In the years of the Chautauqua Institution's heyday, rail transport was the chief mechanism by which long distance travelers accessed the town. To 1926, the Chautauqua Traction interurban operated several interurbans a day from Chautauqua to Mayville, and then to Westfield; to the opposite direction the interurban went to Lakewood and Jamestown. To the latter 1940s, Pennsylvania Railroad offered service at nearby Mayville, on a Pittsburgh-Buffalo route. From prior to the interurbans to the waning years of interurbans, steamboats provided access to different parts of the lake from Mayville and Jamestown.