NYS summer road trip ideas

Just a few of the upstate road trips that are popular:

Take the boat from Kingston up the Hudson to view the mansions and enjoy the river. Also mansion visits like Hyde Park are in the area.

Take the boat tour for the Thousand Islands. (Warning: take winter jackets, hats, mittens no matter how hot it is on land.)

Drive up the wine trail on the east side of Cayuga lake north of Ithaca. There are 30+ wineries with tasting rooms. B&B's in the area.

Shopping at Waterloo outlet mall. Super good deals.

Between Ithaca and Waterloo on east side of Cayuga lake is Amish country. Stop at farms for fabulous vegetables at great prices. Also Amish baked goods from farm kitchens. Usually the kids will be selling from tables in front of the farms.

Boat trip from Herkimer on the Erie Canal. Amazing history.

Coopertown: Farmer's Museum, Baseball Hall of Fame, Fenimore House (art museum), Glimmerglass Opera, camping, boating. Upscale dining at Otesaga Hotel and Blue Mingo Grill.

Of particular interest for families: The Museum of Play in Rochester. Things to play with for all ages. You can spend hours in there for little money and everything is designed for kids. Computer gamers: they have all the first computer games (plus later ones) and you can play them whilethere. Play shopping markets, theaters, villages etc for the kids. There is every type of play thing there you can think of.

 

More:
Go to Elmira to the Corning Museum of Glass and have a tour of the glass blowing process. There is a good outlet store at the Corning Factory. In Elmira are also outlet stores.

Summer camping in the Lake George region, either Lake George or surrounding smaller lakes. You can rent cabins in that area or tent camping.

 

Watkins Glen is at the base of Seneca Lake and has boating and is famous for car racing. You can do wine trail,
Waterloo and Amish farms from there. Erie Canal runs at the top of the Finger Lakes. But you could also go over to Ithaca and there are lots of things connected with Cornell especially like the Cornell Plantation and the Museum of the Earth.

 

We are now in late July/August and the county fairs will be underway all over. Depending on the county (county is a geographic and political division of the state) the date for the fair for that area will be different: check for your area on internet or local paper. There will usually be rides, events like tractor pulls and pig races (oh how I want to see a pig race!), usually one night is a concert (often country music), games, booths with all types of foods, booths with all kinds of stuff for sale, exhibits of farm and other animals, petting zoos, etc. Most of this is free after the initial entrance fee which is not very high usually. One warning: although pick pockets are rare in USA, they can be present at fairs so take that type of precaution. Also keep your kids right with you are they could be bothered by unsavory types as everyone knows a large number of children will be present at the fair. All in all, if you take basic precautions, it is a fun family time.