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You can check out the Adirondacks and places in that area like Old Forge, Saranac Lake, Lake Placid and Tupper Lake, the 1000 Islands, Saratoga Springs, Finger Lakes region wineries, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Ithaca is a nice college town with a Berkeley vibe, Sackets Harbor and cool urban neighborhoods like the Elmwood Village in Buffalo, Park Ave. in Rochester, the University Hill/Westcott area of Syracuse and Lark St. in Albany, among others. You can check out the NY State Parks website and websites from the visitors bureau of the metro areas in Upstate(Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany), as well as areas like Ithaca, Saratoga Springs, Watertown, Plattsburgh and Corning. Places like New Paltz and Saugerties might be of interest too.
Where are you planning to fly in to? What interests you? What time of year? Upstate NY is kind of vague. Some people just consider anything directly north of NYC upstate and others consider the area all the way to the west (Buffalo) upstate. Anyway I recommend Adirondacks, specifically the Lake Placid/Saranac Lake region. If you are going west I recommend the Canadian side of the falls, Niagara on the Lake (Ontario), Lewiston.
yeah - it's difficult and believe it or not that is a tight time frame
a lot will depend on where you are starting from, what your interests are, etc
If I had to make up some "dream stops" based on my interests they would involve:
I'd probably start up in Saranac Lake to spend some time in the Adirondacks, Lake Placid, etc ..... move my way down to Saratoga Springs for a race ......... over to Cooperstown for the baseball HOF, swing into Ithaca and spend some time around the gorges, waterfalls, etc ........ swing into watkins glen, maybe hit a winery or two on seneca lake and hike watkins glen state park ...... drive the western lake portion of Keuka Lake hitting wineries, dining and the microbrewry ..... swing by darien lake for some amusements .... onto Niagara on the Lake ..... and then over to the canadian falls
even that would leave off a lot, but would still move you about 540 miles and eat up a solid week.........
The Adirondacks, Saratoga Racetrack and Springs, Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame and "living" colonial museums - love the Farmer's Museum), Ithaca and the Finger Lakes (Ithaca is at the bottom of Cayuga Lake), the Corning Museum of Glass and then straight over to Niagara Falls. Try getting an enhanced license, to cross the Canadian border, and see it from that side... much more of a magnificent, grand view.
If you're a true Lakers fan, from the old school, you should at least drive through Pat Riley's home town of Schenectady.
True and the gym at Schenectady High is named the Pat Riley Center. While you are there, check out the Stockade and GE Plot neighborhoods.
Some other hidden spots to possibly consider are: Sylvan Beach, the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, the Herkimer Diamond Mines, Fort Stanwix in Rome, Fort Ontario in Oswego, Fort Ticonderoga near Ticonderoga, the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, Turning Stone Casino in Verona, the Antique scene in Hudson, the Harriet Tubman and William Seward Homes in Auburn, take the Adirondack Scenic Railroad from Union Station in Utica to Old Forge and many quaint communities like Penn Yan, Skaneateles, Cazenovia, Hamilton, Lewiston, Rhinebeck, Canandaigua, East Aurora, Mayville and many more.
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