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No problem. By the way, when you say that you are coming during the Fall, are you coming for a long weekend type of trip, around Thanksgiving or just before the school year?
How young are the kids? For the Adirondacks, I'd consider Old Forge, which has the Enchanted Forest Water Park and a go kart track/arcade, while having a nice walkable community, with other things to explore nearby. Nicks Lake is a nice spot to check out in that area. Utica and Rome are about an hour away in terms of substantial cities within relatively close proximity, with Boonville about 35-40 minutes away.
For the Finger Lakes, I'd consider Canandaigua, which has Roseland Waterpark and puts you within reasonable drives to Rochester for more, as well as other communities in the region.
Scratch that, given that you are coming in the Fall, as those would be good during the warmer months before school starts.
In that case, I'd say that a Watkins Glen stay, with time in Corning and Ithaca, if possible, would likely be a better move. You have the state park in Watkins Glen, while Corning has the Museum of Glass and Ithaca has a the nice ScienCenter for the kids. Corning is about 25 minutes away and Ithaca is about 30-35 minutes away. That also means that the gorges around Ithaca aren't too far away as well. Either way, you can't lose and I'm just throwing some ideas out there.
One other region to possibly check out in the future is the Thousand Islands region, including Sackets Harbor. It has the Old McDonald's Farm outside of Sackets Harbor, which also has some beaches on Lake Ontario nearby and the Sackets Harbor Battlefield in the village. Other communities in that region that are worth visiting are Clayton(has a nice Boat Museum) and Alexandria Bay(has the Uncle Sam's tour boat that takes you to Heart Island/Boldt Castle). There is also a seasonal ferry that goes to Canada(ends at Kingston Ontario) from Cape Vincent(Horne's Ferry). Watertown is closest substantial sized city and has a small zoo and science center for the kids.
To give my two cents on some places ckh suggested -
Old Forge in ADKs we loved our stay in a cabin there. Nice lake in the neighborhood where we were. Only place in NY where we saw a bear, he was very chill. It was a cool experience. The other place we stayed and loved in ADKs was Lake Placid.
Canandaigua area could be a good choice because you've got the city on the north end, Naples on the south end and if you want to stay in a more woodsy or country accomodations you can find that. In Naples we did a hike in Grimes Glen, very nice.
Watkins Glen ok speaking of hikes, a few years ago we did the mind-blowing hike at Watkins Glen State Park. Now this was a little more strenuous hike going up, up, up many stairs but the views are like nothing I have ever seen. Look at YouTube videos of this place to get an idea, but nothing compares to seeing it in person. I did see kids there so apparently they can usually handle the hike.
Corning and Ithaca we have visited each for a day and enjoyed both.
Thousand Islands was ckh's other suggestion. We have never been to that part of NY but it looks incredible.
Something to consider for that time of year is to see if there are festivals taking place during the time you are taking this vacation. Especially if it is late September, as there may be some Fall festivals during that time.
Another thing to consider for late September, is to possibly do a Route 20 apple orchard tour of sorts. As mentioned in another thread, this is the area south of Syracuse that has multiple apple orchards that are just east of the Finger Lakes(Skaneateles is just west of that corridor also on Route 20). You also have Cazenovia to the east of that corridor and is also on Route 20. It is less than an hour NE of Ithaca and you have waterfalls nearby like Pratts Falls and Delphi Falls.
Also, there is Cascades Indoor Water Park at Greek Peak in the Cortland area in between the Route 20 corridor and Ithaca: https://www.greekpeak.net/waterpark/
There’s also some things in Syracuse at Destiny USA, which has some things for kids(Get Air, Wonderworks, Dave & Busters, Billy Beez, etc.) and a place like the MOST in Downtown Syracuse.
So, those are some things I’m just throwing out there in terms of doing something relevant to the potential time you come through, while still being within an area you are interested in.
How young are the kids? For the Adirondacks, I'd consider Old Forge, which has the Enchanted Forest Water Park and a go kart track/arcade, while having a nice walkable community, with other things to explore nearby. Nicks Lake is a nice spot to check out in that area. Utica and Rome are about an hour away in terms of substantial cities within relatively close proximity, with Boonville about 35-40 minutes away.
