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Looking to come upstate in the fall. Looking at either the finger lake region or the Adirondack region. The family is coming and young kids. What's your opinion? Which area do you think has more activities.
Sounds like a wonderful family vacation! It's hard to pick between the two regions because they both offer what you're looking for. We have vacationed in both the Adirondacks and Finger Lakes and loved it every time. Right now if I was picking a vacation spot I'd lean towards Adirondacks, if I was picking a place to live (which I am) I'd choose Finger Lakes over ADKs because of day-to-day life convenience factors.
They both have breathtaking natural scenery and cute towns. I'm certainly not an expert but from my experience there, the Adirondacks seemed more forested, compared to Finger Lakes which had more agricultural land. Not to say ADKs have no farms and FLX have no forested areas, but just giving an overall generalization.
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.
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.
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.
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