Summer is the time for family outings, but sometimes the same-old nearby destinations don’t feel like enough of a getaway. When you’re craving a new trip or activity, set aside a day, a weekend, or even just a couple of hours, and hit the road in any direction.
Off-the-beaten trail fun awaits within an hour and a half of Albany, which means these destinations are manageable even with rising gas prices and busy schedules. Most sites offer a variety of activities to appeal to visitors of all ages so there are no sibling wars in the backseat over the day’s plans.
East
Bennington, Vt., is about an hour’s drive from Albany and affords the opportunity to explore a new state with plenty to do. Although Vermont is famous for fall foliage and has a reputation as a winter ski paradise, Bennington offers close-to-home fun for the summer crowd as well.
“Bennington is known for history,” said PJ DeVito, Coordinator of Visitor Services at the Bennington Chamber of Commerce. “We have the Bennington Battle Monument, which you can take an elevator up into and get a wonderful view. We also have the Bennington Museum, which also has Revolutionary War material.”
The monument, which opens in mid-April each year, is a favorite Bennington landmark that affords visitors unparalleled views of the surrounding countryside. Bennington is also home to Old First Church, the oldest church in Vermont, where Robert Frost was buried. The town has three covered bridges, as well as the Covered Bridge Museum, which is part of the larger Bennington Center for the Arts.
“The covered bridges are probably the thing that most tourists ask about when they come to our welcome center,” said DeVito.
Bennington is also a hub for outdoor enthusiasts. Just a few miles out of town is where the Long Trail and Appalachian Trails cross, and there are plenty of short hikes surrounding the town for visitors to take advantage of as well.
While the list of activities is long enough to accommodate the most diverse of tastes, it’s not the only thing that keeps people coming back to Bennington.
“I’ll tell you one thing. Even though we’re so close, I have a lot of people who come into the Visitor’s Center and say there’s just a certain feeling about Vermont,” said DeVito. “You can tell when you cross the border.”
There are also plenty of stops to make on the way to or from Vermont. The Berkshire Bird Paradise and Botanical Garden, in Petersburg, N.Y., is a sanctuary for injured or rare birds and is home to over 1,000 feathered friends.
“We have bald eagles, hawks, owls, exotic birds. We also have an extensive array of flowers and plants. It’s botanical, we mix the flowers with the birds, and we kind of just give a nice ambiance, a peaceful setting, a nice feeling,” said Peter Dubacher, director at the Berkshire Bird Paradise.
Visitors can interact with some of the birds, or just enjoy some time learning about new species.
Nearby Grafton Lake State Park offers 25 miles of hiking and walking trails, and three ponds with canoe launches, sandy beach areas, and fishing access. For a more out-of-the-ordinary experience, stop by Petersburg’s nearby Grafton Peace Pagoda. One of only 80 of its type in the world, the Grafton pagoda features a statue of Buddha and scenes from his life line the sides of the building.
West
Cooperstown is the longest haul on this list at an approximate hour and a half drive from Albany, but it’s worth the trip. This town is known for its Baseball Hall of Fame, and summer’s a popular time to visit, with kids in uniforms lining the streets. In addition to the popular shops, restaurants, cultural attractions and lake-related activities, make time for a jaunt to a real-life cider mill. Fly Creek Cider Mill, located just a few miles out of town, is celebrating its 155th anniversary this year.
“We’re just making cider the old fashioned way,” said Bill Michaels, vice president and co-owner of Fly Creek with his wife, Brenda.
But there’s much more than just cider-making going on. Find homemade goodies, including fudge, dips, spreads, salsas and cave-aged cheddar cheese; gifts and crafts; and a variety of apple products, as well as a play area and some animals to feed outside the historic cider mill. While the cider press won’t be in action for a few more months, visitors can still take a look at the antique machinery and watch a video on how it’s used in-season. A snack bar features homegrown products and specialties like cider slushes and floats, apple pie sundaes, and “bloomin’ apples,” as well and standards like sandwiches and ice cream.
Michaels said the mill is just one of the many things families can do in the area.
“I would suggest pairing a stop with either the Baseball Hall of Fame or the Farmers Museum, or the Fenimore Art Museum,” said Michaels.
There are more options for family fun on the way home.
“The best way to come to Cooperstown is along Route 20, which is now a Scenic Byway,” said Michaels. “There are so many places along the way to visit, like the Tipi gift store in Cherry Valley or Howe Caverns. If people want to stop and do something on the way home, it’s all along that corridor. There are views of the Mohawk Valley and the Cherry Valley Hills. There’s usually little to no traffic on it, and it’s almost four lanes the whole way. Families that are interested in historical buildings can visit Hyde Hall at the north end of Otsego Lake, and of course there are all the lake activities on Otsego Lake available as well.”
Visitors can also stop by the Grumpy Buffalo Farm in Richmondville to pick up buffalo products and see a real buffalo herd roaming.
North
Many Capital District residents are familiar with all the fun of summer in Lake George, in fact, a visit to The Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom ranks high on many summer to-do lists. For a twist on a standard day trip and a chance for some fresh air, check out the Warren County Bike Trail, which connects Lake George and Queensbury.
“It’s a beautiful ride, peaceful and quiet and pretty. It’s well-marked and user friendly,” said Joanne Conley, assistant tourism coordinator for Warren County Tourism. “There’s very little of it that’s on the road, and the section that is, is by a country club, so there are nice big wide bike lanes. I’ve been taking my kids on it forever.”
This section of the trail is paved and winds through some wilderness, but doesn’t get too rugged, making it a good fit for just about anyone who can ride a bike. There’s also plenty of incentive to entice more reluctant cyclists to come along.
