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Day Trips from the Hudson Valley, Catskills and Upstate NY

By Jenna Slade- Macaroni Kid Saugerties-Catskill-Hudson-Rhinebeck May 30, 2022

We have put together 99 Day Trips for you to explore with the whole family, all summer long! From Lakes, Caves, Museums, and State Parks, this list will keep you busy before school starts. Parental discretion is advised, as some places are better suited for older children.  *As this is an ongoing collection, some areas/destinations may be closed do to unforeseen circumstances and/or Covid.

For more information, each section starts off with a hyperlink leading to more info!  (except the swimming holes for right now). 


To get an idea of distance, we used Saugerties, NY as a travel time calculator.  

Blank < 1 hour
* 1-2 hours
**2-3 hours
***3+ hours

Plan to get wet!
1. Tube the Esopus
2. Zoom Flume Water Park
3. Andretta Pool
4. Splash down
5. Bowdoin Splash Park
6. Mine Kill State Park*
7. Great Wolf Lodge**
8. Kalahari Water Park**
9. Tubby Tubes Co. Outdoor Fun Park**

Find a swimming hole or waterfall *many waterfalls do not allow swimming or wading, and they are for scenic purposes only
10. Mill Stream Swimming Hole
11. Big Deep
12. Little Deep
13. Kaaterskill Falls
14. Lake Taghkanic State Park
15. Hannacroix Creek Preserve
16. Christman Sanctuary*
17. Barbersville Falls Nature Preserve*
18. Chittenango Falls State Park**

Take a Hike
19. Huckleberry Point
20. Ashokan Rail trail
21. Ramshorn Livingston Sanctuary
22. Catskill Visitors Center
23. North/South Lake
24. Onteora Lake
25. Ferncliff Forest
26. Huyck Preserve
27. Sam's Point Preserve
28. Overlook Mountain
29. Burger Hill
30. Falling Waters Preserve

Visit the Animals
31. Catskill animal sanctuary
32. Forsyth Nature Center
33. Bailiwick Discover Zoo
34. Trevor Zoo
35. Bronx zoo**
36. Maritime Aquarium**
37. Adirondack Animal Park**
38. Bear Mt. Zoo**
39. Claws and Paws**

Check out a Lighthouse
40. Saugerties Lighthouse 
41. Hudson-Athens Lighthouse 
42. Roundout Creek Lighthouse

Up Up and Away
43. New York Zipline Adventures LLC 
44. Ramblewild Adventure Park** 
45. Adirondack Extreme Adventure Course** 

Planes Trains & Boats!
46. Hudson Cruises
47. Hudson River Cruises
48. Empire Cruiselines
49. Dutch Apple Cruises
50. Rhinebeck Aerodome Shows
51. Pride of the Hudson *
52. Trinity Cruise Company**

Fun at Play Parks
53. Puttin Plus
54. Huck Finn's Playland
55. Great Escape Six Flags**
56. Santa's Workshop***
57. Rye Playland**
58. LegoLand**

Explore Caves, Caverns, Mines & Sculpture Parks
59. OPUS 40
60. Storm King Sculpture Park*
61. Howe Caverns*

62. Secret Caverns*
63. Crystal Grove Diamond Mine and Campground*
64. Herkimer Diamond Mines**
65. Natural Stone Bridge & Caves Park**

Spend the Day at a Museum 
66. Mid Hudson Children's Museum
67. Olana
68. miSci & Planetarium*
69. New York State Museum*
70. CMOST–Children’s Museum of Science & Technology 
71. Stepping Stones Museum for Children**
72. National Baseball Hall of Fame**
73. Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art*
74. Springfield Museums*
75. FASNY Museum of Firefighting 
76. Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art**
77. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History**
78. The Berkshire Museum*

Picnic or Playgrounds
79. Playground guide

Music and Shows
80.  Woodstock Playhouse
81.  Music in the Park
Visit the Farm    
82. Kelder's Farm
83. kesicke farm
84. Indian Ladder Farms*

Take a trip back in time
85. Rhinebeck Historic Tours
86. Erie Canalway*
87. Saratoga National Historical Park*
88. Bennington Battle Monument*
89. Fort William Henry*
90. Fort Ticonderoga**

Go to the Drive in
91. Hiway Drive In
92. Greenville Drive in

Camping
93. Sleepy Hollow
94. Rip Van Winkle
95. Phoenecia Black Bear
96. Bear Creek Lake Compounce**
97. Brookside Campground
98. Whip-o-Will
99. Tin TeePee**



Do you live or play in or around Saugerties, Catskill, Cairo, Woodstock, Kingston, Red Hook, or Hudson?  Make sure you are subscribed to our free newsletter so each week you receive new ideas of family friendly events and activities near you! Never let your kids be bored!