by Karen Rubin Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
With all that is impacting mountain resorts, from wildfires to COVID-19, the major ski resort companies are focusing on drive-markets and alleviating uncertainty with pass flexibility and refundability, as well as significantly changing mountain operations to incorporate the highest health protocols.
Here in the Northeast, Ikon Pass, the seasonal pass program of Alterra Mountain Company (most famous for Aspen and Snowmass mountains, but the owner/operator of 15 others and partnerships with dozens more around the nation and worldwide), is expanded with the addition of Windham Mountain, in New York’s Catskill Mountains, an easy drive from the New York metro and Long Island. This is in addition to Stratton, Sugarbush Resort, and Killington in Vermont, giving the Ikon Pass that much more value to Northeast skiers.
Alterra Mountain is not just prioritizing access for season pass holders in order to tightly regulate the number of daily lift tickets that will be available, but eliminating day tickets and walk-up window sales; the sale of some undated lift ticket products will be discontinued until further notice. While it is not instituting an advance reservation system at the 15 destinations that Alterra Mountain owns and operates, the dozens of partner resorts may have their own advance reservation protocols this season (check the sites).
“The pandemic has disrupted our lives in so many unpredictable ways,” Rusty Gregory, Alterra Mountain Company’s Chief Executive Officer, stated. “Medical professionals and scientists tell us that this constantly changing dynamic will likely continue until effective vaccines and therapeutics are developed and become available to the general public. Alterra Mountain Company and our destinations are committed to staying on top of the inevitable changes to come as best practices and health regulations throughout the two countries, six states, three Canadian provinces and 15 mountain communities in which we operate rapidly evolve. Our teams will communicate these changes to you as soon as possible so we can all adjust and plan accordingly.”
This year, to address the extraordinary conditions, Ikon Pass introduced Adventure Assurance, free for all passholders, designed to alleviate uncertainty and provide flexibility for the 20/21 passes.
Ikon Pass holders may elect to defer the purchase price paid for their unused 20/21 Ikon Pass to the 21/22 winter season. Or, if passes are used and there is an eligible COVID-19-related closure at any North American Ikon Pass destination, Ikon Pass holders will receive a credit toward a 21/22 Ikon Pass based on the percentage of days closed, more details below. Expanded Adventure Assurance coverage is free and included with every previously purchased 20/21 Ikon Pass and new 20/21 Ikon Pass purchases. (Details and terms and conditions at the Adventure Assurance Program page and Ikon Pass FAQ.)
“We understand that there is still pass holder uncertainty around winter 20/21, and we aim to offer Ikon Pass holders peace of mind and more time to make the best decisions,” said Erik Forsell, Alterra’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Pass holders can ski a little, ride a lot, or defer the purchase price of their unused 20/21 Ikon Pass, we’ve got them covered. We look forward to next winter, sweet days await us.”
Ikon Pass continues to expand access across North America with the addition of Mt. Bachelor in Oregon and Windham Mountain in New York for the 2020/2021 season, bringing the total number of destinations accessible on Ikon Pass to 43.
Ikon Pass holders will have access to seven days each at Mt. Bachelor and Windham Mountain with no blackout dates, and Ikon Base Pass holders will have access to five days each, with select blackout dates.
Just two and a half hours north of New York City, Windham Mountain boasts 285 skiable acres across 54 trails serviced by 11 lifts, six terrain parks, an award-winning snowsports school, Terrain Based Learning™, lodging, on-mountain dining, an Adventure Park, a full-service spa, and sunset skiing (on select nights during the season), all in a private-club like atmosphere. In summer, Windham offers the Windham Mountain Bike Park famous for its World Cup course and a three-mile-long beginner trail and Windham Country Club with an 18-hole public golf course.
The 43 destinations on the Ikon Pass span the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan and include such iconic mountain resorts as Aspen Snowmass, Steamboat, Winter Park, Copper Mountain Resort, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, and Eldora Mountain Resort in Colorado; Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain and Big Bear Mountain Resort in California; Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming; Big Sky Resort in Montana; Stratton, Sugarbush Resort, and Killington in Vermont; Snowshoe in West Virginia; Boyne Highlands and Boyne Mountain in Michigan; Crystal Mountain and The Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington; Tremblant in Quebec and Blue Mountain in Ontario, Canada; SkiBig3 in Alberta, Canada; Revelstoke Mountain Resort and Cypress Mountain in British Columbia, Canada; Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine; Loon Mountain in New Hampshire; Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico; Deer Valley Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort, Brighton Resort, Alta Ski Area, and Snowbird in Utah; Zermatt in Switzerland; Thredbo and Mt Buller in Australia; Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Mt Hutt in New Zealand; Niseko United in Japan, and Valle Nevado in Chile.
Special offers are available at CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures, one of the world’s largest heli-skiing and heli-accessed hiking operations. For more information, visit www.ikonpass.com.
In addition to the 15 year-round mountain destinations, one of the world’s largest heli-ski operation and the Ikon Pass program, Alterra Mountain Company owns and operates a range of recreation, hospitality, real estate development, food and beverage, retail and service businesses out of its Denver, Colorado headquarters. For more information, visit www.alterramtnco.com.
Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass which gives access to dozens of resorts across the country and around the world including here in the Northeast, driving distance from New York, Long Island and the Boston metro markets – has always afforded value (paying for themselves in as few as four days of skiing). But beyond discounts and extra value, the Epic Pass this year affords membership status and priority to reserve time on the slopes in face of capacity restrictions.
And you can maximize the value by early-bird purchasing ahead of deadlines (the deadline for Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass has been extended to Sept. 17).
When you think about it, skiing is one of the best travel experiences for winter – you can’t think of a better place to socially distance and breathe fresh air or a better way to be active, get blood flowing and endorphins popping and adrenalin firing. Mountain resorts also afford many safe lodging options, including condos so you can prepare your own meals. What is more, there are many spectacular mountain resorts within driving distance.
“We are fortunate that our core experience of skiing and riding takes place outdoors, across huge mountains, offering fresh air and wide-open spaces for our guests. However, to help protect our guests, our employees and our communities amid this pandemic, some changes will be required this season,” Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz wrote guests. “It has been our goal to design an approach that can remain in place for all of the 2020/21 season. We do not want to be caught off guard or find ourselves needing to make reactionary changes. Striving for consistency will provide our guests, employees and communities with as much predictability as possible this season, which we believe is worth the extra effort.”
Key changes include:
Guests will be required to wear face coverings to get on the mountain and in all parts of resort operations, including in lift lines and riding in lifts and gondolas.
To maintain physical distancing on our chairlifts and gondolas, we will only be seating related parties (guests skiing or riding together) or: two singles on opposite sides of a four-person lift; two singles or two doubles on opposite sides of a six-person lift; or two singles on opposite sides of our larger gondola cabins.
Ski and ride school will be offered and on-mountain dining will be open, but with changes to help keep guests safe.
Mountain access will be managed to ensure guests have the space they need. As such, the Company announced a mountain access reservation system and limits on lift tickets to prioritize its pass holders.
“For the vast majority of days during the season, we believe everyone who wants to get on our mountains will be able to. However, we are not planning for the majority of days, we are planning for every day of the season,” said Katz. “We want to provide assurance to our guests that we will do our very best to minimize crowds at all times – be it a holiday weekend or the unpredictable powder day. We believe this approach will help ensure a safe experience for everyone, while prioritizing access for our pass holders.”
A key element is reducing and controlling capacity, so a new reservation system is being implemented, with priority for Epic Pass holders:
Pass holders will be required to make a reservation before arriving at the mountain.
Throughout the season, pass holders will be able to make as many week-of reservations as their pass type and availability allow.
The early season will be reserved for pass holders only. Vail will begin selling lift tickets Dec. 8.
In addition to week-of reservations, pass holders can book up to seven Priority Reservation Days for the core season (Dec. 8-April 4), or as many days of access as they have on their pass if less than seven.
