New York State Travel Forum

Hello everybody,
we're planning our trip to the States for next summer. We will do New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Niagara Falls and Boston; we have still a few days left.
We're in doubt wether to "do" the Adirondacks or the Finger Lakes. What's the best choice according to you guys?
Thanx for your help.

The Finger Lake region is best known for wineries and the Adirondacks are best known for camping and hiking. Of course there are various other things to do in both places. The Adirondacks also have higher elevations than the Finger Lakes area where the hills are more rolling.
You could also consider the Poconos and upstate Pennsylvania if more interested in the mountains.

They're very different places. The Finger Lakes are very touristy and developed with lots of cute towns. The Adirondacks are much less developed and more oriented toward eco-tourism. Also, the Adirondacks are mountains (in an East Coast sense, which are more what people in the West call hills) while the Finger Lakes are rolling hills and valleys. But, that said, the Adirondacks are relatively cold. I was there last June and it was still getting down to about 5C at night.
It depends on what you like, but I'd agree about the Poconos and maybe even the Catskills, which are on the New York side of the New York-Pennsylvania-New Jersey border to the northwest of NYC. Beautiful stuff.
Also, don't forget about Vermont!

If you like nature, scenery, and hiking do the Adirondacks or the White Mountains in New Hampshire (2-3 hours north of Boston). If you like history or architechture, try Newport, Rhode Island, which has some great mansions that you can tour. Also, between Philadelphia and Wilmington are Winterthur (a duPont family mansion) and Longwood Gardens, which are both beautiful. If you want to visit a smaller city, try Pittsburgh, which is one of the more underrated cities in the USA.