Everything You Need to Know About Upstate New York

Upstate New York is a term used to describe MANY different areas. Most people don’t realize that New York is a BIG state. It’s not only NYC that makes up the state. New York City and Long Island only make up about 5-10% of the state of New York. That makes up for a LOT left over. Hence, where the term, “upstate New York,” comes from.

Upstate, is filled with MANY different areas, where some are more built up, crowded, etc. compared to other areas. Which we will discuss much more in this post. But to start with, upstate New York has some major areas, such as, the Poughkeepsie/Beacon area, the Catskill region, the Hudson Valley region, the capital region (Albany + other cities), the Adirondacks, Lake Placid, and finally, western New York.

So, yes, as you can see, upstate, makes up a HUGE portion of the state. Thus, this article will help you understand where things are located, the weather, best times to travel, upstate New York towns, different bodies of water, upstate New York places to visit, different attractions, things to do, upstate New York colleges, and much more.

This post is all about upstate New York.

Upstate New York:

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Upstate New York Weather

Upstate New York weather is most known for its unpredictability. It’s not an area where it’s always sunny or always snowy, it’s somewhere in the middle. I live in the capital region of upstate, near Saratoga Springs, and here we do experience all four seasons. Pretty much everywhere in upstate New York and the whole state of New York does (only, temperatures will vary, depending on the part of the state). Downstate is typically 10-30 degrees warmer verses other parts of New York.

Our summers are usually warm, but not unbearable. However, sometimes in August, and even in July, the heat can be well into the 90s. It’s very rare for us to get to 100°, it usually never gets over 95℉. Summer weather usually starts end of May and lasts well into September. October is when we start to see the temperatures drop. However, end of September and ALL of October are PRIME fall time!

Seriously, the fall time in upstate New York is WHY the majority of the population lives there. It’s SUPER pretty with the changing leaves and crisp air. It’s really a great time to hike, apple pick (obviously), and spend the last long days outside before the dark days of winter come along.

Now, as far as snow goes, October through December are usually colder months, but we won’t see a lot of snow fall then. The past couple of years we really haven’t gotten snow until late January. But, then it will snow well into March and sometimes into April. February and March are typically our snowy months. However, the temperatures always VARY in the winter. We’ve had days in January were it’s 50℉ and then the next week it’s -20℉, so again, the weather is very unpredictable, especially in the winter.

Best Times to Travel to Upstate New York

After discussing the weather, I would definitely say the better months to visit upstate are from end of May until end of October. That being said there can be A LOT of traffic, specifically if you are staying in Lake George. Typically, rentals in Lake George are from Sunday to Sunday, so Sunday afternoons in the summer (end of June throughout August), going southbound on 87 (major highway in capital/Adirondack region) are JAM PACKED. Partially, near Albany and the entrance to get on the thruway, there is usually a traffic jam there. I would advise leaving SUPER early or SUPER late on Sundays, if you want to avoid this traffic in the summer.

In general, upstate New York does not see a lot of traffic, except for the summer months, which are from end of June throughout all of August. Saratoga Springs (city in the capital region) gets SUPER crowded, so again, keep this in mind when traveling to these regions. In addition, during ski season, Lake Placid (a town in the Adirondacks, near Whiteface Mountain) will see a lot of people as well. I would say, December, February, and March are big months for skiers, especially February.

Really, the only months were there aren’t out of staters is November, somewhat in December, January, and April. In addition, from Long Island, the Poughkeepsie/Newburgh area and Beacon are about an hour and a half to two hours away. From the Catskill region and Woodstock, NY, Long Island is about 2 and a half hours away. From Long Island, the capital region, Albany, is about 3 hours away, with Saratoga Springs, being about 3 and a half hours away. Lake George from Long Island is about 4 hours (without traffic), and finally, Lake Placid (heart of the Adirondack Mountains and Whiteface Ski Resort, again without traffic), is about 5 hours away.

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Upstate New York Towns

Now, as I briefly discussed in the introduction, there are a TON of towns and regions in upstate New York, that we will further talk about right now. The major regions of upstate New York are Poughkeepsie, the Catskills, Hudson Valley region, the capital region, Adirondack region, Ithaca, finger lakes, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, central, and western New York.