The booking window for Priority Reservation Days will open Nov. 6 and will be exclusive to pass holders until Dec. 7.
As pass holders use their Priority Reservation Days, they can book new ones, maintaining up to seven (or however many days of access are remaining on their pass) at any time. In addition, pass holders can always make as many week-of reservations as they choose (or however many days of access are remaining on their pass).
Families will be able to book reservations together if they are in the same pass holder account.
While still subject to change, at this time Epic Pass holders will not need a reservation to access Vail’s partner resorts (Telluride, Sun Valley, Snowbasin, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, Hakuba or Rusutsu in Japan).
Lift tickets (including Buddy and SWAF tickets) will go on sale on Dec. 8, with sales limited based on the number of spaces available for any given day after the exclusive pass holder reservation period. This season, lift tickets will be sold with a reservation for a specific resort on a specific date.
Given the need to manage lift tickets sales, they will only be sold on Vail’s websites and through its call centers. No lift tickets will be sold at the ticket window in resort – you may only pickup your pre-purchased lift ticket at the ticket windows. Guests are encouraged to purchase in advance, though guests can purchase a same day lift ticket online or through call centers, subject to availability, and then pick up the lift ticket at the ticket window.
To make the reservation system as easy to use as possible, pass holders will be able to book reservations to any of the Vail resorts, and for all dates, on EpicPass.com. Booking a reservation will turn on pass access for that day, so there will be no need for pass holders to bring anything but their pass and access the mountain as usual.
To provide additional peace of mind, Vail is including Epic Coverage free this season for all pass holders. It allows for refunds: If pass holders are unable to book their preferred Priority Reservation Days during the initial booking window (Nov. 6-Dec. 7) and if they have not used their pass yet.
If there is a resort closure due to certain events such as COVID-19 during a pass holders’ initial Priority Reservation Days selected by Dec. 7. (There will still be an option for pass holders to choose to cover the core season instead.)
If pass holders experience an eligible personal event that prevents them from using their pass, such as job loss, injury or illness.
To give guests more time to consider the changes, the Company’s Labor Day deadline has been extended to Sept. 17, including the deadline to use pass holder credits from last season.
“There is no doubt this season will be different but we are committed to what matters most: working to protect our guests, employees and communities and doing everything we can to provide great skiing and riding all season long,” Katz said.
Ski Heavenly, Lake Tahoe (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
To provide the safest experience for guests, Vail is implementing these procedures:
Physical Distancing on Chairlifts and Gondolas: To maintain physical distancing on chairlifts and gondolas, only related parties (guests skiing or riding together) or two singles on opposite sides of a four-person lift will be seated together; two singles or two doubles on opposite sides of a six-person lift; or two singles on opposite sides of our larger gondola cabins.
Physical Distancing in On-Mountain Restaurants: Vail will open all on-mountain restaurants this season, but to allow for physical distancing, the number of people will be restricted in accordance with public health requirements. Full-service, sit down restaurants will operate with reduced seating, spaced to enable physical distancing. At most of the large, quick-service restaurants, “scramble areas” will be reconfigured to have a cafeteria-style approach, where guest come in, go through a single line, and pass all the food options until they get to the cashier.
Food options in quick-service restaurants will be more limited this season, with just a handful of ready-to-go hot and cold options and no ability for any custom or special orders. Tables will be spaced in seating areas to allow for physical distancing while eating. There will also be as much outdoor seating as possible. Guest are recommended to avoid the peak lunch rush and encouraged to bring their own water, snacks and other food.
Packaged beer and wine will be available for sale at most of locations, but there won’t be full-service bars, on or off the mountain. All transactions will be cashless (unless required by local regulations).
Physical distancing in Ski & Snowboard Rental Locations: Guests and employees will be required to wear face coverings, and for the portions of the process that require close interactions with our technicians, our employees will take additional precautions, including wearing eye protection and gloves. Equipment will be fully sanitized between each guest use and rental delivery service expanded to provide enhanced options for guests to rent equipment outside of the store locations.
Health Screenings within Ski and Ride School: All employees will be required to undergo health screenings. “We are taking this same precaution with our ski and ride school participants, given that physical distancing may not always be possible during a lesson such as when the group rides lifts and gondolas or eats lunch together. With this in mind, all participants will be required to undergo and confirm an online self-health screening prior to arriving at the mountain for their lesson.”
Limiting class size of group and private lessons to a maximum six people. “While we plan to continue many of our season-long youth programs offered at many of our resorts, we will be suspending most other smaller specialty programs this winter.”
Lessons will need to be purchased in advance – no walk-up, day-of lessons will be available. A mountain access reservation will be included with the purchase of a ski school lesson. A lift ticket or eligible pass product will be required if the student will be riding a lift.
Next Steps: Each of the Vail resorts will continue to work closely with all local community stakeholders to ensure policies are aligned.
“Success for this season can only happen with close collaboration and partnership in each community. While we have designed our winter operating plan to comply with and at times exceed all known applicable laws, our operations will remain subject to the local regulations in each of our resort locations. These may change at any time, either ahead of or during the ski season. Resorts will have a dedicated page on each of their websites that will provide the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 impacts,” Katz wrote.
Epic Day Pass products offer up to a 50% discount off lift tickets. Find more details on Vail’s various pass products, reservation system, Epic Coverage and the new Epic Mountain Rewards program at www.epicpass.com.
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading global mountain resort operator. Vail Resorts’ subsidiaries operate 37 world-class mountain resorts and urban ski areas, including resorts that are driving distance from the New York and Boston metro areas: Stowe, Mount Snow, Okemo in Vermont; Hunter Mountain in New York; Mount Sunapee, Attitash, Wildcat and Crotched in New Hampshire. Also, such renowned resorts as Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada; Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham in Australia.
by Karen Rubin Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
On the Centennial of passage of the 19th Amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, giving women the right to vote, Donald Trump made a grand gesture with much fanfare in issuing a pardon for Susan B. Anthony, who died in 1906.
Noting she was arrested in 1872 for voting before it was legal for women to vote, he exclaimed at the White House signing ceremony, “She was never pardoned! Did you know that she was never pardoned? What took so long?”
Actually, according to those who are the caretakers of her legacy, she wouldn’t have wanted to be pardoned.
In a statement headlined, “Objection! Mr. President, Susan B. Anthony must decline your offer of a pardon today,”Deborah L. Hughes, President & CEO of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House in Rochester, NY, stated, “Anthony wrote in her diary in 1873 that her trial for voting was ‘The greatest outrage History ever witnessed.’ She was not allowed to speak as a witness in her own defense, because she was a woman. At the conclusion of arguments, Judge Hunt dismissed the jury and pronounced her guilty. She was outraged to be denied a trial by jury. She proclaimed, ‘I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty.’ To pay would have been to validate the proceedings. To pardon Susan B. Anthony does the same.
“If one wants to honor Susan B. Anthony today, a clear stance against any form of voter suppression would be welcome. Enforcement and expansion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would be celebrated, we must assure that states respect the 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments to the United States Constitution. Support for the Equal Rights Amendment would be well received. Advocacy for human rights for all would be splendid. Anthony was also a strong proponent of sex education, fair labor practices, excellent public education, equal pay for equal work, and elimination of all forms of discrimination.
“As the National Historic Landmark and Museum that has been interpreting her life and work for seventy-five years, we would be delighted to share more.”
We just celebrated the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment. But the journey to Women’s Right to Vote, goes back a century before, back to when Abigail Adams wrote her husband, John Adams, in 1776, “Remember the ladies.” He didn’t. The struggle began.
The journey toward Women’s Suffrage is long, and offers a long trail that can be followed, in order to experience first-hand something of what the struggle was like and pay proper respect to the Suffragists’ extraordinary courage, perseverance, and innovativeness. Here are some of the places to follow their footsteps and sense their spirit:
“The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, Rochester’s first National Historic Landmark, was home to the legendary suffragist, abolitionist and civil rights leader during her 40 most politically active years, as Visit Rochester proudly notes. “She served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from her home on Madison Street. It was a hub for planning strategies, organizing campaigns, writing speeches, and preparing petitions. This was Anthony’s home base as she made countless trips throughout the United States, to Great Britain, and to Europe to support local suffrage campaigns and organize the International Council of Women.
