New York State as a travel destination is about far more than just NYC. Now don’t get us wrong, we absolutely adore New York City. We’ve been so many times and we even lived there for 4 months in early 2021. It’s one of our favorite cities on the planet. But head upstate and you can hike towering mountains, walk through striking gorges, sip on delicious wines and visit the most famous waterfall in the world.
Kristen grew up in western New York’s Finger Lakes and we spent our covid year “locked down” in the area together. So we know a thing or two about where to go in the whole state, not just the city.
In this New York travel guide we explain each of the most popular tourist areas to see in the state, along with an example road trip itinerary and when to visit.
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New York City
Okay, let’s dive right in and start with America’s flagship city break destination, NYC. What we love about New York is that there’s so much to see and do for every type of traveler and every budget. In terms of bucket list tourist attractions, we don’t think there’s a better place on earth.
After spending a ton of time in the city, we think there’s a common misconception that it’s too expensive to visit. Sure, hotels are expensive, but no more than London or Paris. And most of our favorite things to do in NYC are free or cheap. Walking the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset, exploring vibrant neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and walking through Central Park don’t cost a cent.
If it were our first time visiting again, we’d plan a 4 day NYC itinerary. Why? Because any less and it’s too much of a rush trying to tick things off, any longer and those high hotel costs start to spiral. Speaking of hotels, we think the immediate area around Bryant Park is a great place to stay on a first visit to New York. It’s central, close to top attractions and has good transport links.
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Finger Lakes
New York’s Finger Lakes is a stunning region with quaint lakeside towns, dramatic gorges, an abundance of waterfall hikes and tons of wineries. We’d honestly say the Finger Lakes are one of the most underrated US travel destinations.
Our favorite places to set up base for exploring the area are Ithaca at the bottom of Cayuga Lake and Watkins Glen at the bottom of Seneca Lake.
Ithaca is much bigger, has more going on and is close to several of our favorite New York state parks with gorge hikes and waterfalls. Whereas Watkins Glen is small and quiet but has great places to eat. Both are near lots of popular wineries, so it’s hard to go wrong.
Here are some of the awesome state parks you have to visit:
Letchworth is half way between Watkins Glen and Buffalo, and it’s an easy day trip from either side. It’s one of our favorite spots in all of New York State, so don’t miss it if you’ll be in the area.
Buffalo + Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is an immense sight to behold, but even though it’s pretty awesome, we wouldn’t plan a vacation around it. Instead, we’d visit the falls on a day trip from our hotel in the Finger Lakes. Here’s what you can do on the US side of Niagara Falls.
We’d spend the morning exploring both sides of Niagara Falls, then we’d drive down into Buffalo to get chicken wings at either Anchor Bar or Duff’s, then we’d hike Eternal Flame Falls Trail on the way out of Buffalo and back to the Finger Lakes. Unless there was a Bills game on, then we’d stay a bit longer!
Niagara Falls is cool and it’s definitely worth seeing, but overall we much prefer the quaint rural areas in the Finger Lakes. Oh, and if chicken wings aren’t your thing, you absolutely have to try Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. They’re in Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and even Brooklyn too.
Adirondacks
Have you heard of the Adirondack Mountains? If not, it’s where you’ll find Mount Marcy, the tallest peak in New York, and Lake Placid of 1980 winter olympics fame (you know, the miracle on ice). The area is nestled among mountains, forests and lakes, so it’s popular year round for hiking and skiing.
We’ve spent time in the quaint mountain resort town of Lake Placid at the beginning of two New England fall road trips, and we love it there. It has great places to eat and drink, easy to reach attractions for the whole family and a few awesome hikes.
We highly recommend walking around High Falls Gorge, taking a drive up Whiteface Mountain and checking out the olympic museum. If you have time, take a drive west to visit the Thousand Islands and more high peaks in the mountains.
Further south, Natural Stone Bridge and Caves is worth a visit and Lake George is another popular vacation spot that’s great if you’re looking for a relaxing break. We took a cruise on the lake and visited the Fort William Henry Museum.
