New York City lures travelers with its gleaming lights and nonstop excitement. Yet even just a short distance from the city limits, a more relaxed agenda awaits elsewhere in the fabulous Empire State.
Art lovers will delight in immersive outdoor museums and themed gardens, while adventure seekers can go for an Olympic-sized thrill ride or hike above the treetops. Those looking for a taste of the Gilded Age can pop into castle-like mansions, while the chiller set can kick back at the site of a famous music festival.
And anyone who’s curious – whether about baseball, wines or chicken wings – will find satisfaction, too. After all, the activities here are as varied as the state’s regions, ensuring everyone leaves with a New York state of mind.
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1. See a frozen Niagara Falls
Mother Nature’s power is rarely more apparent than at Niagara Falls, where 3160 tons of water flow over the natural wonder every second. (Yes, every second.)
The only thing more magical than hearing the roar of all that water is seeing it all come to a standstill – or at least the illusion of one. During particular (very) cold weather events, the surface water and mist falling through the air turn to ice, and the ice chunks collect below, stacking up to 40ft thick. While water is technically still flowing, the effect is of a total deep freeze. Expect to take some stunning photos.
2. Ride a coaster along an Olympic bobsled track in Lake Placid
Fortunately, no Olympic training is required to experience the bobsled track used in both the 1932 and 1980 winter games in Lake Placid.
In 2020, the nation’s longest mountain coaster, the Cliffside Coaster, debuted at Mt Van Hoevenberg. The attraction lets visitors strap into a vehicle and speed through the twists and turns of the course, as an audio system blasts commentary on what it was like to be an Olympian coasting down that very same cliffside path.
And if that’s not enough of a thrill, the Olympic Sports Complex also offers a bobsled experience along a half-mile track, hitting speeds up to 55mph.
3. Spot the converging tides from Montauk Point Lighthouse
The last town in the fabled Hamptons, Montauk is known as The End. And Montauk Point Lighthouse – the oldest one in New York State, dating back to 1796 – gives a glimpse of what’s beyond. Sitting on the very eastern tip of Long Island (and the entire state), the lighthouse boasts a view that takes in both the Atlantic Ocean and Block Island Sound. From the top of the lighthouse, you can observe the natural phenomenon of the the two bodies of water’s converging tides.
4. Celebrate women’s rights at national parks
New York State has a strong connection to the women’s suffrage movement. Seneca Falls was the site of the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention, and the town’s Women’s Rights National Historical Park is a testament to these American patriots’ hard work and sacrifice.
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Other noteworthy sites include the Harriet Tubman National Historic Park, which includes the abolitionist icon’s home, church and grave; and Hyde Park’s Val-Kill, aka the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, where guests can walk the grounds the former first lady strolled every day.
5. Tour Cooperstown’s National Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is located in a rural town that’s not really near anything else – which is fitting, as the institution’s collection of baseball artifacts and cards evokes the slower, simpler era when the sport began. For fans who want to explore their favorite team’s history, the museum offers the Starting Nine scavenger hunt, which leads you to the most surprising objects from your team’s past.
6. Get a read on herbs at the Cornell Botanic Gardens
Ithaca’s most famous (and famously elite) institution has more than 500 acres of gardens and natural environments – entirely free to visitors. An especially delightful corner of the Cornell Botanic Gardens is an herb garden with themed beds, including one organized by literary references in poetry, prose, myth, folklore and drama.
7. Explore the earthwork sculpture Opus 40 in Saugerties
Created by artist Harvey Fite over the course of nearly 40 years, the 6½-acre earthwork sculpture Opus 40 strikes a balance between enchanting and slightly mysterious. With bluestone harvested from a local quarry and stonework details that honor ancient Aztec and Mayan cultures, the site – a sculpture park and museum – also hosts concerts, theatrical events and nature walks.
8. Let the star chefs of tomorrow cook for you at the Culinary Institute of America
There’s only one way for Culinary Institute of America students to practice their craft: by serving it up to eager diners. On a 170-acre campus next to the Hudson River in Hyde Park, you’ll find restaurants and cuisines for every palate: American Bounty, with a focus on local produce; the French contemporary Bocuse Restaurant; Italian regional at Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici; and irresistible comfort food at Apple Pie Bakery Café.
9. Sail along the Canadian border through the Thousand Islands
Uncle Sam Boat Tours has been sailing through the Thousand Islands from Alexandria Bay, New York, for nearly 100 years. The cruises meander along the St Lawrence River between the US and Canada, taking in views of everything from historic castles to modern mansions, with an optional (but highly recommended) stop at the unfinished 120-room Boldt Castle, complete with a drawbridge and Italian garden. More-outdoorsy visitors can take to the water and paddle themselves in a canoe or kayak.
10. Learn about the history of (and taste) buffalo wings, on a bike
The story is the stuff of legends: Anchor Bar co-owner Teressa Bellissimo’s son Dominic was working the bar one Friday night in 1964 when his friends came in, starving.
So Teressa took leftovers from the kitchen and whipped up some snacks, using the parts of the chicken usually saved for the stock pot: the wings. After deep-frying them, she topped them off with a secret sauce, making her Buffalo restaurant the self-proclaimed home of the original Buffalo wing.
That’s the story most commonly told – but it may not be the whole one. Black entrepreneur John Young already had a thriving restaurant on Buffalo’s East Side in the 1960s called Wings and Things, which featured his own secret “mambo sauce.” It was popular among the late-night crowd, and even Buffalo Bills football players.
Though the restaurant is no longer there, Buffalo Bike Tours offers a Wing Ride from May through October to learn about the city’s secret chicken history, with tastings at several local wing spots.
11. Enjoy sculptures in nature at Storm King Art Center
A 60-mile drive north of New York City, Storm King Art Center exhibits both dramatic artworks and idyllic landscapes. Nearly 90 sculptures are displayed within the outdoor museum’s 500 acres, spread across woods, fields, meadows and hills – the setting playing as much a role in the overall effect as the large-scale, site-specific pieces themselves.
12. Complete the Fire Tower Challenge in the Adirondacks
Atop various summits throughout the Adirondacks are 25 fire towers once used by forest rangers to scout blazes from afar. No longer in use, they’ve been transformed into aerial viewpoints for hikers to get an even higher perspective of sprawling mountain panoramas. And those who check them all off their list will earn a coveted patch.
13. Make like Gatsby on Long Island’s North Shore
North of Long Island’s suburban communities lies a world of opulence – if you know where to look. In Huntington, you can take a tour of Oheka Castle’s French-style estate and gardens (which you’ll surely recognize, since it’s appeared in many movies and hosted celebrity weddings), then explore the Vanderbilt Mansion’s museum and planetarium in Centerport. Elaborate gardens beckon to be explored at Old Westbury Gardens, and you might be familiar with the Guggenheim Estate on the Sands Point Preserve: it served as the inspiration for East Egg in F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby.
14. Find peace, love and music at Woodstock
Now known as the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the Catskills site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival is actually located in Bethel, a 58-mile drive southwest of its namesake town. You can take a look back at the tumultuous decade’s events at the festival-themed museum, or experience your own musical bliss in the 16,000-person outdoor amphitheater.
15. Blow your own creation at the Corning Museum of Glass
South of the Finger Lakes, the Corning Museum puts glass in a class of its own. Not only does it contain the world’s most extensive collection of glass, with more than 50,000 objects spanning 3500 years of history, it’s also the leading library on the material – and one of the best glassworking schools around. Visitors can get in on the action by making their own glass, whether it’s a glass-blown ornament or a sandblasted sculpture.