“Walk through rooms where Anthony met often with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other leaders of the civil rights movement. Stand in the parlor where Anthony was arrested in 1872 for the ‘crime’ of voting.
“It’s not hard to imagine Anthony enjoying her talks with the famous orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass over cups of tea in her parlor. Upstairs in the small bedroom where Anthony died in 1906, visitors can’t help feeling some sadness knowing she never had an opportunity to cast a legal ballot. Fourteen years after her death, the 19th “Susan B. Anthony” Amendment was finally ratified and women throughout America were welcome at polling places.” (www.visitrochester.com/susanb2020)
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, was ratified in 1920, 14 years after Anthony died, in 1906. The house was her home from 1866 until her death here in 1906; it was the site of her famous arrest for voting in the presidential election of 1872. Her bedroom contains her original furniture, including the feather-star-pattern quilt on the bed that she made with her sister Hannah. The house is filled with photographs, memorabilia, and much of the Anthony family’s furniture. A museum room on the second floor illustrates major events of the woman suffrage movement, including extensive photographs of the people who worked so long and so hard to win voting rights for women.
National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House 17 Madison Street Rochester, NY 14608 585/235-6124, www.susanbanthonyhouse.org
You can visit the Ontario County Courthouse, the site of Susan B. Anthony’s famous trial in 1873, just a short drive from Rochester in Canandaigua,
The final resting place for Susan B. Anthony, Jean Brooks Greenleaf (former president of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association), Frederick Douglass and many other important leaders of the abolitionist and women’s rights movements is Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester. There are guided tours and self-guiding maps.
This year is also the 200th anniversary of Susan B. Anthony’s birth, in 1820. The daughter of a Quaker family that promoted abolition and temperance, from the age of 6 and 25, from 1826 to 1845, she lived in Battenville, Washington County, and later in Center Falls, before her family moved to Rochester. So, on the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced an effort to stabilize and preserve Susan B. Anthony’s childhood home on Route 29 in Battenville. The work at the 1832 two-story brick home where Anthony lived from ages 13 to 19, is expected to be completed by September.
For many, the journey to women’s rights begins at The Women’s Rights National Park in Seneca Falls, New York, ostensibly the “birthplace” of the women’s suffrage movement, where the 1848 Convention offers the most identifiable launch-pad for the (ongoing) struggle. The actual exhibit, created during Ronald Reagan’s term, is disappointing, but you can visit Wesleyan Chapel where the convention took place.
The women organized the convention and prepared a document laying out their grievances, the “Declaration of Sentiments,” which was modeled after the Declaration of Independence and mimicked its language in describing the tyranny under which women were forced to live. The document outlined 11 resolutions to “declare our right to be free as man is free…” At the close of the convention, all the resolutions passed with the exception of the ninth resolution, guaranteeing a woman’s right to vote.
Out of the 300 people who attended (the chapel had a balcony then; men were allowed to attend the second day), only 100 signed the Declaration of Sentiments, and of these, 68 were women and 32 were men). (Forty percent of those who attended were Quakers, who already accommodated more equal roles for women.)
The history of the Wesleyan Chapel can be a metaphor for the ambivalence of American society to women’s rights: From 1843-1871 it was chapel, then an opera house/performing arts hall; then a roller skating rink, a movie theater (in 1910s), then a Ford dealership, and ironically enough, finished its days as a laundromat before facing a wrecking ball. “Women fought to save the building,” the Ranger says. It was only in 1982, during the Reagan Administration, that it was turned into a national park.
At this writing, with the COVID-19 restrictions, the Visitor Center is only open Tuesday and Thursday (10-4), historic homes are closed, but Ranger Programs have resumed outdoors and the grounds are open daily. Check the site for updates.
In contrast, The National Women’s Hall of Fame, now in its new location in the rehabilitated 1844 Seneca Knitting Mill building, remains the more meaningful and inspiring exhibit, putting faces on the long, long diverse parade of women, in the place “where it happened.” Indeed, women factory workers, fired for demanding equal pay, provided the seed for the convention (which initially did not seek women’s vote, but rather equal rights to pay, property and custody of children).
The Hall, housed up until last fall in a former bank building, only opened in the new location this spring, but immediately forced to shut down due to the coronavirus.
It has reopened, with timed reservations. Among the new features: a new Hall of Fame display listing Inductees and their areas of accomplishment; a section called “Why Here?” highlighting why all of this history happened in Seneca Falls and the story of the Seneca Knitting Mill and the women who worked there.
“We invite visitors to delve into the history of what happens when women innovate or lead with an interactive exhibit that challenges widely-held assumptions. Visitors can ‘weave’ themselves into the story in a participatory exhibit, and we ask visitors for their own stories of women who have inspired them. The exhibits encourage visitors to engage in creating our future and to understand the possibility of a world where women are equal partners in leadership.” (See the Women of the Hall, the inductees into the Hall of Fame: https://www.womenofthehall.org/women-of-the-hall/)
Visit the home of Matilda Joslyn Gage, who was important to developing the arguments for women’s rights, but has too often been overlooked because she did not attend the Seneca Falls convention in 1848. Gage was a noted speaker and writer on woman’s suffrage and an abolitionist. She and her husband used their home as a station for the Underground Railroad to help escaped slaves. She worked closely with prominent women’s rights leaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, often holding meetings in her home. Her lifelong motto and gravestone inscription reads “There is a word sweeter than Mother, Home or Heaven; that word is Liberty.”
Less well known about Matilda Gage is that many of her ideas for women’s rights came from the Iroquois Indians, who had a maternal society where women could be chiefs, own property and have custody of their children. Also, she was the mother-in-law of L. Frank Baum, author of “The Wizard of Oz.” The Gage Center is also an educational resource for discussion and dialogue about the human rights issues to which she dedicated her life. (210 E. Genesee Street, Fayetteville, matildajoslyngage.org
Closer to home, you can join the long women’s march to voting rights at The New-York Historical Society when it reopens its indoor exhibits on Friday, September 11, to see the temporary exhibition Women March. (See www.nyhistory.org/exhibitions/women-march). Check the site for opening hours; timed Tickets are required. More details: www.nyhistory.org/safety. (New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, 212-873-3400, www.nyhistory.org).
by Karen Rubin Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
Bike tours offer one of the best vacation alternatives in these times when people want to be outdoors in open spaces, and enjoy stunning landscapes, discover heritage and history and have that opportunity for shared experiences that travel uniquely provide. There is still time this season to take advantage of guided, self-guided and private bike tours from companies including Pocono Biking, Wilderness Voyageurs and Discovery Bicycle Tours.
Pocono Biking has space on departures this season on a supported four-day bike tour that takes you 142 miles of the Delaware & Lehigh rail trail, also known as D&L Trail.
I did this ride, anchored by the charming town of Jim Thorpe and the famous historic landmark at Washington Crossing, on the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Sojourn, though with camping instead of inn-to-inn along this scenic and history-rich trail (railstotrails.org). The RTC trip also was operated by Pocono Biking, a powerhouse outdoors- adventure company in the area well known for its rafting adventures on the Lehigh River in the Lehigh Valley.
The trip, traveling through 57,600 acres (90 miles) of state park, is designed so you get to enjoy three of Pennsylvania’s award winning quaint small towns: Jim Thorpe, Bethlehem and New Hope. Essentially, we follow the route of Anthracite Coal, from mine to market, which thrust America into the Industrial Revolution. Along the way, we see the geography, the resources, and the technological innovations that made this possible, and how they affected the society, the culture, and the economy of the fledgling nation. The trail, part of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, is so historically significant that it is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate.
