New York state: from Buffalo to Broadway, boundless vacation possibilities await culture lovers and fans of the great outdoors

Travel America, July-August, 2004 by Deborah Williams

NEW YORK IS A STATE LIKE no other. From the awesome beauty of the Adirondacks and Niagara Falls to the majesty of the Hudson River and the cultural and commercial explosion of Manhattan, New York is certainly one of the most diverse states in the nation.

Though the Empire State has lost its status as the nation's most populous state, the island of Manhattan still makes it the artistic and economic capital of the country and, some would argue, the world.

New York City inspires lists of superlatives in visitors and residents alike; its reputation as the biggest and the best in many things is well deserved. The city has long been a gateway for floods of immigrants and is continually re-energized by waves of newcomers who bring their cultures and cuisines and help make it one of the world's great dining cities.

Manhattan is what most people think of when the word "New York" comes to mind. The densely populated island is certainly a world center of theater, art, and music. Back in the 1920s George M. Cohan proclaimed, "When you are away from old Broadway, you are only camping out." There are literally hundreds of theaters.

One-of-a-kind attractions in Manhattan include the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, Wall Street, Times Square, Grand Central Station, the United Nations, Greenwich Village, Central Park, and South Street Seaport. And don't forget blockbuster museums and the best shopping anywhere.

For relaxation, city residents flock to Long Island, the largest island adjoining the continental United States. Many of the south shore attractions are beaches. Most of the island's finest beaches are part of national, state, and county parks, and are open to all. Many fishing records have been set in the waters around Long Island.

The north shore of Long Island is home to a number of estates built by real-life Great Gatsbys. It claims the Sagamore Hill summer home of President Teddy Roosevelt and poet Walt Whitman's birthplace.

The Catskills, two hours north of New York City, are both a mountain range and a state park. They are the most visited, painted, and written about of all the country's mountain ranges. Washington Irving brought the romance of the region to the world in his 1819 tale of Rip Van Winkle.

Greene County, in the heart of the Catskills, is home to Catskill Corners, an amazing complex that is the brainchild of Dean Gitter, who has been called the ET. Barnum of the Catskills. The centerpiece of the development is the Kaatskill Kaleidoscope, the world's largest kaleidoscope, housed in a 60-foot-tall silo.

Greene County is also home to the Catskill Mountain House Site in Haines Falls. Though the hotel itself is long gone, the breathtaking vista that artist Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School, called a "grand diorama" is still them. Cole said the view was far too sublime for him to paint.

The Hudson River is a singular river in American history. It has served as a major industrial waterway, given its name to a school of landscape painting, led to the birth of the first effective steamboat, inspired writers as well as artists, and been the backdrop for critical battles of the Revolutionary War.

The Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, Harrimans, and other magnates built massive country homes on the banks of the Hudson. Visitors can experience such attractions as the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, the Vanderbilt Mansion, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's home at Hyde Park.

Albany is the state's capital and gateway to the North Country. The first stop is the elegant town of Saratoga Springs, which springs to life during the August thoroughbred horse racing season.

The Adirondack Park is the country's largest park outside of Alaska. Established in 1892, the park covers 6.1 million acres of public and private, land, or much of the northern third of the state. It includes the Adirondack Forest Preserve, established in 1885 as the 42 percent of the park that is preserved as wilderness forever.

The world came to Lake Placid in the heart of the Adirondacks when the town hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980. The town still serves as an Olympic training center. Lovely Lake George, the largest of the park's hundreds of lakes and ponds, has been called the "Queen of American Lakes."

In central New York, between Syracuse and Albany, the Oneida Indian Nation has transformed the once desolate area. Its extremely successful Turning Stone Resort and Casino complex includes a theater, conference center, golf course, hotels, and spa.

Nearby is Cooperstown, known worldwide as the birthplace of baseball and home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The town was founded by the family of novelist James Fenimore Cooper and boasts Lake Otsego, called Glimmerglass by Cooper.

The Finger Lakes, anchored in the east by Syracuse and in the west by Rochester, is known for its lakes, wineries, and historical attractions. Seneca Falls, the birthplace of the women's rights movement, has the National Women's Hall of Fame and Women's Rights National Historical Park.