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The Capital Disctrict Parent Pages Features are cover stories pulled from our print edition. For ALL features, stories & more, pick up an issue at one of our many locations.
Vacation 'right around the corner'
Posted on Tue, July 8th, 2008
Written by: J.B. Baker, Editor
email: cdparentpg@aol.com
With the price of gas rising almost hourly, you may be thinking that the family summer vacation may have to be on hold this year, but think again. Within the range of a single tank of gas you will find all the vacation you can dream of.
Garnet Hill Lodge
Why not leave the hustle and bustle behind you with a vacation at Garnet Hill Lodge and Vacation Center (pictured above), just a few hours up the Northway in the pristine Adirondack Mountains? With its rustic setting the lodge offers families an opportunity to escape from the hectic pace of everyday life to relax and enjoy the peace and serenity of nature. With more than 70 miles of marked and mapped trails, visitors can experience gentle walks through scenic trails, while more experienced hikers can also be challenged with climbs through nearby Snowy, Peaked, Crane, Blue and Chimney mountains, or the family can hop on mountain bikes and spend a day in the woods. If it is warm, swim in the crystal waters of Thirteenth Lake or just laze in the sun on the shore. Boating, canoeing and fishing are available, with rental canoes, kayaks, and rowboats at the site. In addition, Garnet Hill maintains two tennis courts.
“Garnet Hill offers a wonderful opportunity for families to de-stress and truly get away from it all,” said Anita Abrams, publicity coordinator for the lodge. “Getting back to nature or ‘what’s real’ is what guests love most.”
The Blue Mountain Lake and Lake George are within a short drive if you wish to visit local museums, such as the award-winning Blue Mountain Lake, enjoy a nature center, see natural wonders, tour historic sites or take aboat cruise. Several rafting companies nearby offer an exciting day’s activity.
The Log House guest rooms accommodate 2 to 5 people and, keeping with the rustic theme, have no telephones or televisions. Don’t worry, the staff delivers messages and a public phone is available for essential calls. You won’t be without all amenties -- there are separate game rooms with a large screen TV, pool table and other games and wi-fi is available throughout the building. Two additional cabins are available for large groups (and they do have televisions in those rooms).
In the summer, meals are served family-style with each family having their own table.
“Mary Jane, our kitchen magician is known throughout the area for her incredible homemade pies and breads,” said Abrams. “A family could come here, toss their car keys on the dresser and just relax on the Garnet Hill property for a few days or a week.”
Rates include three meals daily and range from $99 per person/per night double occupancy to $145 per person/per night. There are also multi-day packages. Visit the Web site at www.garnet-hill.com for information. From the south take I-87 to exit 23 at Warrensburg, then Route 9 to Route 28 to North River. Garnet Hill Lodge is located off Rt. 28 in North River left on Thirteenth Lake Road, 5 miles.
Discover Ithaca
While Ithaca may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think vacation - there is much more to the area than meets the eye, and luckily it is close enough to the Capital District that you can leave home in the morning and begin your vacation in the same day. You can easily spend a day or a week exploring Ithaca’s Discovery Trail, eight fascinating sites that will interest everyone from history buffs to nature lovers to families with little ones.
Be prepared to step back in time when you see the Hyde Park Mastodon and the Right Whale Skeleton at the Museum of the Earth Paleontological Research Institution on Route 96. The extraordinary, national-class museum offers award-winning architecture, hands-on experiences like working with fossils at the Discovery Stations. Admission is adults $8, seniors/students $5 and youth $3. The museum is located at 1259 Trumansburg Road, for information visit the Web site at www.museumoftheearth.org or call 607-273-6623.
The Sciencenter, open 7 days a week during July and August, is a community-built, hands-on science museum that is sure to enlighten, entertain, and energize your young tot, child or teenager. Consider a round of mini-golf at the Sciencenter’s Galaxy Golf or visit nearby, Jolly Joker Hall of Games for arcade. For more information visit the Web site at www.sciencenter.org or call 607-272-0600.
Admission is adults $6, seniors $5, youth age 3 to 17 $4 and children under 3 are free. Galaxy Golf is $4 per person. The Sciencenter is located at 601 First Street. While downtown, venture over to the History Center in Tompkins County and examine history through a local lens.
Learn all the things that make the Ithaca & Tompkins County area unique. Admission is free and the center is located at 401 E. State Street. Visit the Web site at www.TheHistoryCenter.net or call 607-273-8284.
Once you have had enough of exploring indoors, the state parks around Ithaca offer spectacular views of gorgeous waterfalls and an opportunity to explore outdoors.