Day 1 – 36 miles: The adventure starts in the wilderness of the Lehigh Gorge State Park, riding passed waterfalls and spotting wildlife (deer!), taking advantage of the newly connected D&L Rail Trail into the charming town of Jim Thorpe. The first night is spent amid mountains in the Inn of Jim Thorpe, circa 1849.
Jim Thorpe – an odd name for a town – was established in 1818 as Mauch Chunk, which means “Mountain of the Sleeping Bear,” the name the Lenni Lenape Indians gave to the nearby mountain. But it was later renamed for an Oklahoma-born Native American, the Olympic hero Jim Thorpe, who is buried there. Thorpe was born in Oklahoma in 1888 and raised on the Sac and Fox Reservation and had never set foot in the borough. But Patsy Thorpe, Jim’s third wife, cut a deal with two struggling towns in Pennsylvania, that if they would merge, rename themselves Jim Thorpe and build a memorial to honor him, she would present them his remains for burial.
The town played a key role in the emergence of the United States as an Industrial Revolution powerhouse. Here, entrepreneurs led by Josiah White formed the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company in the 1820s (you can still see the brick building), which shipped tons and tons of anthracite coal and other goods to market via the Lehigh and Delaware Canals which they constructed. The town grew in importance when it was named Carbon County’s seat in 1843.
A major attraction here is the Packer Mansion, which I was lucky enough to visit on my trip. Asa Packer’s story epitomizes the rags-to-riches-for-those-with-grit-and-a-good-idea American Dream: Born poor in Mystic, Connecticut, Asa Packer (1805-1879) left home when he was 17, setting out on foot to Brooklyn, Pennsylvania where he apprenticed as a carpenter to his cousin, Edward Packer. In 1828, he married Sarah Minerva Blakslee (1807-1882) and the couple tilled a farm they rented from Sarah’s father. But after four years, they were just as poor as when they started. So hearing that men were needed to captain coal barges on the Lehigh Canal, Asa traveled to Mauch Chunk, in the winter of 1832. He used his skill as a carpenter to build and repair canal boats. He resettled his family in Mauch Chunk and became the owner of a canal boat that carried coal to Philadelphia, then opened his own firm, A. & R. W. Packer, which built canal boats and locks for the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company.
He tried to get the company to build a railroad, but was refused. So, in October 1851, risking financial ruin, Packer purchased nearly all the controlling stock and interest for the unfinished Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad (later known as the Lehigh Valley Railroad). By November, 1852, he expanded the railroad from Mauch Chunk to Easton, Pennsylvania, in exchange for the company’s stocks and bonds, and later into New York State.
He became the third richest person in the world and parlayed his business success into political success, serving as a Judge, a state representative, a two-term Congressman (1853-7), and even challenged Ulysses S. Grant for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1868. He narrowly lost election to become Pennsylvania’s Governor in 1869.
The Packers settled in their Italianate Villa in Mauch Chunk in 1861 and, to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, on January 23, 1878, held a fantastic gala (a newspaper printed in gold described it, and the man who performed their wedding attended). Asa died just 18 months later.
This quaint village is a hub for many marvelous attractions including the Packer Mansion; the Old Jail Museum (the eerie dungeon where the Molly McGuires were jailed; Cell 17 with its mysterious handprint on the wall, under the gallows on which seven of the accused Molly Maguires were put to death); the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, St. Mark’s Church, Historic Stone Row, the Mauch Chunk Opera House, Anita Shapolsky Art Center, Mauch Chunk Museum, plus wineries and distilleries (Big Creek Vineyard and Stonekeep Meadery), biking, hiking and rafting.
Jim Thorpe Visitors Center, 2 Lehigh Ave., Jim Thorpe PA 18229, 570-325-3673, jimthorpe.org.
Day 2 – 37 miles: After a night exploring the shops, museums and restaurants in Jim Thorpe and breakfast at the Inn, cycle beside the locks and canals along the Lehigh River to the town of Bethlehem, PA. Along the way you pass the Lehigh Gap Nature Center with its protected land. There are stunning views of the Blue Mountain and Appalachian Trail. Bethlehem, circa 1741, an old Moravian settlement, has cobblestone streets, quaint shops, and history around every bend. Spend the night in the Hotel Bethlehem where Presidents and dignitaries have stayed.
Lehigh Gap Nature Center, a non-profit conservation organization at the foot of the Kittatinny Ridge, is dedicated to preserving wildlife and habitat through conservation programs such as the Lehigh Gap Wildlife Refuge, educational programs such as the Kittatiny Raptor Corridor Project as well as research. I linger in the butterfly garden before setting out again on the trail. (8844 Paint Mill Rd, Slatington, PA 18080, 610-760-8889, http://lgnc.org/)
Along the way, we come upon what is left of the original canal locks – stone walls, wooden gates with metal latches and gears, remnants from the mid-1800s.
At Freemansburg, we find a lockmasters house, the remains of the locks and a mill, which, when I visited, was manned by interpreters in period dress. I wonder whether the village was settled by freemen and am told that it was named for one of the original settlers, Richard Freeman.
Freemansburg is a classic example of a canal town with houses and structures built up against the waterway that was the village’s lifeblood in the 1800s. Members of the Old Freemansburg Association (OFA) reclaimed a 1.5 mile section of the Lehigh Canal the Borough owns from overgrowth and debris and restored the towpath which became the D&L Trail. The OFA spearheaded efforts to protect and restore the 1829 Locktender’s House, mule barn, Lock No. 44, gristmill, and coal yard. Volunteers also reconstructed the barn using canal era tools and equipment, a project that took 10 years to complete. The multi-functional building now hosts weddings, educational sessions and interpretative demonstrations. (http://lehighvalleyhistory.com/history-of-the-borough-of-freemansburg)
Riding on, we come to an island that consists of a shuttered steel mill that today stands somewhat surreally like an abstract sculpture.
Day 3 – 47 miles: After breakfast, the group departs Bethlehem and cycles south following the path of 19th century aqueducts to the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. Visit the only operating mule drawn canal boat east of the Mississippi. Tour the National Canal Museum and pass through quaint river villages, until arriving in New Hope. New Hope offers bustling nightlife and cultural attractions such as the Bucks County Playhouse.
The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor interprets this fascinating period of American history in the 520-acre Hugh Moore Park through tours of the National Canal Museum and rides on the 110-passenger Josiah White II canal boat. Here you see remnants of the oldest industrial park in the region, a Locktender’s House and one of only three mule-drawn canal boats still operating in America, which plies a two-mile section of the canal that has been restored. The National Canal Museum, with hands-on exhibits highlighting 19th century canal life and technology, normally is open from June until October. (https://canals.org/)
Day 4 – 22 miles: On day four, after breakfast at the Fox and Hound Bed & Breakfast, ride along the canal trail to Washington Crossing where George Washington crossed the Delaware in 1776. You also cross the Delaware to the D&R Canal State Park and head north to Bull’s Island where the ride ends with lunch before being shuttled back to your car.
Washington Crossing Historic Park, 1112 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA 18977, 215-493-4076, www.WashingtonCrossingPark.org.
Available dates at this writing include Sept. 14 and Oct. 5 (up to 14 guests per trip, with 2 guides; the minimum age is 13; e-bike rentals are available, but the trail is easy/moderate crushed gravel trail). The cost is $995 ($225 single supplement); $90 to rent a bike, and includes the overnight accommodations, professional bike guides; sag wagon; basic bike repair (replacement bike if needed to complete the ride); rest stops with snacks and water; breakfast on three days; lunch on two days; luggage transportation to each accommodation; morning trail briefings and transportation back to your car by 4pm on the final day.
If you would rather DIY, Pocono Biking also offers daily rates and shuttle service, Big Day Out & Big Night Out (Multisport Adventures), two-day trips, and Pocono Whitewater Rafting on the Lehigh River.
Pocono Biking, 7 Hazard Square, Jim Thorpe, PA, 570-325-8430, PoconoBiking.com.
