getting out of the city but not too far

where do you go for short trips outside of nyc? i have lived here 10 years but i have trouble leaving. i usually just hit up other cities::: philly, boston, providence... or mom's house.


any good bike trips? camping? suggestions? what about the hudson valley or somewhere else kind of close?

Well, the Poconos are not too far, lots to do there - rafting, hiking, biking, skiing, etc. The Catskills are just right up the Hudson with many of the same activities to do. Now is a good time as the roads are full of tag sales, I think there wasn't fewer than 20 tag sales when we were last there two weeks ago. You could always go to the Jersey shore (which is kind of scary being around all those New Jerseyans). I also suggest just heading west and going to Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area (which is the Poconos) has lots of state parks around it.

i don't have a car or want to drive one, is this a problem?

Oiseau wrote: Well, the Poconos are not too far, lots to do there - rafting, hiking, biking, skiing, etc. The Catskills are just right up the Hudson with many of the same activities to do. Now is a good time as the roads are full of tag sales, I think there wasn't fewer than 20 tag sales when we were last there two weeks ago. You could always go to the Jersey shore (which is kind of scary being around all those New Jerseyans). I also suggest just heading west and going to Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area (which is the Poconos) has lots of state parks around it.

If you're going to the Poconos, don't forget "b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l Mounty Airy Lodge" (sung to the beautiful Mouth Airy Lodge theme tune).

Camping on Fire Island! Requires a bit of advance planning, but no car.

I think there are also some trails (Breakneck rock scramble, maybe?) in good proximity to stops on the Hudson River line. Grab a seat on the left side of the train and you'll have a pretty view of the river on your way up.

Carnivore wrote:
If you're going to the Poconos, don't forget "b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l Mounty Airy Lodge" (sung to the beautiful Mouth Airy Lodge theme tune).

Ahhhh yes snowmobiling, horseback riding, skiing, and heart shaped jacuzzi's. When I was 10 I thought thats what a date was.

Didn't they auction off those jacuzzis last year? I feel like I heard something about it on NPR. Fabulous to have something steeped with all that...history.

go to a bookstore and browse through this book for some ideas:

Heavenly Weekends: Travel Without a Car: Daytrips, Overnight, and Weekend Getaways Near New York
by Susan Clemett, Gena Vandestienne

vanilla wrote: i don't have a car or want to drive one, is this a problem?

Well then a great daytrip is to take the Hudson line up to say Irvington and walk up to the Old Croton Aqueduct and walk down it to Yonkers or thereabouts. You can then catch Metro North there back to the city.

Oiseau wrote: [quote=vanilla]i don't have a car or want to drive one, is this a problem?

Well then a great daytrip is to take the Hudson line up to say Irvington and walk up to the Old Croton Aqueduct and walk down it to Yonkers or thereabouts. You can then catch Metro North there back to the city.
Good call!

You can roundtrip to Vermont with Jetblue for about $120, give or take. 48 minutes in the air to Burlington. Huge lake, marketplaces, hippies and armpit hair.

Captain M wrote: [quote=Carnivore]
If you're going to the Poconos, don't forget "b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l Mounty Airy Lodge" (sung to the beautiful Mouth Airy Lodge theme tune).

Ahhhh yes snowmobiling, horseback riding, skiing, and heart shaped jacuzzi's. When I was 10 I thought thats what a date was.

When I was 13 we went on a field trip, "camping" at a place with cabins that used to be some sort of romantic retreats. They'd installed bunk beds for the kids but there were still heart-shaped mirrors and bathtubs (not jacuzzis) and stuff. As you can imagine, my classmates handled this with the utmost maturity.

i really like ulster county - up by the historic town of new paltz and the surrounding area. lots of hiking and outdoorsy-ness but it's only an hour up the thruway. i have a movie of pictures i took there this past july ...

http://selfindulgence.typepad.com/selfindulgence/files/minnewaska2.mov

Though Connecticut has good "fall appeal" and there's always the Jersey Shore (don't knock it!).

I'm not saying because I don't want people to go there

TK wrote: Didn't they auction off those jacuzzis last year? I feel like I heard something about it on NPR. Fabulous to have something steeped with all that...history.

Yes TK they did - I lost a bid for one of those heart shaped jacuzzi's but my best friend bought the champagne glass tub for $150.

Ooh I fogot to mention Storm King. If you have a car or I think there's a bus from somewhere that goes there.

cyn707 wrote: go to a bookstore and browse through this book for some ideas:

Heavenly Weekends: Travel Without a Car: Daytrips, Overnight, and Weekend Getaways Near New York
by Susan Clemett, Gena Vandestienne

If anyone decides to buy this book, DH gets a referral fee when you buy it through the link below:

Heavenly Weekends: Travel Without a Car: Daytrips, Overnight, and Weekend Getaways Near New York
by Susan Clemett, Gena Vandestienne

daveb wrote: You can roundtrip to Vermont with Jetblue for about $120, give or take. 48 minutes in the air to Burlington. Huge lake, marketplaces, hippies and armpit hair.

i can walk 15 minutes into park slope for that, but thanks daveb!

daveb wrote: You can roundtrip to Vermont with Jetblue for about $120, give or take. 48 minutes in the air to Burlington. Huge lake, marketplaces, hippies and armpit hair.

Ummm, I think it's a bit more than that. I was checking for flights yesterday around Thanksgiving break, and it would have been about $250 bucks for a flight out to Burlington. For a nonholiday flight, it would be around $200. It's still worth it, though, since there is only one overbooked train that runs from Penn Station to Montreal in the morning, and the only other option is to take a cramped, overbooked bus for 6 hours to Plattsburgh .

Anonymous wrote: [quote=daveb]You can roundtrip to Vermont with Jetblue for about $120, give or take. 48 minutes in the air to Burlington. Huge lake, marketplaces, hippies and armpit hair.

Ummm, I think it's a bit more than that. I was checking for flights yesterday around Thanksgiving break, and it would have been about $250 bucks for a flight out to Burlington. For a nonholiday flight, it would be around $200. It's still worth it, though, since there is only one overbooked train that runs from Penn Station to Montreal in the morning, and the only other option is to take a cramped, overbooked bus for 6 hours to Plattsburgh .

Prices go up around holiday times and also fluctuate for reasons unknown to me...maybe due to busy times of the day and/or how full the plane is, who knows. . I fly there several times a year and actually will be doing so next week and my bill for that flight was about $125

Subject: Condemned

I think some one does not like me. [^] [B)] [xx(]

Subject: Re: getting out of the city but not too far

vanilla wrote: where do you go for short trips outside of nyc?

If you're into beaches, Fire Island makes for a great day trip and it's much closer than the Hamptons and does not require a car. It's only 2 hours away by LIRR from the Flatbush Ave station. And then there is a short 15 minute ferry ride. Lots of different little towns to visit. Pristine beaches, not crowded especially now. Nice hiking.

I rented a house in Fire Island Pines this summer and never had a more relaxing vacation - admittedly an expensive proposition. But also, I've done some excellent, fun day trips too. Great for people who don't own a car (not allowed on F.I.) and hate driving anyhow