Buttermilk Falls State Park features a creek that drops from 1000 to 400 feet above sea level as it plunges through a gorge down the eastern slope of Cayuga Valley at the southern edge of the city. At Robert Treman State Park you can visit Enfield Glen and the devilishly named Lucifer Falls or visit Newfield where you will find the Newfield Covered Bridge , built in 1853 and restored in 1972. The charming bridge is the only covered bridge in the Finger Lakes area located on a public road.
Taughannock Falls State Park offers a 3/4 mile gorge trail that is both wheelchair and stroller accessible. Follow the trail and it will take you out to the base of a 215-foot waterfall larger than Niagara Falls. The North and South Rim trails combine to form a scenic 3-mile loop around the upper portion of the gorge. Catch a different perspective of the waterfall at the overlook off Taughannock Park Road.
The Cayuga Nature Center at 1420 Taughannock Boulevard, (Route 89) offers miles of trails, animals and an opportunity to climb to the top of the 3-story Treetops Structure. Admission to Cauiga Nature Center is $3 adults, $2 seniors/students or $1 for children. For information visit the Web site at www.cayuganaturecenter.org or call 607-273-6260.
Cornell Plantations, adjacent to one of America’s most renowned college campuses, features a botanical garden and arboretum. The Plantations welcomes visitors free of charge, year-round, from sunrise to sunset. For information visit the Web site at www.plantations.cornell.edu or call 607-255-2400.
Next, visit Cornell University’s new Lab of Ornithology at Sapsucker Woods , offering 4.2 miles of trails winding through wooded areas with the chance of sighting a different bird around every bend.
On the west side of Ithaca you’ll find the trailhead to the new Cayuga Waterfront Trail , a 2-mile, paved meandering walk along the lake with stunning views of Cornell University and the historical inlet.
Even if you don’t ever get on a boat while visiting Ithaca, it’s fun to walk the nearby Allen Treman Marina to view the gorgeous crafts docked there.
For more information about the Ithaca area Discovery Trail visit the Web site at www.DiscoveryTrail.com or visit www.visitithaca.com for a complete listing of places to visit and see while in Ithaca.
You can contact cdparentpg@aol.com with any questions. Also, feel free to post comments below.
Readers had this to say
Nobody has made any comments about this yet... you could be the first. Comment about this article.
Posted on Tue, July 8th, 2008Written by: J.B. Baker, Editor
email: cdparentpg@aol.com
With the price of gas rising almost hourly, you may be thinking that the family summer vacation may have to be on hold this year, but think again. Within the range of a single tank of gas you will find all the vacation you can dream of.
Garnet Hill Lodge
Why not leave the hustle and bustle behind you with a vacation at Garnet Hill Lodge and Vacation Center (pictured above), just a few hours up the Northway in the pristine Adirondack Mountains? With its rustic setting the lodge offers families an opportunity to escape from the hectic pace of everyday life to relax and enjoy the peace and serenity of nature. With more than 70 miles of marked and mapped trails, visitors can experience gentle walks through scenic trails, while more experienced hikers can also be challenged with climbs through nearby Snowy, Peaked, Crane, Blue and Chimney mountains, or the family can hop on mountain bikes and spend a day in the woods. If it is warm, swim in the crystal waters of Thirteenth Lake or just laze in the sun on the shore. Boating, canoeing and fishing are available, with rental canoes, kayaks, and rowboats at the site. In addition, Garnet Hill maintains two tennis courts.
“Garnet Hill offers a wonderful opportunity for families to de-stress and truly get away from it all,” said Anita Abrams, publicity coordinator for the lodge. “Getting back to nature or ‘what’s real’ is what guests love most.”
The Blue Mountain Lake and Lake George are within a short drive if you wish to visit local museums, such as the award-winning Blue Mountain Lake, enjoy a nature center, see natural wonders, tour historic sites or take aboat cruise. Several rafting companies nearby offer an exciting day’s activity.
The Log House guest rooms accommodate 2 to 5 people and, keeping with the rustic theme, have no telephones or televisions. Don’t worry, the staff delivers messages and a public phone is available for essential calls. You won’t be without all amenties -- there are separate game rooms with a large screen TV, pool table and other games and wi-fi is available throughout the building. Two additional cabins are available for large groups (and they do have televisions in those rooms).
In the summer, meals are served family-style with each family having their own table.
“Mary Jane, our kitchen magician is known throughout the area for her incredible homemade pies and breads,” said Abrams. “A family could come here, toss their car keys on the dresser and just relax on the Garnet Hill property for a few days or a week.”
