Road Trip this Summer in the Area (Syracuse, Utica: 2015, waterparks)

[huff100]

Hi, I live in Massachusetts and am planning either an update NY (or Pennsylvania) camping road trip this July with my husband and 2 young kids (1 year old and 5 year old). We have a small camper and will be staying at campgrounds. We are planning on going to Herkimer to Syracuse (planning on Cooperstown for a day and Utica for a day and Sylvan Beach for two nights), we might go to Lake George on the way home.

My husband and I have been to Cooperstown twice before but everywhere else will be new to us in NY.

I would love some areas to take the kids, really family friendly ideas. Maybe a beach/fishing, kids museums, playgrounds, children's theaters, train rides, boat rides, etc.

We are planning on leaving for our vacation on July 1st and have about a week to explore!

I appreciate any ideas and suggestions for the road trip. It will be our longest trip with the kids and we are excited to start exploring upstate NY!

Thank you!

[ckhthankgod]

Are you looking for something specifically in the Capital Region or other parts of Upstate NY?

[countrykaren]

A week is waaaay too short...NY has so many things to see and do. And since it is a BIG state, everything is spread out. Anyway...


Any where in the Adirondacks, esp Old Forge (they have a water park)- make sure you go to the Old Forge Hardware store (trust me on this), Lake Placid (they still have Olympic stuff there) and Saranac. All are great towns to walk. I can just spend weeks in the 'dacks...you can stop in Lake George on way home. Lake George is very small, takes only approx. 1/2 day to see most of it.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Forge,_New_York


https://www.oldforgehardware.com/


https://www.watersafari.com/




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Placid,_New_York






https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saranac_Lake,_New_York


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_G...age),_New_York


While in Herkimer stop at the "diamond" mines. You can camp there and mine for your own diamonds. Now last year they had a fire in the store. They may have rebuilt but the mines are ok and the campground is across the street.


https://www.herkimerdiamond.com/


Since you mentioned Sylvan Beach, you can also visit Canandaigua. Nice walkable town. There's lots of stuff to see and Roseland water park.


https://www.roselandwaterpark.com/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canand...ity),_New_York


And then there's Skaneateles (pronounced Skinny Atlas). Nice walkable town, but small. A good 1/2 or 1 day trip.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skanea...age),_New_York


And of course Ithaca. Nice town. Have the famous Moosewood (vegetarian restaurant- go early or make reservations). Great place to see waterfalls and gorges, Cornell University. Very upscale, hippy, vegan crowd.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithaca,_New_York


And there's Corning Glass Work in Corning NY. Watch glass being made.


https://www.cmog.org/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corning_(city),_New_York


Heck, You may just need to stay the whole summer........Have fun. Hoped this helped. Send me a message if you want more info or ideas.

[countrykaren]

Forgot to add Watkins Glen.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watkins_Glen,_New_York


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watkins_Glen_State_Park


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_Sanctuary

[countrykaren]

other ideas...


https://www.newyorkupstate.com/road-...th_family.html


https://www.newyorkupstate.com/famil...aterparks.html


https://albany.kidsoutandabout.com/c...pital-district


https://www.lakegeorge.com/things-to...n-attractions/

[huff100]

We are looking for the Herkimer/Utica/Cooperstown/Sylvan Beach/Syracuse area. This is going to be the road trip. We are staying 3 nights at the Herkimer KOA campground and are looking into other campgrounds (we have a small travel camper).

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by huff100

We are looking for the Herkimer/Utica/Cooperstown/Sylvan Beach/Syracuse area. This is going to be the road trip. We are staying 3 nights at the Herkimer KOA campground and are looking into other campgrounds (we have a small travel camper).

Besides some of the good suggestions above, Utica has a children’s museum and a zoo. There is a scenic railroad that goes to Old Forge as well. Rome has Fort Rickey Children’s Discovery Zoo.

Syracuse has the MOST, some things at Destiny USA, the Erie Canal Museum and Open Hand Theater in Shoppingtown Mall(what’s left of it), among other things.

As for campgrounds, I would look at the NY State Parks: https://parks.ny.gov/camping/campsites/default.aspx

and even the Onondaga County Parks: Camping - Public » Onondaga County Parks websites.

[ckhthankgod]

Also, if hiking is an option, this is a great source for the target area: https://www.cnyhiking.com

https://www.cnyhiking.com/HikingInCentralNewYork.htm (Herkimer, Oneida, Madison, Otsego and Onondaga Counties are within the target area)

Syracuse also has a zoo, which is mentioned in the Onondaga County Parks website.