The major cities that makeup the Poughkeepsie area are Newburgh and Beacon. Beacon is a popular town for day trips for people who live in NYC. It’s very easy, all you do is take the Metro North train into Beacon station. Another region in upstate is the Catskill region. The Catskill Mountains have good hiking and skiing, and a great small town to stay at is, Woodstock. The Hudson Valley region makes up all of Poughkeepsie and Sleepy Hollow/Nyack area. Some more nice towns include Kingston (further north, towards New Paltz), New Paltz, and the Hudson Highlands.

Now, further north, is the capital region, obviously, Albany, being the capital of New York. Some more notable towns in the capital region are Latham, Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls, and kind of Lake George. Lake George is also the start of the Adirondack Mountains, which is another major region of upstate New York. Once you get into the Adirondack Mountains or Lake George, you have entered the Adirondack State Park. Even further north is Lake Placid, which is located in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains and next to Saranac Lake.

Now moving on to central and western New York, some notable towns in central New York are Cooperstown, Syracuse, Ithaca, and Binghamton. And in western New York, Buffalo (Niagara Falls), Rochester, and the finger lake region.

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Upstate New York Colleges

There are a LOT of colleges in New York and upstate. Seriously, the SUNY (State University of New York) has SO many four-year and two-year colleges spread ALL throughout the state, especially, in upstate. Some really cool SUNY schools in upstate are Oneonta (about 30 minutes from Cooperstown, NY), Cortland, New Paltz, Geneseo, and Brockport.

Some pretty private schools are Marist College, Vassar, Cornell, Colgate, Bard College, RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Skidmore, Union College, St. Lawerence, Russel Sage, and Siena.

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Upstate New York Things to Do

As far as things to do in Upstate New York goes, there are a TON! It just depends on the activities you are looking to do while traveling. I will say, most of the activities in upstate New York are geared towards the outdoors, so if the outdoors are not your thing, you might want to reconsider your travels. However, if you love the outdoors, like myself, then get ready for an awesome trip! One of the main activities I suggest is hiking in either the Catskill or Adirondack Mountains. Here are some other great things to do as well.

1. Hiking in Summer and Winter, Woodstock, Catskills, NY & Adirondacks, Lake Placid, NY (High Peaks, 46ers, Adk Lodge)
2. Skiing/Snowboarding
3. Kayaking/Canoeing/Paddle boarding/Boating
4. Rock Climbing
5. White Water Rafting
6. Mountain Biking
7. Lake George Railroad
8. Saratoga Race Track
9. High Ropes Courses
10. Wine Tour of the Finger Lakes (Ithaca, NY)
11. Waterfalls → see Niagara Falls (near Buffalo, NY)
12. Letchworth State park (near Buffalo, NY, great hikes and waterfalls)
13. Cross-Country Skiing
14. Backcountry Skiing/Snowboarding
15. Snowmobiling
16. Apple Picking
17. Leaf-Peeping in the Fall, Kaaterskill, NY (in Catskills)

There is a LOT more to do in upstate New York, these are just a few suggestions while visiting upstate. There’s also A LOT more lakes to visit in upstate New York if boating, tubbing, and kayaking are your things. This article will tell you much more about where to find the best lakes in New York.

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Upstate New York Getaways & Upstate New York Places to Visit

Okay, finally, our list paragraph is about the best upstate New York getaways and other major places to visit. I will say, some trips are much better for a long weekend, a day trip, or a week plus trip, which I will let you know about.

1. Cooperstown, a great weekend trip, about 4 hours from NYC.
2. Minnewaska State Park, a great day trip, about 2 hours from the city.
3. Niagara Falls, good for a long weekend trip, a little over 6 hours from the city.
4. Lake George, a great week trip, about 4 hours from the city.
5. Lake Placid and the Adirondack Mountains, a great week trip, about 5 hours from the city.
6. Saratoga Springs, a great weekend to long weekend trip, about 3 and a half hours from the city.
7. Woodstock and the Catskill Mountains, a great weekend to long weekend trip, about 2 hours from the city.
8. Beacon, a great day trip about an hour to hour and a half from the city, can take the train from the city into Beacon.
9. Tarrytown & Sleepy Hollow, also great day trips, about 30 minutes to an hour from NYC.

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And that wraps up our post about everything you need to know in upstate New York. I hope this article was helpful for you if you are planning a trip anywhere in upstate New York. Thank you so much for reading and I hope this article helped you pick where to go in upstate New York.

In this article, you learned about upstate New York weather, best times to travel, upstate New York towns, different bodies of water, upstate New York places to visit, different attractions, things to do, upstate New York colleges, and much more.

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