“Bike touring lends itself to a vacationing style that uniquely fits these times: small groups and big open spaces! Although we understand that traveling at this moment is not for everyone and is a personal decision, our goal is to minimize the risks where possible and make traveling as comfortable as possible.”
Discovery Tours is inviting biking enthusiasts to design their own tour: “Pick any of our U.S. locations — or suggest a new one — and we’ll customize an incredible biking vacation just for you.”
Groups of 8 or more get one tour free (or spread the savings across the group). Special pricing is available for groups of 4 or fewer.
The company, based in Woodstock, Vt., has already run private tours this summer on the Mickelson Trail and Black Hills in South Dakota, in Maine and in New York’s Finger Lakes.
What makes Long Island’s American Airpower Museum, located at historic Republic Airport in Farmingdale, so different from other aviation museums is that this is so much more than a static display of vintage aircraft. This is living history: just about every day you visit, you can see these historic aircraft fly – you can even purchase a seat.
Long Island’s only flying military aviation museum, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, reopened after its COVID-19 hiatus, with new health protocols and precautions.
Its impressive collection was started by Jeffrey Clyman, president of the museum and the foundation.
His first acquisition was the P10-17 WWII training biplane which used to fly in air shows. His second was the Avenger. The third, the AT-6 “Texan” came from the Spanish air force where it was used for desert warfare in the Sahara
Among them, the Grumman TBM Avenger, the same plane model flown by President George H.W. Bush in WWII in which he was shot down (the other two crew members did not survive); you can see where Bush autographed this plane. Known as the “ship killer,” so many Japanese ships were destroyed by the torpedoes it carried, that upon seeing it coming, crew would jump off, the museum’s publicist, Bob Salant, tells me during my visit on reopening day.
You can actually buy a seat for a flight in the WACO UPF-7 biplane (the initials stand for Weaver Aircraft Company of Ohio) and a North American AT-6 Texan, which give you the unparalleled experience of flying with an open cockpit. You can also buy a seat in a D-Day reenactment flying aboard the WWII Veteran Douglas C-47 Gooney Bird, which carried parachutists – you wear an appropriate uniform, there is the radio speech of President Eisenhower sending the troops into this fateful battle, and while you don’t actually parachute, at the end, you are given a card that says whether you lived or died.
That’s what “Living history” means to the American Airpower Museum.
Indeed, just about all the aircraft you see in the hangar and on the field (a few are on loan), are working aircraft and have to be flown to be maintained, so any time you visit, you are likely to see planes flying.
Among the planes that played an important role in history is the “Mis-Hap” – a North American B25 Mitchell bomber that few in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. It was General Hap Arnold’s personal plane (subsequent owners included Howard Hughes).
Another is the Macon Belle, on view in a fascinating exhibit that pays homage to the Tuskegee Airmen, one of whom, William Johnson is a Glen Cove resident. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII. They flew more than 15,000 individual sorties in Europe and North Africa, earning more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses.
2020 was anticipated to be a banner year for AAM. Museum aircraft were scheduled to participate in historic events marking the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII and honoring U.S. Veterans who made the Allied victory possible. As they have done for the last 17 years, AAM’s WWII airplanes were going to appear in the Annual Jones Beach Airshow. And it must be noted that on May 24th 2020, the American Airpower Museum celebrated its 20th anniversary in isolation.
Instead, the museum had to shut down along with every other museum and attraction in the state because of the coronavirus. It has reopened with health protocols that include filling out a questionnaire and having a temperature check at the entrance; requiring masks and social distancing throughout the museum.
Certain interactive exhibits have been closed, but you can still climb stairs to see inside cockpits, and walk through the Douglas C-47B. Built in 1935 and in service since 1936, the DC3 started as one of the first commercial civilian airliners. It was best known for being used in the Berlin Airlift, dropping food, clothing and medical supplies to Berliners suffering under the Soviet occupation. This C47 was one of the few flyable C47s with a paratrooper configuration, and dropped troops for the D-Day invasion. The plane is dubbed “Second Chance” possibly because after World War II, it was sold to the State of Israel and saw more than 30 years in the Israeli military (very possibly flew in the 1967 war). Today, the C-47B is used in D-Day reenactments.
There are several excellent exhibits, including one showcasing the WASPs – the Women Airforce Service Pilots who were used to fly planes to their missions. Another focuses on women war correspondents, among them, Martha Gellhorn, considered one of the great war correspondents of the 20th century, reporting on virtually every major world conflict over her 60-year career (she was also the third wife of novelist Ernest Hemingway).
There are also several fighter jets on loan from the USAF Museum, including a Republic F-84 Thunderjet; Republic RT-84 Thunderstreak, Republic RF-084 Thunderflash, Republic F105 Thunderchief, and General Dynamics F-111.
Clyman, who started his museum in New Jersey, moved it to Farmingdale, Long Island, the “cradle of aviation,” where many of these planes were built, and where the people who built them, maintained them and flew them, still lived. Many of the docents as well as the pilots are former Republic workers and veterans.
“My dad was a combat pilot in WWII. So was my uncle. My mom was a nurse,” Clyman tells me. “But just as the 1920s followed WWI, and the 1950s after WWII, they didn’t talk about their experiences in war until they were about to die.” His mission is to not only legacy of the planes, but honor the people.
“Some 65 years ago, the current home of the American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport was a crucial part of the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’. Home to Republic Aviation, the complex produced over 9,000 P-47 Thunderbolts in Farmingdale,” the museum’s website explains.
“Today, no American aviation museum with a squadron of operational World War II aircrafts has a more appropriate setting for its flight operations. Taxing to the very runways and hangars that dispatched Thunderbolts to war, vintage aircrafts recreate those turbulent years and allow the public to watch these planes in their natural environment – the air.”
The hangar where the museum is located is now part of a historic preservation district, as a result of the effort of Senator Charles Schumer and then-Congressman Steve Israel.
There are uniforms, equipment, even two Nikon cameras adapted for use by astronauts that flew in the Space Shuttle.
Clyman said it has always been AAM’s mission to honor the legacy of those who gave all to preserve our freedoms. “We’re pleased to announce we recently resumed maintenance and inspection of our aircraft so that much anticipated flight operations can begin with our grand reopening event. We also promise a flying salute to our Veterans and front line workers very soon,” he said.
At the reopening on August 1, visitors were treated to aircraft displays and flight operations of WWII AT-6s, WACO UPF-7, and TBM Avenger.
The museum is open to only 55 visitors at one time. There will be a case by case increase should the flight line be open, to increase the number of visitors at one time. Face masks must be worn at all times by anyone who will work, and visit the museum (masks are for sale in the gift shop for anyone who does not have one). Visitors have their temperature taken as they enter, and are encouraged to wash hands, or use hand sanitizer (hand sanitizer is available in the gift shop, and by the restrooms). Social distancing will be observed and the floors have been marked to denote 6 feet spacing. Restrooms and canteen areas are regularly cleaned.
The C-45 cockpits are not currently open, but the Flight Simulator may be available for use on a case by case basis, and cleaned after each use. Docents will also guide visitors accessing certain aircraft and limit the number of visitors at one time.
One of the docents is Steven Delgado who came to New York from Puerto Rico at the age of 15, was drafted to go to Vietnam in 17 and served in a parachutists unit. “I learned English in the army). When he returned, he earned his CPA from NYU and became a volunteer fire fighter.
The museum, a 501 (C3) Nonprofit Educational Foundation, is open year-round, rain or shine.
Admission for adults is $13, seniors and veterans $10 and children $8.
My getaway exploring the Hudson River School Art Trail in the Great Northern Catskills of New York starts at the trailhead to Kaaterskill Falls, where you get an amazing view of Kaaterskill Clove (HRSAT Site #4). You gaze out over the gorge where mountain peaks seem to thread together and compare the scene today to the way it is depicted by Hudson River School artist Asher B. Durand’s 1866 painting.
