Quick! What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about New York? Skyscrapers? The Statue of Liberty? Times Square? Waterfalls?
Wait, waterfalls?
That’s right, even though the Big Apple gets all the international attention, New York has a little green secret: Upstate New York is beautiful, with lush green forests, cold intricate waterfalls, and, yes, real apples! And I’ll tell you right away what our big mistake was this time. We didn’t find about it earlier!
View from the Metro-North Railroad. Photo by Oh, Dear!
Interested in art? You can't miss the Dia Beacon, in Beacon, NY. Photo by Oh, Dear!
If you ‘re visiting NYC for a short time, a good option for a day trip out of Gotham city could be getting to any of the cute little towns up the Hudson Valley. Just take the Metro-North Rairoad from Grand Central Terminal (89 East, 42nd St., Manhattan) and it will take you straight to some very lovely little towns, like Beacon, Cold Springs, Sleepy Hollow. Take your pick! The trip is so lovely, that even staying in the train is a treat, with wonderful sights to the river all the way up.
Now, Let’s Talk About the Finger Lakes.
I don’t know if you know but if you travel back in time to, let’s say, two million years ago, what we know now as upstate New York was covered in big glaciers. These massive blocks of ice carved the ground underneath, and when the glaciers retreated, the deep trenches left behind filled with water. Those are what we now know as the Finger Lakes.
This is a longer trip from the city, three to eight hours, depending on your destination, and if you choose to rent a car, depending on traffic as well. But it’s worth it. I recommend staying for a whole weekend in a little cabin, hidden between bushes and streams of water. Because there’s water everywhere: waterfalls, creaks, ponds. And not just boring waterfalls… gorgeous, dramatic gorges! Specially around Ithaca, and that’s why they sell cute t-shirts that say: Ithaca is Gorges.
Some hikes you can’t miss are: Watkins Glenn State Park, Buttermilk Waterfall, Lucifer Falls, and farther up Ausable River.
You can stay in a cute little cabin like this one. Photo by Oh, Dear!
Buttermilk gorge trail. Photo by Oh, Dear!
Watkin Glen. Photo by Oh, Dear!
What About the Apples?
Yes, New York City is called the Big Apple, but what most people visiting the city don’t know is that New York State is one of the biggest apple growers of the country. Coincidence? Yes, absolutely. The reason why NYC is called the Big Apple has nothing to do with its apples.
NY apples. Photo by Oh, Dear!
Back to the actual apples! If you want to enjoy some real NY apples, and you have small children, the best time to visit is in autumn. In the months of September and October, dozens of apple picking festivals bloom in little towns upstate New York. Kids love them! You can get a ride in a truck to drive you around apple orchards and pick all the apples you want for a fix price, get lost in corn mazes and have fun in jumpy castles. Highly recommended!
I hope my effort of enticing your curiosity and pulling you out of the Big Apple was successful. There is so much more to do in New York than just staying in the big city!
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