Great Picnic Points Close to NYC
Adirondack, Cooperstown and Yorktown
NYC is a big, bad and stale apple. So this weekend, head out of the city and visit some of the towns and countryside close by.
Here are some great outing ideas for clean family and community fun or naughty twosome getaways, all of them just a wwwrroommm away from NYC!!
Adirondack Mountains
If one has ever been there, s/he will testify that it’s like being on cloud nine, literally. Besides offering the largest hiking trail in the US, the Adirondack also offers the vastest and the most beautiful blue skies and green earth. The endlessly rolling lush mountains, the awesomely refreshing rivulets and pencil-falls, and the perennially green forest with its myriad flora and fauna…they all offer something that NYC can never do, space. Space to pamper one’s adventurous alter-ego, space to unwind and rewind, space to be the brat kid that one was, a long time ago.
The region is so feature-packed that it offers an ideal dawn-to-dusk excursion or a week full of active and eventful sojourn.
Adirondack has got more lakes and ponds (3,000) than NYC has got traffic signals, more miles of river (1,500 miles) and more miles of hiking trail (2,000 miles) than NYC has got asphalt routes. All this should be enough to indulge in water, land and adventure activities of one’s liking. Some of the country’s topmost resorts are located here, so comfortable boarding is never going to be a problem. Or one can opt from the scores of scenic camping sites for family and community outings.
Location: The Adirondack region is located in North-East NY.
Approach: Though the region is accessible by air for international visitors, the most enjoyable route for locals is by the panoramic Amtrak rail service from the Grand Central Station. By land, the scenic route 87 leads straight to the heart of Adirondack through Albany. Within the region, rent-a-car facilities are available.
For travel details and other info, Visit Adirondacks.Visit Cooperstown.
Cooperstown
Cooperstown and the adjoining Otsego County are two priceless nuggets of unparalleled natural beauty that entice the weary bodies and withered spirits of NYCians.
The approach route itself is like paradise on earth. Especially if one can afford a hatchback over his head and a sweetheart by his side. The East lake road (route 31) or the West lake road (route 80), both offers a jaw-dropping view of the vast tranquil Otsego lake. Ahead on the road and on its sides, there is this undulated natural beauty made up of looming mountains and lush foregrounds that stretch to the vanishing point. And oh-oh, there are those enchanting scenic diversions from the road that are so tempting for the young and the young-at-heart! They are nature’s invitation for blissful indulgence, with not a soul around, except a solitary gull or a stray goat.
But as dusk approaches, one must reach one of the many vantage points, for the region offers some of the most stunning sunset views in the country. The vistas surrounding the villages of Richfield Springs, Cherry Valley, Milford, Middlefield and Springfield offer ideal vantage spots.
For those looking for family fun, the Fly Creek Cider Mill, an ethereal water-powered mill offers a rest and delicious ethnic box lunch, while the kids can feed the ducks there.
Location: Cooperstown is located bang in the center of the Otsego County, which is in the south-central part of the state.
Approach: Navigate along rt. 17 by road.
For travel details and more info,
Yorktown and Turkey Mountain
Yorktown is the more exposed and known destination of the peripheral delights around NYC. It has a unique landscape of rolling hills, farmlands painted with myriad hues of green and pretty chimneyed farm houses dotted all along the area.
Yorktown is more developed, in that it has 1,400 acres of man-made park area, out of which the Turkey Mountain Park alone consumes 125 acres. This park has well developed recreation, activity and leisure facilities.
The Turkey Mountain is a major attraction, what with the awesome view of the NYC skyline and city lights on a clear day or night that it offers to the tourists. The region offers a tranquil 22-mile North County trailway for the footloose or peddlers. The Teatown lake reserve is a 730-acre nature education center and the Kitchawan preserve, an important botanical research center. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Park is like a desktop model of Central Park placed within scenic surroundings of Yorktown.
Location: Yorktown is just a 35-mile ride from NYC, located in Northern Westchester County.
Approach: Follow your nose, and of course good navigation , along 87.
For travel details and more info, visit Yorktown NY.
