9 days of round trip family fun from MA to Niagara Falls

We would like to take our 4 kids (3yrs-10yrs) on a 9 day road trip to Niagara Falls at the end of August. We live near the junction of 495 and 90 in MA and have in mind a stop at Howe Caverns, a university tour (Cornell?, Ithaca? Syracuse?) and a couple of days in Niagara Falls. We like nature, but are not campers and will stay in hotels along the way.

What are the stops or must see places we should visit on this route? Should we balance the trip so that we have fun stops along the way on both legs, or should we jet out to Niagara Falls in one or two days and then meander home?

Recommendations and itinerary advice is welcome!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

...some background reading to get an idea of what's available between here and there. Then plan on taking two completely different routes out- and in-bound. One could generally follow US-20 across the northern ends of the Finger Lakes, and the other could either follow I-86 across the Southern Tier of New York, or more local roads through Watkins Glen, Ithaca, and Cortland back to Albany. Whatever you do, take your time on both legs. In RoadTripping, the journey's the thing just as much as the destination.

As far as a campus to visit, I've got to admit to being prejudiced. I spent seven years "high above Cayuga's waters" and know first hand that Cornell's campus is a lovely as they get. Besides, Ithaca College is just down the road so this could be a twofer. Also just north of Ithaca is Taughannock Falls State Park with a child friendly (smooth path along a stream) one mile hike back to a water fall that is taller than Niagara. Speaking of Niagara, some of the best views are from the Canadian side, but you will need to have your passports in hand to cross the border.

AZBuck

Welcome to RTA!

If you are going to be at Howe Caverns, you will be real close to Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame), if any of you are baseball fans. I remember a family road trip when I was a kid, we went from NJ to Niagara Falls and went to both places on the way, and on the way back we went to the Corning Glass factory.

There is a lovely, albeit slow drive around the western side of Cayuga Lake between Seneca Falls and Ithaca. If I recall correctly, there were some lovely looking local hotels and motels. That would fit in nicely with some of US-20 and even I-88, which is a lovely interstate to drive.

Lifey