It’s easy to plod through these cold, late-winter days with your eyes on one goal: spring. If that’s the case, though, maybe it’s time for a weekend family getaway, and there is no time like the middle of winter to score great deals on hotels and attractions. ?It also just so happens that there are numerous family resorts within a two-hour drive of Albany that offer more activities than one could actually do in a weekend – without ever stepping outside. ?And there are also plenty of fun getaways for those who do love the winter weather.
Stay warm (and maybe a little wet!)
The Rocking Horse Ranch, in Highland, doesn’t slow down when the warm weather ends. This all-inclusive family resort, about an hour south of Albany, has a full array of indoor activities. Not only does the per person rate include all meals, but also access to the Wild Buckaroo Daycamp program, the Red Rider BB Gun shooting gallery, archery range, ping pong, Wii stations, Foam Factory, rock wall, bounce structures and an enormous indoor water park facility.
For mom and dad, there is also a full-service fitness center, as well as saunas and a day spa. ?(Spa and massage services are available at an additional charge.)
Big Splash, the resort’s indoor water park boasts a 250-foot flume tube, interactive fountains, dumping buckets and geysers, with the water temperature kept at a balmy 85 degrees.
The ranch also features horse trail rides all winter and an outdoor park for tubing, skiing, snowboarding, ice skating and horse-drawn sleigh rides. For sample menus, rates, floor plans and specials, look them up at www.rockinghorseranch.com.
An hour north of Albany, in Lake George, is another indoor water park, the Great Escape Lodge, part of the Six Flags Amusement Parks system.
?Hotel accommodations include admission for the whole family to White Water Bay, a 38,000-square foot indoor water park with something for all members of the family. There’s a toddler pool with shallow slides and swings, a lazy river, a simulated surfing attraction, a treetop waterworks attraction with jets, dumping buckets, sprinklers and water slides, and several adult-sized flumes that actually wind outside the building and back in. ??Other on-site amenities include bedtime stories with Warner Brothers characters like Scooby Doo, and Sylvester, arts and crafts by the fire, and scavenger hunts, all run by Lodge’s Kids’ Klub.
The Adirondack-themed Lodge is warm and inviting, with its open vaulted lobby featuring a two-story stone fireplace. ?Once inside, you never have to brave the cold again until you check out, with three restaurants to choose from – including a Johnny Rockets, an arcade, a day spa and a fitness center all on site. Go to www.sixflagsgreatescapelodge.com for information.
For a Winter Wonderland experience
Two hot spots on this list have a healthy mix of indoor and outdoor activities to give your family both a change of scenery and a dose of history.
Located less than 75 miles west of Albany is Cooperstown, a gem of a town any time of year, and best known for its Baseball Hall of Fame. ?While that American icon is open year-round and a must see for baseball enthusiasts, there is so much more to this little town. Multiple breweries and a cider mill offer tours and tastings year round, and Glimmerglass State Park is among New York’s prettiest. When there is enough snow, tubing is offered at Glimmerglass on the weekends through Feb. 2,. Rates are $5 per person per day. There is a kiddie tubing area for the young riders, a concession stand and a warming hut. In a separate area, there is a free outdoor ice-skating rink that is under a shelter. ?While there are no winter camping accommodations at Glimmerglass, their sister park, the Betty Wilbur Davis State Park, just 18 miles away, has year-round luxury cabin rentals starting at $309 for the weekend. ???
According to Doris Cronin, from the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, the time to visit in the winter is when the whole town celebrates the annual Winter Carnival, taking place this year the weekend of Feb. 10-12. ?This year’s theme is Carnivale, and will feature lots of townwide celebrations, ?food contests, as well as a 5K, 10K, snowman-building competition and sled races. ?
Event coordinator Samantha Carr said in years past, all the area’s venues get into the act, from the Brewery Ommegang to the Veterans Club. ?Visit the event website at www.cooperstowncarnival.org ?for more information.
And when you’re looking for a family-friendly restaurant, Cronin has a suggestion: “Make sure you eat at the Cooperstown Diner. ?It’s very family oriented with good comfort food, great prices and the best hamburgers in town.”
Finally, no place says winter in New York like Lake Placid, host of not one, but two Winter Olympic Games (in 1932 and 1980). ?It may be cold, but when it comes to winter fun, Lake Placid knows how to get it done. ?
Families with school-age children and older will be best suited to appreciate all Lake Placid has to offer because nearly every activity, from the walking tours to the outdoor sports, will be enjoyed in some manner of winter chill. ?This resort destination will be even more appreciated by a skiing family.
Packages to Lake Placid abound, and can be found on such websites as ILOVENY.com and Lakeplacid.com that features a Perfect Day Planner, to help guests make the most of their stay. ?In addition, many resorts offer combination packages that include lodging, ski lift tickets and a discounted or free Ultimate Winter Passport that grants access to all sorts of Olympic venues.?
Whether you need to retreat from the cold with a hot rock massage and a cozy fire, or to immerse yourself in the snowy landscape, get away this winter without going too far from home.