It’s a short walk along 23A (watch out for cars on the winding narrow road) to the trailhead for one of my favorite hikes, Kaaterskill Falls (HRSAT Site #5), a stunning scene that looks remarkably just as depicted in an 1835 painting by Thomas Cole, known as the father of the Hudson River School. “It is the voice of the landscape for it strikes its own chords, and rocks and mountains re-echo in rich unison,” Cole (who was also a poet and essayist) wrote.
The Kaaterskill Falls were a favorite subject of many of the Hudson River School painters and for me, is the quintessential combination of stunning scenery plus the physical pleasure of the hike – half-mile up to the base of the double-falls, then another half-mile to the top.
The two-tiered Kaaterskill Falls, 175 and 85 feet, is the highest in New York State and was described by James Fenimore Cooper in “The Pioneers” which Thomas Cole, a friend of Cooper’s illustrated.
There is a small trail through the woods to the very top of the falls. Signs admonish hikers that climbing the ledges beside Kaaterskill Falls is extremely dangerous, and has resulted in numerous injuries and deaths. But the falls are not flowing when I come, so I get to walk on the ledges, giving me a really nervous view straight down and beyond, to the Valley and letting me look at the carved initials and graffiti from the 1920s and 30s, some even from the 1800s. You feel a sense of kindred spirit with those who have passed through and passed on. You feel the height and the proximity to the drop off, and it makes your heart flutter.
It is a half-mile to the base, and another half- mile to the top of the falls, for a total of 2 miles roundtrip. There are some scrambles and it is uphill almost all the way (walking sticks are really recommended), and is thoroughly fantastic.
(The parking lot is just west of the trailhead and across 23A, so you park and walk back along the road, being very careful. Haines Falls NY 12436, 518-589-5058, 800-456-2267).
HRSAT Hikes in North-South Campground
For my second day, after an amazing breakfast at the Fairlawn Inn, I head to North-South Campground, where there are several of the Hudson River School of Art Trail hikes (as well as many other hiking trails) – the lake itself depicted in paintings such as Thomas Cole’s “Lake with Dead Trees,” 1825 (HRSAT Site #6).
The Escarpment Trail to Sunset Rock (HRSAT Trail Site #7) begins along the well-marked blue trail (you cut off to the yellow trail to Sunset Rock) that mostly wraps around the ledges, with the amazing views that so enthralled the artists of the Hudson River Valley. Close to the beginning is a fairly interesting scramble, then the trail winds through the woods along side fabulous rock formations before coming out again to the ledges. You reach Artists Rock at about a half-mile. Continuing on, you look for the yellow trail marker to Sunset Rock and from there, to Newman’s Point.
Mary’s Glen trail can also be the entrance to a more challenging hike, to North Point, a distance of 3.2 miles with 840 feet ascent. It is a mostly moderate climb but has some short, steep scrambles over rock, but you come to large open slabs and expansive vistas at North Point, a 3,000 ft. elevation with some of the most distant views.)
Back at the North-South Lake, you can follow around the shoreline to see the same views that inspired Hudson River School paintings.
You can also take the trail to the site of the Catskill Mountain House (HRSAT Site #8), one of the earliest tourist hotels. The majestic hotel, which was opened in 1823 and accommodated 400 guests a night (Presidents Arthur and Grant were among those who stayed here), burned down in 1963 but the view that attracted visitors still remains as one of the most magnificent panoramas in the region, and can be compared to Frederic Church’s “Above the Clouds at Sunrise” (1849).
It is fun to see the initials carved into the stone ledges from more than a century ago. The Mountain House began drawing thousands of guests each season from all over the country as well as from abroad, who came not just for the cooler, healthier climate but for what had already become one of the most renowned natural panoramas in the young nation: the valley 1,600 feet below, stretching east to the Taconic Mountains and the Berkshires, with the silvery thread of the Hudson visible for 60 miles from north to south. On a clear day, you can see five states – Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. The hike is just a half-mile with only an 80-foot ascent.
There is a $10/car day use fee for the NYS DEC’s North-South Lake Campground from early May through late October, however the fee is waived for NYS residents 62 years or older midweek. The campground is open May through October; 518-589-5058 or call DEC Regional Office year-round at 518-357-2234, www.greatnortherncatskills.com/outdoors/north-south-lake-campground.
The Hudson River School Art Trail also features Olana, the magnificent and whimsical mansion home of artist Frederick Edwin Church. At this writing, the entrancing mansion was not yet reopened to visits, but the 250-acre grounds and the first-ever legally protected “viewshed” to the Hudson River are open (5720 Route 9G, Hudson, NY 12534, 518-828-0135, olana.org.)
Also, you can walk the grounds Thomas Cole Historic Site (the home has yet to be reopened, but is marvelous to visit, especially Cole’s studio). (218 Spring Street, Catskill, NY 12414, 518-943-7465, www.thomasscole.org)
In Athens:Rent a kayak or paddleboard at Screaming Eagle Outdoor Adventures; explore along the Hudson River at the Athens Riverfront Park and look for the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse.
It doesn’t take long once you arrive at New York’s Letchworth State Park to see why this vast preserve merits its nickname, “Grand Canyon of the East.” One of the most dramatically scenic areas in the eastern United States, the Genesee River roars through a humongous gorge that extends the 17 mile-long expanse of the park, over three major waterfalls between cliffs as high as 600 feet, surrounded by lush forest.
Ever since I saw a poster of Letchworth State Park while riding the Long Island Railroad, I said, “Where is that!” So when our plan to camp and hike in the Southwest fell apart this year and feeling safe staying within New York State which has so scrupulously monitored and imposed safety conditions to contain the coronavirus, we sought out a comparable adventure driving distance from home: Letchworth is just south of Rochester in western New York in appropriately named Wyoming County.
Our camping trip was made all the more special by staying in the campground within the state park that had only just reopened (private campgrounds, such as Kampgrounds of America, koa.com, are also available in the area) – so we could cook our dinner in the most spectacular settings – dinner with a view and be in prime places for the early light. (I booked our stay mere minutes after the website, reserveamerica.com, reopened reservations.)
During the two full days we were there, we hiked the most scenic, marquee trails: the Gorge Trail (#1), 7.6 miles following along the rim in the southern portion of the 17-mile long park, and the next day, the Highbanks Trail (#20), 4.5 miles along the rim and through forest in the north part of the park. Indeed, these hiking experiences were reminiscent of hiking the Rim Trail along the southern rim of the Grand Canyon.
Letchworth State Park, (voted best attraction in New York State in 2017) is a geologic wonder. Its main attractions are three waterfalls (and if you visit in the late afternoon, you may well see rainbows over the Middle Falls) in the southern section. The trails take you to the most popular, scenic overlooks, which people can drive to, so they can be bustling with visitors (when we visited, people seemed to be respectful of wearing masks and keeping distance). This is another reason why camping in the park is such an advantage – the driving tourists tend to arrive at mid-day, so you can get out early and have these spectacular scenes almost to yourself.
If you do the hike early in the morning, do it from north to south. It’s out-and-back, so to avoid doing the 7.6 miles twice (that is, 15 miles), you can leave a second car or a bicycle at the end (as we did).
The park is huge, about 17 miles long (it takes about 20-30 minutes to drive from the campground to the Upper Falls along the Park Road which is narrow, winding and rolling with dips and rises) to the Upper Falls area. Indeed, the park is so narrow that the hiking trails are just alongside the road, separated in most instances by curtains of trees.
The Gorge Trail, in the south, brings you to the most spectacular views – Upper Falls and Middle Falls in quick succession, then Lower Falls. The real surprise is coming upon Wolf Creek waterfall and a bridge with a painterly scene. Along the way you come upon these stunning stone look-outs at Inspiration Point, Archery Field Overlook, Great Bend Overlook, Tea Table lookout, which also have stone tables and BBQ set-ups.