Rates include three meals daily and range from $99 per person/per night double occupancy to $145 per person/per night. There are also multi-day packages. Visit the Web site at www.garnet-hill.com for information. From the south take I-87 to exit 23 at Warrensburg, then Route 9 to Route 28 to North River. Garnet Hill Lodge is located off Rt. 28 in North River left on Thirteenth Lake Road, 5 miles.
Discover Ithaca
While Ithaca may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think vacation - there is much more to the area than meets the eye, and luckily it is close enough to the Capital District that you can leave home in the morning and begin your vacation in the same day. You can easily spend a day or a week exploring Ithaca’s Discovery Trail, eight fascinating sites that will interest everyone from history buffs to nature lovers to families with little ones.
Be prepared to step back in time when you see the Hyde Park Mastodon and the Right Whale Skeleton at the Museum of the Earth Paleontological Research Institution on Route 96. The extraordinary, national-class museum offers award-winning architecture, hands-on experiences like working with fossils at the Discovery Stations. Admission is adults $8, seniors/students $5 and youth $3. The museum is located at 1259 Trumansburg Road, for information visit the Web site at www.museumoftheearth.org or call 607-273-6623.
The Sciencenter, open 7 days a week during July and August, is a community-built, hands-on science museum that is sure to enlighten, entertain, and energize your young tot, child or teenager. Consider a round of mini-golf at the Sciencenter’s Galaxy Golf or visit nearby, Jolly Joker Hall of Games for arcade. For more information visit the Web site at www.sciencenter.org or call 607-272-0600.
Admission is adults $6, seniors $5, youth age 3 to 17 $4 and children under 3 are free. Galaxy Golf is $4 per person. The Sciencenter is located at 601 First Street. While downtown, venture over to the History Center in Tompkins County and examine history through a local lens.
Learn all the things that make the Ithaca & Tompkins County area unique. Admission is free and the center is located at 401 E. State Street. Visit the Web site at www.TheHistoryCenter.net or call 607-273-8284.
Once you have had enough of exploring indoors, the state parks around Ithaca offer spectacular views of gorgeous waterfalls and an opportunity to explore outdoors.
Buttermilk Falls State Park features a creek that drops from 1000 to 400 feet above sea level as it plunges through a gorge down the eastern slope of Cayuga Valley at the southern edge of the city. At Robert Treman State Park you can visit Enfield Glen and the devilishly named Lucifer Falls or visit Newfield where you will find the Newfield Covered Bridge , built in 1853 and restored in 1972. The charming bridge is the only covered bridge in the Finger Lakes area located on a public road.
Taughannock Falls State Park offers a 3/4 mile gorge trail that is both wheelchair and stroller accessible. Follow the trail and it will take you out to the base of a 215-foot waterfall larger than Niagara Falls. The North and South Rim trails combine to form a scenic 3-mile loop around the upper portion of the gorge. Catch a different perspective of the waterfall at the overlook off Taughannock Park Road.
The Cayuga Nature Center at 1420 Taughannock Boulevard, (Route 89) offers miles of trails, animals and an opportunity to climb to the top of the 3-story Treetops Structure. Admission to Cauiga Nature Center is $3 adults, $2 seniors/students or $1 for children. For information visit the Web site at www.cayuganaturecenter.org or call 607-273-6260.
Cornell Plantations, adjacent to one of America’s most renowned college campuses, features a botanical garden and arboretum. The Plantations welcomes visitors free of charge, year-round, from sunrise to sunset. For information visit the Web site at www.plantations.cornell.edu or call 607-255-2400.
Next, visit Cornell University’s new Lab of Ornithology at Sapsucker Woods , offering 4.2 miles of trails winding through wooded areas with the chance of sighting a different bird around every bend.
On the west side of Ithaca you’ll find the trailhead to the new Cayuga Waterfront Trail , a 2-mile, paved meandering walk along the lake with stunning views of Cornell University and the historical inlet.
Even if you don’t ever get on a boat while visiting Ithaca, it’s fun to walk the nearby Allen Treman Marina to view the gorgeous crafts docked there.
For more information about the Ithaca area Discovery Trail visit the Web site at www.DiscoveryTrail.com or visit www.visitithaca.com for a complete listing of places to visit and see while in Ithaca.
You can contact cdparentpg@aol.com with any questions. Also, feel free to post comments below.
Readers had this to say
Nobody has made any comments about this yet... you could be the first. Comment about this article.