“I would get my kids out there because there are several ice cream shops along the way, or we would head up to Lake George and bring a picnic,” said Conley. “There are so many possibilities.”
The Lake George to Glens Falls section is about 11 miles, and the route includes parking areas and other access points, so shorter trips are an option. If bikes aren’t the family favorite, don’t fret.
“There are people with strollers, jogging, in-line skating,” said Conley. “There’s a hill here and there, but it’s all manageable.”
The Warren County Bike Trail map is available at visitlakegeorge.com, or visitors can receive a full-size map by calling (800) 365-1050, ext. 5100. Bike rentals are available in Lake George at Beach Road Bait & Tackle (518) 668-4040; beachroadbait.com; and at Inside Edge Ski and Bike Shop, at the Queensbury end of the bike trail.
“The Lake George area is an easy drive from the Capital District,” said Conley. “You can be out of the city in 45 minutes and in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, on the lake, on the trail or in the amusement park – there’s just a wide variety of things to do here.”
Prospect Mountain offers breathtaking views of the Lake George area and can be reached by car or by foot, making it an easy addition to the day after a long bike ride. For thrill seekers, the Adirondack Extreme adventure course in Bolton Landing offers rock walls, zip lines, obstacle courses and more.
If in-town fun is on the agenda, stop by Glens Falls. This town boasts not only shopping and dining, but the Hyde Collection and its new roster of kid-friendly events and activities. On the third Sunday of each month from 1-3 p.m. the Collection hosts Discovery Day. The theme changes monthly, but the event includes a family-oriented tour with an arts and crafts session at the end. Family Kits are a new addition at the Hyde House.
“Families can come to the Hyde, check them out our program desk at the lobby,” said Erin Coe, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Programming at the Hyde Collection. “They’re interactive, and help families go through the house and have engaging experience with the kids and the collection.”
Also check out the newly enhanced World Awareness Children’s Museum’s go! Where Children Discover the World interactive space at 89 Warren St. in downtown Glens Falls. The museum’s exhibition galleries feature international children’s art, exhibited artifacts and educational objects that children can touch and other activities in a number of galleries. At the Home and Family Life Gallery, visitors can have simulated tea and try eating with chopsticks around a table as experienced by a Japanese family in a traditional Japanese room.
For more information, visit the website at www.worldchildrensmuseum.org.
If you are making it a weekend up north, consider going a little out of your way to experience a train adventure on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, which has tours departing the Thendara Station near Old Forge. Kids will get a kick out of being on a train (grab an open-air car if the weather is nice) and parents will love gazing at the scenery. Check out www.adirondackrr.com for information.
South
An hour drive to the south will leave day trippers with a wealth of unique opportunities in the towns of Hudson and Catskill, including a different take on art, nature and history.
“One of the things I tell people who are considering day or weekend trips is that there is a cluster of things to do right near here that all have to do with the Hudson River School,” said Elizabeth Jacks, Executive Director of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill. This historic home of Thomas Cole, an influential figure in American landscape painting, offers guided tours once a month but a detailed map and guidebook, including directions and reproductions of the paintings, as well as history and background information, are available for people who want to follow the trail on their own.
The Visitor’s Center features a 15-minute film that gives the background Thomas Cole and the site. Visitors can explore Cole’s home and his studio, which includes original easels and supplies, and stroll through galleries with the paintings.
There is also kid-specific fun available at the site.
“We are printing this History Detective pack where we make it fun, pretend the kid in the family is a detective and searching for clues around the historic site and discover things that happened here in history, so it’s a combination scavenger hunt, making the experience fun for younger people and people who come here with younger people,” said Jacks.
The town of Catskill has a popular Main Street with plentiful shopping and dining, and the same natural beauty that inspired Cole is evident throughout town.
“Catskill has amazing topography. There’s a park right down there on the [Hudson River], and it’s a beautiful place to have a picnic,” said Jacks.
There are a number of places to stop and enjoy views of the Hudson, and sometimes there’s even an opportunity to get out on it. The nearby Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, which many people are familiar with seeing on train rides through the Hudson Valley, comes to life in the summer. On the second weekend of each month, from July to October, Hudson Cruises runs shuttles to the lighthouse, and Emily Brunner, who used to live on the island, gives a tour.
“The views are fantastic and the opportunity to get out there is kind of a rare event in this region,” said Guy Falkenheimer, captain and owner of Hudson Cruises.
For tour information, visit hudsonathenslighthouse.org.
Back on dry land, a must-stop for kids is the FASNY Museum of Firefighting in Hudson. The 50,000-square-foot museum has enough room to be diverse.
“This is not your typical firehouse museum where you go in and there’s one truck and one exhibit,” said Jamie Quinn, the museum’s executive director. “Our museum is the largest fire museum on the East Coast. We have over 90 pieces of apparatus.”
That means this can be a fun stop for all, but the museum is an especially good time for kids.
“We try to cater to families with small children,” said Quinn. “We have four trucks and gear [that they can play with], a bucket brigade interactive space where they put out a fake fire … and a discovery room where they can do crafts. On the weekend we have a fire safety puppet show so there’s a lot to do.”
A must-see aspect of the FASNY museum is the 9/11 exhibit.
“We have some objects from that day that related to firefighters, and we have some parts of the planes and doors, girders, different things firefighters use, pieces of fire trucks that were smashed, [and] a piece of the wire memorial wall that was down in New York City.”
Visitors can learn more about the museum and exhibits at www.fasnyfiremuseum.com.