The Highbanks trail in the north section doesn’t have the awesome waterfalls, but is very special in its own way, providing the expansive vistas that evoke awe over just how enormous and winding this gorge is (respect for Mother Nature’s power) and why Letchworth has been dubbed the “Grand Canyon of the East.” Here, the hike brought us into stunning woods where the forest itself makes a painterly canvas.
We started at the absolutely stunning overlook at Hogs Back (where we parked our car for the hike), going south about 2.5 miles, then reversing and going north from Hogs Back, you walk along the ridge, sometimes almost hanging over the gorge, until you come to the Mt. Morris Dam Overlook. The treat here comes at the end, at the Mt. Morris Dam Overlook Area, where there is a delightful snack bar serving excellent ice cream.
Two of the trails that I believe was closed during our visit, but definitely recommended is the Footbridge Trail that brings you down to the Lower Falls (#6A), just a half-mile long but rated “moderate” and the Portage Trail (#6).
Altogether, the park offers 66 miles of trails (almost all rated easy or moderate, and most on the west side of the park). But for hard-core hikers, there is a 22-mile Finger Lakes Trail that runs along the entire eastern section of the park
I tried to research in advance to find the best places for sunrise and sunset photos, which of course depends on season and weather. I wasn’t able to get any sunrise or sunset photos, but the late afternoon light proved best at the Upper Falls and Middle Falls (where rainbows seem not uncommon as the sun lowers and sends its rays through the mist).
Instead of eating at the campsite (not that scenic, but very pleasant for sleeping and breakfast), we kept our food in the cooler and equipment in the car and each evening would pick out a different setting – dining on tables with slate tabletops apparently taken from these very cliffs. David would haul out his Coleman stove and tiny propane tank, his culinary tools, cutting board, and perform his culinary magic. We dined at the appropriately named Tea Table the first evening, Wolf Creek the second evening, which proved our favorite, with a virtually private view of a sweet waterfall, that we discovered on our hike. We were going to have our third night’s dinner overlooking the Upper Falls, but realized this is the most popular part of the park, and since a priority was to avoid possible exposure to lingering COVID germs, we decided to return to Wolf Creek which we again had all to ourselves.
Each evening we returned to the campsite and David and Laini made a fire (s’mores for dessert!). The peace of this place, with tall trees opening to a blanket of stars, and fireflies darting about as if they were Superflies! or shooting stars, was perfect and priceless.
Letchworth, which was voted USA Today’s Reader Choice for Best State Park in the nation in 2015, is well maintained, especially during this heightened COVID-19 health emergency. The campground restroom facility was very clean, and all the restrooms (they indicate which are open), require masks and social distancing.
Our plan for this trip was to be completely self-sufficient so we wouldn’t have to worry about getting water or food, not knowing if places would be open to buy supplies and wanting to cut down our interactions as much as possible. We took enough supplies for our three days, though we did discover that by the time of our trip, this region of New York had achieved Phase 4 reopening, so places were open though with significant limitations, including the Highbanks Camp Stores. (Concessions also were at the Dam Overlook Cafe and Highbanks Pool Snack Bar on the North end; Letchworth Gift shop, Lower Falls, upper Falls Snack Bar.)
(Indeed, for the foreseeable future, travel will involve more planning and forethought, checking ahead what will be open and under what conditions; as a general rule, some places are requiring advance reservations or timed-ticketing.)
The Highbanks campground is wonderful – six miles from the entrance, and several more miles to get to the actual camping loops for tents and RVs. There are also cabins. Several areas accommodate pets.
There are also a few cottages and lodges available within the park. For a family vacation rental experience, the Maplewood Lodge, located at the entrance to the Highbanks Camping Area, sleeps up to eight and has a furnished kitchen, living room with working fireplace, TV and DVD/BluRay player and formal dining room.
Camping was one of the attractions for us to come to Letchworth at this time (so many are choosing camping and RVing and even AirBnBs over commercial hotels), but the park also offers the charming Glen Iris Inn, scenically set right above the Middle Falls.
An inn since 1914, the historic Glen Iris Inn was formerly the country estate of William Pryor Letchworth. Completely restored, the inn offers accommodations and is open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner (banquet and catering services are available for special events). We see people dining on the lovely veranda, as well as in an enormous tent set up on the lawn to further accommodate those preferring to dine al fresco.
Addressing this historic moment, rooms are sanitized with an electrostatic cleaning machine and sealed for the guest’s arrival; capacity in Caroline’s Dining Room is limited to 50%. In addition to rooms in the Inn, the Glen Iris also offers some cottages (585-493-2622, glenirisinn.com).
Just across from the inn is the small stone William Pryor Letchworth Museum which tells the fascinating story of Letchworth Park, paying tribute to William P. Letchworth who preserved the land and its heritage by donating it to the state. The museum tells the history of the Genesee Valley, the canal, and of the Seneca who lived on these lands. Letchworth’s personal collection of artifacts from local Native American tribes is on view.
The museum also relates the compelling story of Mary Jemison, “The White Woman of the Genesee,” born on a ship from Europe in 1743 and kidnapped from her home in Pennsylvania in 1758 by Shawnee, then sold to the Seneca who adopted her into the tribe, becoming Dehgewanus. (Trail #2 is named the Mary Jemison Trail, the creek is named De-ge-wa-nus Creek and there is a statue of her, erected by Letchworth not long after her remains were brought back from a reservation and reburied on his estate, that Letchworth dedicated to her memory in 1910; read her remarkable story: http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/jem.html)
We didn’t have the opportunity to visit the museum during our visit, but is one of the top items on our list for our return.
We also did not get a chance to explore the Humphrey Nature Center which in normal times, offers year-round environmental education programming and interactive exhibits highlighting the geology, wildlife, and ecology of the park.
Letchworth State Park offers many recreational facilities and activities that were just beginning to reopen at the time of our visit – including nature, history and performing arts programs, guided walks, tours, a summer lecture series. The enormous Highbanks Recreation area has a pool. And since our visit, the park opened a new $2 million outdoor Lower Falls Recreation Center offering table games, badminton and pickle ball courts, bocce and shuffleboard, as well as a fitness loop.
The project also involved restoration of a historic bathhouse that is used as the base for the whitewater rafting concessionaire, Adventure Calls Outfitters (https://adventure-calls.com/). Letchworth also offers kayaking, there is even hot air ballooning (https://balloonsoverletchworth.com/).
A half-dozen trails allow biking (I wouldn’t recommend biking on the main Park Road), and there is horseback riding as well.
Letchworth State Park is open year-round – the fall colors look spectacular, as do the winter scenes when there is cross-country skiing on most of the trails, snowmobiling on four trails, and snow tubing. Winterized cabins are available.
Letchworth State Park, Castile, NY 14427 (there are several entrances, but Mt. Morris Entrance is closest to the highway; check out the wonderful antique shops in Mount Morris); 585-493-3600, letchworthpark.com.
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails and boat launches, which were visited by a record 77 million people in 2019. A recent university study found that spending by State Parks and its visitors supports $5 billion in output and sales, 54,000 private-sector jobs and more than $2.8 billion in additional state GDP. For more information on these sites, call 518-474-0456 or visit parks.ny.gov.
Long Island entering Phase 4 in the COVID-19 recovery means that museums, gardens, attractions, even shopping malls, are open again with health protocols that include limited capacity (many required timed ticketing), social distancing, hand-sanitizing and mandatory mask-wearing. This is an ideal time for Long Islanders to discover our own bounty.
Staycation! Create your own itinerary. Here are some highlights (for more, visit Long Island Tourism Commission, discoverlongisland.com):
Cradle of Aviation Museum is Sensational Destination on Staycation Itinerary
A year ago, we were dazzled and enthralled at the Cradle of Aviation exhibit and special programming for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing. This year is historic in another way – the museum is reopening with special health protocols in response to the Covid-19 epidemic. As I toured the museum as it geared up for the reopening, I really focused on the remarkable historic exhibits, appreciating the role Long Island played in the development of aviation up through and including space travel.
