CHUD.com Community › Forums › REGIONAL › The East Coast Flavor › A travel question to the Upstate New York Chewers
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

A travel question to the Upstate New York Chewers

post #1 of 5
3/27/09 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
I'm in the process of planning a vacation for my 10 year wedding anniversary. Thought we'd take a trip from Lake Champlain (I'm determined to see Champ) to Niagara Falls, either in an RV or doing the bed & breakfast route. What are the "must see" spots in between? Lake Placid? I like to hike & ski, but my wife's more the sight-seeing/photo-taking type. So roughing-it and heavy climbing is probably not a good call (maybe if I was on my own ). I'm not sure what time of year we're looking to go. Any suggestions? Recommendations? Warnings?

Found this thru google: http://www.roundthebend.com/
Reply
post #2 of 5
3/27/09 at 8:20pm
I don't know jack shit about upstate NY, but I passed your request to a bunch of my friends who are from there. I'll post them as they come.

As you can tell, my friend Tim is excited about your adventure. Hope this helps.

Quote:
Awesome idea!

There is a great book by Bill McKibben who walked the route from Champ to the ADKs that you might be interested in http://www.billmckibben.com/wandering-home.html

First go in the fall if you can. When it is still warmish but the leaves are turning. A couple of days in the high peaks is clutch as well. There are plenty of short nice day hikes with great views for you and the wife.

I rec Mt. Hovenburg trail http://bp2.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewT...x?tripId=31417. I did this hike in the winter with my moms who are pushing the senior class and not in the best of shape.

Also, if you want to get a tougher day in, your wife can do shopping in Lake Placid and you can do some more strenuous hiking. Avoid Mt. Marcy if it is nice out and a weekend. Instead check out Mt. Colden via Avalanche pass it is one of my faves anytime of year. (I dont have my High Peaks guide book with me but you should pick one up http://www.adk.org/new_store/Product...?productid=GHP this book will be a great resource to finding hikes and I am happy to provide whatever info I can)

In L.P. you should definitely go to the Lake Placid Brew Pub (http://www.ubuale.com/) and also With Pipe and Book (buy a cigar and go for a walk around Mirror Lake looking at the awesome ADK style homes- http://business.vermonttoday.com/Wit...1300.home.html)

Also a great compromise between roughing it and B & B- ing it is one of the ADK Loj or 4 person cabin (http://www.adk.org/ad_loj/rates.aspx)

Last dont forget about black fly season. It has ruined many a marriage.

Ok I could go on forever but I'll stop.
Reply
post #3 of 5
3/27/09 at 8:54pm
Thread Starter 
Hey thanks! When's black fly season? EDIT: Ah...
Reply
post #4 of 5
3/30/09 at 12:43pm
Friend #2 says:

Quote:
I definitely agree with Tim - avoid black fly season! (I think it's usually from mid-May through June.) Fall is definitely a great time to go (beautiful foliage) - I also really like mid to late August in the Adirondacks when it's still warm enough to do water stuff during the day, but comfortable at night.

I also agree on the hikes and Lake Placid - another fun outdoorsy thing to do that isn't too strenuous is renting a kayak or canoe for a day - there are tons of places at the various lakes.

A few additional things you might want to check out:

If you start on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain, there are tons of things to do in Burlington:
http://www.vermont.org/visiting/index.aspx

And the ferry ride between Burlington and New York was incredible when I did it (not sure about RV's on the ferry, but cars are definitely allowed) - http://www.ferries.com/index.php

Right on the New York side of the lake is Ausable Chasm. I've only ever walked around there briefly, but it's beautiful and I believe there are lots of things you can see/do there (like a night time lantern tour into the chasm) http://www.ausablechasm.com/

Depending on the route you take, you could also hit the 1000 Island region - it's certainly a bit more touristy and a bit on the cheesy side but there's definitely a lot to do. Boldt Castle is a nice place to go (it's about a 30 minute ferry ride from Alexandria Bay) - the grounds and views are beautiful and it's self-guided so you can explore the gardens and house at your own pace - http://www.boldtcastle.com/

Further west, I would suggest heading south from Syracuse and going through the Finger Lakes region. If you're a wine person, there are tons of wineries to stop by or stay at http://www.fingerlakeswinecountry.com/ and even if you're not, the lakes are beautiful and there are great restaurants and B&B's throughout.

My last suggestion would be to hit Letchworth State Park - it's situated kind of next to the Finger Lakes (South of Rochester between Rochester and Buffalo). Lots of places to walk around and beautiful views - there's also camping there and I believe a B&B right in the park.
http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=12

Happy Travels!
Reply
post #5 of 5
3/30/09 at 4:47pm
Thread Starter 
Lots of great ideas. Thanks to you and your friends!!!

Talked to the wife. She's definitely intrigued by the idea. I know she's been leveraging for a better camera. This could be the excuse.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: The East Coast Flavor
CHUD.com Community › Forums › REGIONAL › The East Coast Flavor › A travel question to the Upstate New York Chewers