For the Finger Lakes, I'd consider Canandaigua, which has Roseland Waterpark and puts you within reasonable drives to Rochester for more, as well as other communities in the region.
Scratch that, given that you are coming in the Fall, as those would be good during the warmer months before school starts.
In that case, I'd say that a Watkins Glen stay, with time in Corning and Ithaca, if possible, would likely be a better move. You have the state park in Watkins Glen, while Corning has the Museum of Glass and Ithaca has a the nice ScienCenter for the kids. Corning is about 25 minutes away and Ithaca is about 30-35 minutes away. That also means that the gorges around Ithaca aren't too far away as well. Either way, you can't lose and I'm just throwing some ideas out there.
One other region to possibly check out in the future is the Thousand Islands region, including Sackets Harbor. It has the Old McDonald's Farm outside of Sackets Harbor, which also has some beaches on Lake Ontario nearby and the Sackets Harbor Battlefield in the village. Other communities in that region that are worth visiting are Clayton(has a nice Boat Museum) and Alexandria Bay(has the Uncle Sam's tour boat that takes you to Heart Island/Boldt Castle). There is also a seasonal ferry that goes to Canada(ends at Kingston Ontario) from Cape Vincent(Horne's Ferry). Watertown is closest substantial sized city and has a small zoo and science center for the kids.
Something to consider for that time of year is to see if there are festivals taking place during the time you are taking this vacation. Especially if it is late September, as there may be some Fall festivals during that time.
Another thing to consider for late September, is to possibly do a Route 20 apple orchard tour of sorts. As mentioned in another thread, this is the area south of Syracuse that has multiple apple orchards that are just east of the Finger Lakes(Skaneateles is just west of that corridor also on Route 20). You also have Cazenovia to the east of that corridor and is also on Route 20. It is less than an hour NE of Ithaca and you have waterfalls nearby like Pratts Falls and Delphi Falls.
Also, there is Cascades Indoor Water Park at Greek Peak in the Cortland area in between the Route 20 corridor and Ithaca: https://www.greekpeak.net/waterpark/
There’s also some things in Syracuse at Destiny USA, which has some things for kids(Get Air, Wonderworks, Dave & Busters, Billy Beez, etc.) and a place like the MOST in Downtown Syracuse.
So, those are some things I’m just throwing out there in terms of doing something relevant to the potential time you come through, while still being within an area you are interested in.
Something to consider for that time of year is to see if there are festivals taking place during the time you are taking this vacation. Especially if it is late September, as there may be some Fall festivals during that time.
Another thing to consider for late September, is to possibly do a Route 20 apple orchard tour of sorts. As mentioned in another thread, this is the area south of Syracuse that has multiple apple orchards that are just east of the Finger Lakes(Skaneateles is just west of that corridor also on Route 20). You also have Cazenovia to the east of that corridor and is also on Route 20. It is less than an hour NE of Ithaca and you have waterfalls nearby like Pratts Falls and Delphi Falls.
Also, there is Cascades Indoor Water Park at Greek Peak in the Cortland area in between the Route 20 corridor and Ithaca: https://www.greekpeak.net/waterpark/
There’s also some things in Syracuse at Destiny USA, which has some things for kids(Get Air, Wonderworks, Dave & Busters, Billy Beez, etc.) and a place like the MOST in Downtown Syracuse.
So, those are some things I’m just throwing out there in terms of doing something relevant to the potential time you come through, while still being within an area you are interested in.
Thanks for the info. The kids are 6 and 8, you know how that goes, they will need something to do constantly...lol. We also considered the thousand island region.. ugh. Decisions, decisions.
Vacation with kids is not a vacation, but Adirondack’s are amazing. Great place to decompress and enjoy fresh air, read a book, hike, paint and seek peace.
Another place in between the Finger Lakes and the Adirondacks is Oneida Lake. It is located NE of Syracuse and is the biggest lake that is entirely within the state. A place on the eastern end of the lake is Sylvan Beach, but that is a better idea for a place to go to during the warmer months and it has an old school amusement park: https://sylvanbeachny.com/
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