalo connects the two biggest cities in the north-west of New York State.
Rochester offers beaches on Lake Ontario, plus High Falls, a waterfall right in the city centre.
Good experiences in Buffalo include Best of Buffalo double decker bus tours, a history of chicken wings food tour and the Theodore Roosevelt Inauguration National Historic Site.
Rochester to Buffalo distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Rochester to Buffalo is 74 miles. That makes for a driving time of around one hour and 13 minutes.
The quickest route largely follows the I-490, then the I-90.
The best road trip stops on the Rochester to Buffalo drive are the Jell-O Gallery in LeRoy, Six Flags Darien Lake in Corfu and Akron Falls Park.
Attractions between Rochester and Buffalo: Jell-O Gallery
Those with a sweet tooth might wish to make the slight detour to LeRoy, where the Jell-O Gallery tells the tale of the ubiquitous American dessert.
Jell-O was founded in LeRoy back in 1897, and the inventor sold his rights for a measly $450.
The Jell-O Gallery is full of memorabilia, advertising posters, toys and recipe books. But it also tells the story of how simple flavoured gelatine became a massive hit.
Rochester to Buffalo road trip stops: Six Flags Darien Lake
No-one is going to pretend Six Flags Darien Lake is the high point of the Six Flags amusement park empire. But it’s still a pretty good theme park.
Just south of the town of Corfu, NY, Six Flags Darien Lake also has a water park. It’s the rollercoasters that most visitors, will come for, however. Tantrum has a 97 degree drop, the Viper was the first coaster in the world to have five inversions and the Ride Of Steel climbs 208ft high, travelling at speeds of up to 72 miles per hour.
Rochester to Buffalo drive: Akron Falls Park
Akron Falls Park hosts two waterfalls. Lower Akron Falls is taller than Upper Akron Falls – the water plunges around 44ft into the pool at the bottom. The bad news is that you’re not allowed to swim in the pool, and the falls can be fairly dry in summer.
Come after heavy rainfall or snowmelt, however, and Lower Akron Falls in particular is picture-perfect.
It’s a good spot for fishing, and plenty of wildlife can be seen in the park. Get lucky and you might spot raccoons and opossums along the walking trails.
More Rochester road trips
Rochester to Niagara Falls | Syracuse to Rochester.
More Buffalo road trips
Albany NY to Buffalo | Buffalo to Atlanta | Boston to Buffalo | Chicago to Buffalo | Cincinnati to Buffalo | Cleveland to Buffalo | Columbus to Buffalo | Dallas to Buffalo | Detroit to Buffalo | Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale | Houston to Buffalo | Ithaca to Buffalo | Nashville to Buffalo | Buffalo to Pittsburgh | Syracuse to Buffalo | Buffalo to Tampa.