OUR TOWN ELLICOTTVILLE

Enchanting, captivating, and charming; these are all words that may surface when thinking of Ellicottville, New York, a little village with a few thousand residents in Cattaraugus County.

The natural beauty of Ellicottville seems to leave a lasting impression on visitors and residents alike. That’s what volunteer Sharlene Goode set out to capture for Our Town: Ellicottville.

“The views are picture-postcard perfect,” mused Sharlene. “You look out your window almost anywhere in Ellicottville and you see the hillsides. They are gorgeous.”

At the height of the fall foliage display, Sharlene videotaped some of the areas most stunning views, beginning with a chairlift ride. “Holiday Valley opens its chairlift and runs during Fall Festival, it’s like a kick-off to the fall season. The colors are at their peak, the views are just spectacular and it’s neat to see the ski resort without the snow.”

She also spent some time exploring the Finger Lakes trail system, Horn Hill and its Buffalo Ranch, the community park, golf course, and even a small retreat in the woods. “A lot of the local people have little cabins out in the woods,” she remarked. ” It’s an example of how, right in our own backyard, we have an almost Waltons-like atmosphere.”

“You always ask, ' Where are you from?' When you say Ellicottville, they act shocked.
I think they believe nobody actually lives here, they all just come. They are almost awestruck. 'Oh, to live here . . .' And they are right! It's an amazing place to not only raise children because there are these amazing opportunities that only a resort community could offer, but it also has that close-knit, natural beauty to it. It’s just a beautiful setting to go about your daily lives in. Sometimes it's easy to forget that, and it's easy not to look up and look around you.”

The natural beauty of the region—just one part of OUR TOWN: Ellicottville.