by and | May 10, 2020 | 3 comment(s)

Yes! You Can Go to the Park! Here’s Some Great Picks in NY State

These days, even a far drive to a calm, scenic place feels like a nice getaway. 

During a time when people are feeling confined and a need to get out for a nice day or two, I compiled some NYS attractions to consider. Just driving around upstate is relaxing in itself. Contrary to what New Yorkers may imagine, there is a lot more to the state than Manhattan and surrounding areas. In fact, NYC only takes up around .55% of the total area of the state. Although many feel they need to take a plane ride from NY to experience nature or get away from the city, driving a few hours north or west from the city will reveal a world of natural beauty most New Yorkers never knew existed. The state won’t offer ‘blow your socks away’ beauty, but the quiet and calm setting surrounding the Adirondack and Catskill regions, as well as far west near the Finger Lakes, is enough to lure a city dweller for a relaxing, cheap, and relatively close getaway. I hope to add more to this list, and I constantly learn of new places to go visit. I barely touched the tip of these attractions but feel free to share more ideas to add. Note that some will require minimal entrance fees but most are free to access as far as I know. Most NY State parks are open but confirm hours and openings in advance before heading out during the Pandemic. (A quick Google search should help.)

The attractions in the Catskill region are typically a 2-3 hour drive from NYC. Adirondack region is around 4-6 hours. The Finger Lake region is around 4-6 hours. Niagara is around 7-8. The lists are arranged in the order one may drive, from south to north for the first list and from east to west for the second list. Links are provided to Google Maps to locate directional information and photos.

Southern and Eastern NY

Greater NYC

Catskills

Adirondacks

Central and Western NY

Long Island

Between Carpools

Between Carpools is a collaboration between five talented friends who like to get a lot of stuff done “between carpools.” Since 2016, we’ve been sharing home and organizing tips, parenting insights, activities, how-to’s and DIYs, and of course, entertaining ideas, recipes, and inspiring reads both on the site and app.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

FREE GIFT!

Get our BCP Lifepages Planner by signing up to our email list!