A Nine Day NY Road Trip

Find What You Love in New York

Start: Hudson Valley, New York State

Finish: Buffalo Niagara, New York State

Duration: 9 Days

Whether you’re in New York City for a couple days or a couple of weeks, you will find countless activities and new experiences to explore.

This Top Drive provides you with an entirely different experience from the city to its surrounds and around. For this drive, you will begin your trip from the Hudson Valley and end in Niagara Falls. On the way, you'll find some historic sights, stunning state libraries, historic museums, art galleries and sample some delicious food.

Day 1 to 3

The Hudson Valley

Begin your journey in Poughkeepsie of the scenic Dutchess County.

Only 90 minutes north of NYC, you’ll find Hudson River views, great estates, farms and farm markets, events and festivals, cultural and culinary attractions, boutique and antique shopping!

Then make your way to The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. The premier culinary school offers student-guided tours and dining at four award-winning restaurants.

The 3rd generation maple syrup producers, Soukup Farms for a taste of pure maple syrup straight from their sugarbush of maple trees. There are miles of hiking/walking trails with amazing mountain views throughout the valley including part of The Appalachian Trail. Then savor a farm fresh meal at any of the area’s farm to table spots.

The Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites include President Franklin D. Roosevelt's home on the Hudson River offering guided tours. The estate is FDR’s birthplace and final resting place and features the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, America’s first presidential library and a state-of-the-art interactive exhibit about the Roosevelt era, FDR’s early years and his struggle with polio. Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-Kill is the private cottage home of one of the world’s most influential women. Make your way to Vanderbilt Mansion, Frederick W. Vanderbilt’s Gilded Age home surrounded by national parkland and a Millionaire View on the scenic Hudson River.

Make sure you visit Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, known as one of the top ten gardens in the world. The Asian “cup” gardens are a sublime composition of rock, water, wood and sky.

Don't forget to visit the Dia: Beacon art museum, home to stunning large scale works by world-renowned contemporary artists dating back to the 1960s.

Day 4 to 6

Syracuse

No one should leave the USA with an empty suitcase, instead drive only three hours to Syracuse and get your retail therapy on at Destiny USA. This retail and entertainment complex is the largest mall in New York State (and the sixth-largest in the USA), featuring over 250 places to shop, dine and play.

Foodies will want to park it at the nationally acclaimed original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, voted the best barbeque in America on ABC’s Good Morning America poll. Serving finger-licking good BBQ daily for lunch and dinner, with Free Live Blues Music Monday through Saturday evenings. Walk your BBQ feast off in downtown Syracuse and explore its architecture and history, and be sure to check out the year-round festivals.

Before heading to Buffalo, enjoy the local charm of the Village of Skaneateles, recognised as the “Jewel of the Finger Lakes.” Walk this picturesque village and keep your cameras ready, as Skaneateles is popular for celebrity getaways. As well as boutique shopping, farm-to-table restaurants, Skaneateles Lake cruises with Mid-Lakes Navigation, and wine tasting at Anyela’s Vineyards are all a must see and do.

Day 7 to 9

Buffalo, Niagara

Buffalo is approximately 3 hours from Syracuse. Once you arrive, you will be surrounded by beautiful architecture, a cool lake breeze off Lake Erie (one of the Great Lakes), wonderful history and excellent food! The second largest city in New York State, you’ll find lovely surprises all over the city. Niagara Falls is less than 30 minutes away, so save time for a day there too!

The result of over $300 million in new development, Canalside hosts over 1,000 annual events. Every summer, outdoor yoga, children’s games and Outdoor Weekly concerts take place along the district’s Central Wharf. Each winter, throngs of visitors flock to the "Ice at Canalside", a 35,000 square foot (3252 sqm) rink on the recreated Erie Canal that features, skating, curling, pond hockey and ice bikes.

Buffalo Canalside- Credits: Buffalo Aerial Pictures

Frank Lloyd Wright, America’s greatest architect, designed a unique residential complex for wealthy Buffalo businessman Darwin D. Martin and his family between 1903-1905. The house is considered by leading architecture scholars as one of Wright’s finest achievements of the Prairie period and, indeed, of his entire career. Visit one or all five Wright-designed structures in Buffalo.

Embark on a three-hour guided food walking tour of the Elmwood Village where you will eat delicious samples from local eateries and explore the exquisite architecture, history and present day vibrancy of this neighbourhood. Try America's best Buffalo Wings right here in Buffalo. You can go through all 13 different pubs and take on the Buffalo Wing Trail.

Visit Niagara Falls State Park and take a ride on the "Maid of the Mist". Then enjoy a "Cave of the Winds Walk" and end your journey with a trolley ride through the park.

*The content and images in this road trip have been provided by I Love NY and partners: Dutchess County, Visit Syracuse and Visit Buffalo Niagara.

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