Landing at Massena International Airport in Massena puts you right in the middle of things, with places like Potsdam, Ogdensburg, and Cornwall, Ontario, all close by. Massena is a St. Lawrence River town at the top of New York, built around the aluminum plants, the hydroelectric dam, and the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway. It is an easygoing North Country community with a Mohawk neighbor at Akwesasne, Canada across the bridge, and the Adirondacks a short drive south.

Standout experiences around Massena: - Watch oceangoing freighters rise and fall at the Eisenhower Lock viewing deck - Swim, camp, and bike at Robert Moses State Park on Barnhart Island - Fish the St. Lawrence for muskie, walleye, and smallmouth bass, with the Massena Intake a local favorite - Visit the Akwesasne Cultural Center and learn about Mohawk basketry and lacrosse - Try your luck at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort - Walk the trails at the Nicandri Nature Center and watch for bald eagles - Cross the Seaway International Bridge to Cornwall for a day in Canada

Massena works as a base for both the river and the mountains. Potsdam and Canton, with their college campuses and brick-and-sandstone downtowns, are about 30 to 40 minutes southwest, and Ogdensburg and the Frederic Remington Art Museum are 45 minutes down the river. The Thousand Islands and Alexandria Bay are a little over an hour, and Montreal is about 90 minutes northeast. In the Adirondack foothills, Cranberry Lake and Tupper Lake are roughly an hour south. Order poutine from the Canadian side or North Country maple syrup on everything, and let the big river set the mood in Massena.