Hudson River Valley
The Hudson River Valley is a long and narrow area stretching from Westchester county (just north of Manhattan, Harlem and Bronx) all the way up to Albany and Troy. It’s filled with historic sites, rolling hills covered in trees, waterfalls and the famous Catskill Mountains.
We’ve driven through this region of New York many times but we’ve never actually taken a slow road trip with plenty of stops along the river. When we do finally get round to it, we’ll definitely visit Kingston, Woodstock and Kaaterskill Falls among others.
There’s only one time of year we’d plan to explore the Hudson Valley, and that’s in the second to third week of October when fall foliage colors erupt across the hills on both sides of the river. It’s also a great time to visit state parks like Harriman, Bear Mountain and Minnewaska.
10 Fun Facts About New York
- Albany has been the state capital since 1797.
- Honking a car horn is illegal in NYC unless in imminent danger.
- George Washington was inaugurated in NYC in 1789.
- At 215 ft tall, Taughannock Falls is the tallest waterfall in NY.
- Albany to Schenectady was the first railroad route in America.
- The first pizzeria in America was opened in NYC in 1905.
- Adirondack Park is 6 million acres in size.
- Saratoga is where the potato chip was invented.
- The Thousand Islands actually has 1,864 islands.
- Over 40 million gallons of water pours over Niagara Falls every minute.
Road Trip Itinerary
If we wanted to road trip around the top highlights in New York, this is how we’d plan an action packed 17-day itinerary starting in NYC and ending in Buffalo:
New York City – Days 1-4
- Explore Central Park, Times Square and Upper Manhattan
- Spend the day walking around Midtown and Chelsea
- Visit Lower Manhattan and SoHo
- Cross over the river to see Brooklyn and Williamsburg
Hudson Valley – Days 4 to 6
- Spend a day in the lower valley hiking in state parks
- Visit Minnewaska, Kingston and Woodstock
- Go to Kaaterskill Falls and Thatcher State Park
Lake George – Day 7
- Stop in Saratoga Springs on the way to Lake George
- Take a cruise or drive up to Prospect Mountain
Lake Placid – Days 8 to 10
- Spend a relaxing olympic themed day in Lake Placid
- Take a full day to hike Mt Marcy
- Go to High Falls Gorge and Whiteface Mountain
Thousand Islands – Day 11
- Take a slow drive across the Adirondacks to Thousand Islands
- Visit Boldt Castle and Heart Island
Finger Lakes – Days 12-15
- Start in Ithaca with the Cascadilla Gorge and Taughannock Falls
- Spend a day at Robert H Treman and Buttermilk Falls
- Drive to Watkins Glen and hike the amazing gorge trail
- Spend a day touring wineries
Buffalo – Days 16-17
- Visit Letchworth and Eternal Flame Falls on the way to Buffalo
- Spend a day on both sides of Niagara Falls
This awesome and efficient road trip itinerary stops at most of New York State’s touristy highlights and hidden gem spots. It’s exactly how we’d do it if we had 17 days spare and wanted to stay in New York without crossing into any other state.
When To Visit
New York State is a year round travel destination thanks to the immense popularity of NYC and winter activities in the Adirondacks. But late spring, summer and fall are the busiest times to explore all areas of the state.
We lived in NYC in the winter when it was quiet, affordable and easy to tick off attractions. But we’ve also visited in pretty much every month of the year, and we’d say the shoulder season months are the best time to visit because summer is too hot, smelly, expensive and busy. We like NYC in April because Central Park is filled with cherry blossoms.
The rest of New York State has lovely weather between late spring and early fall. But we love the fall season in upstate, especially during the peak foliage colors around the first week of October. If you’re not interested in fall foliage colors, we’d say June and September are better months to visit the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks to avoid the crowds in July and August.
Keep Exploring
Are you planning a longer trip with stops in more states? Once you’re finished reading our travel guides for New York, keep exploring nearby areas by heading over to the following pages:
We hope our New York travel guide helps with planning your vacation to the American northeast!
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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