We tend to think of the Wright Brothers and their flight on a beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, but Long Island was really the birthplace of the aviation industry. So many firsts, as I observed going through the museum: the first woman pilot, the first Bleriot monoplane (what??), first woman to pilot an aircraft and first woman to build an aircraft (Dr. Bessica Raiche of Mineola) and of course, first nonstop flight between New York and Paris that departed from Roosevelt Field, right outside. We also see a photo montage of native Long Island astronauts including Mary Cleave who graduated Great Neck North High School.
The planes and artifacts on display are astounding.
You learn that the reason Long Island was such a magnet for early aviation began with its geography: a flat, treeless plain with low population. Add to that some wealthy people willing to put up money – like the $25,000 prize offered by hotel owner Raymond Orteig for the first nonstop aircraft flight between New York and Paris that enticed Charles Lindbergh to fly his Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic from Roosevelt Field (just outside Cradle’s door) to Paris in 33 hours. The same plane Lindberg flew – it came off the same production line and was used in the movie, “Spirit of St. Louis” starring Jimmy Stewart – is on display.
Many of the interactive have been closed off for health reasons, but there are still videos, sound effects and music (“Over There, Over There” by composer George M. Cohan, who lived in Kings Point, LI, plays where a wood-frame plane is being built), and a dazzling array of exhibits in which to be completely immersed.
Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the end of WWII with a look back at the aircraft and the people that made a difference in ending the war including such fighter planes as the P-47 and Grumman’s Avenger, Hellcat, and Wildcat (very impressed with the women WASP pilots).
A special treat this summer is the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the F-14 Tomcat, one of the most iconic Navy fighters ever built on Long Island, which was featured prominently in the movie, “Top Gun.” See a full size aircraft, the third F-14 ever built and oldest flying F-14 from 1971-1990, two -F14 cockpits, nose and flying suits. Learn about the plane, the pilots, and why the F-14 is such a beloved fighter and just in time before the release of Top Gun: Maverick this December.
The environment is especially marvelous during this COVID-summer – spacious rooms, delightfully air-conditioned, with demarcations for six-feet separation and capacity limited to 700 (you should pre-book your tickets online). This is a great year for a family to purchase an unlimited membership ticket ($125 for a family of four), and come frequently. There is so much to see and absorb, you are always seeing and learning new things.
The Cradle of Aviation Museum & Education Center is home to over 75 planes and spacecraft representing over 100 years of aviation history and Long Island’s only Giant Screen Dome Theater. The museum is located on Museum Row, Charles Lindbergh Blvd., in Garden City. Call (516) 572-4111 or visit www.cradleofaviation.org.
The Nassau Museum re-opened July 8 with a spectacular new exhibition that includes work by Picasso, Matisse, Miro, Helen Frankenthaler, Yves Klein and many other major artists. A new timed ticketing and touch-free entry system, along with safety protocols, ensure the safety and comfort of visitors. The Museum is limiting capacity and using signage and staff monitoring to make sure distancing is observed, and has instituted a new cleaning regimen as well as health screening for staff and volunteers.
The innovative new show boldly ventures into the many meanings of the world’s most popular color: Blue. It includes several important artists of our time, including Jeffrey Gibson, Mark Innerst and Sean Scully. It brings together a wide range of media, from sculpture, paintings, prints, photographs and watercolors through ceramics (including Moroccan tiles, Chinese Ming porcelain, Turkish vessels and Japanese claire de lune porcelain), textiles and even a United Nations helmet.
Programming for the show, both online and in person, includes a specially commissioned ballet by the artist Han Qin, a concert of works specially composed for the art in the show, lectures and a director’s seminar series.
The Museum’s magnificent grounds (officially known as the William Cullen Bryant Preserve) have remained open to the public– including outdoor sculpture garden collection of nearly 40 pieces by 24 sculptors, created over the past 100 years, from 1913 to 2018, set throughout its 145 acres of fields, woods, ponds, and formal gardens, and its nature trails.
Celebrating its 30th year, Nassau County Museum of Art, One Museum Drive, Roslyn Harbor, is open Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors (62 and above) and $5 for students and children (4 to12). Visitors are urged to buy their timed tickets in advance online at nassaumuseum.org, 516-484-9338.
More highlights:
Long Island Aquarium has made changes to its operation for the safety of guests, staff and animals (Touch Tanks, animal feeding, encounters, Shark Dives have been suspended). In lieu of a Sea Lion Show, there is a Sea Lion feed and training session, with social distancing in the stands.. Visitors and staff must wear a face mask or covering (masks can be purchased); hand-sanitizers throughout, six-feet social distancing separation will be maintained, including a one-way path through the property. Guests can walk through the Aquarium, enjoying the indoor habitats, to get to the outdoor habitats such as the Penguin Pavilion, Otter Falls, Sea Lion Coliseum. Outdoor dining and retail shops have reopened. Operating at a reduced guest capacity, all members of your party must pre-pay admission and reserve a time slot prior to your visit (https://www.longislandaquarium.com/purchase-tickets/pricing/) (431 East Main Street, Riverhead NY 11901, 631-208-9200, ext 426, www.longislandaquarium.com).
Old Westbury Gardens, the former estate of John S. and Margarita Grace Phipps, is one of the most recognizable of all Gold Coast properties. Its centerpiece is Westbury House, a Charles II-style mansion where the Phipps family lived for 50 years (featured in 25 films including “North by Northwest” and “Love Story”). The 160-acre property also features world-renowned gardens with sweeping lawns, woods, ponds and lakes, and more than 100 species of trees. Advance-reservations tickets are required to tour the palatial home, walk its grounds, and enjoy a window on Long Island’s Gilded Age. (71 Old Westbury Rd, Old Westbury, 516-333-0048, info@oldwestburygardens.org, www.oldwestburygardens.org).
Sands Point Preserve’s The Great Lawn, Rose Garden, Woodland Playground, forest trails, and pond area are open, but the three castle-like mansions (Hempstead House, Castle Gould and Falaise built by Harry S. Guggenheim), Welcome Center and dog run are closed for the health of visitors. Restrooms are available in Castle Gould’s Black Box, and are closed periodically for sterlizing and cleaning. The number of cars is limited; there is contactless payment at Gatehouse, $15/per car, free for members. (127 Middle Neck Road, Sands Point, http://sandspointpreserveconservancy.org/)
Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park, listed on the National Register of Historic Districts, was the home of William Robertson Coe from 1913 to 1955. Coe was interested in rare plants and developed the 409 acre estate into an arboretum with 160 acres of garden and plants. In celebration of the centennial anniversary of the completion of the Buffalo Mural in Coe Hall, Planting Fields Foundation is presenting an exhibition on the work of Robert Winthrop Chanler (1872-1930), The Electrifying Art and Spaces of Robert Winthrop Chanler. A rare opportunity to view decorative screens and panels from private collections throughout America, the exhibition highlights Chanler’s depiction of frenzied worlds from the early 1910s to the late 1920s. Visitors learn about his work in the context of the artistic developments in America in the early 20th century, his relationship to the wealthy patrons of the Gilded Age, and the preservation challenges presented by the Buffalo Mural in Coe Hall. Gain a deeper understanding of the historical significance of the screens and their design function within the homes of the elite, as well as Chanler’s eccentric persona and the characters around him throughout his life. One-hour tours are limited to 5 people, all from the same family or group; request your tour time online. (395 Planting Fields Road Jericho Turnpike, Oyster Bay, NY 11771, 516-922-9200, plantingfields.org)
The Vanderbilt Museum & Planetarium’s elegant Spanish-Revival mansion was the home of William Kissam Vanderbilt II, great grandson of Commodore Cornelius. The 43-acre estate, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, overlooks Northport Bay and the L.I. Sound. The museum has reopened the first floor of the Hall of Fishes marine museum; the Habitat and Stoll Wing animal dioramas; and the natural-history and cultural-artifact galleries on the first floor of the Memorial Wing. The Mansion living quarters and the Reichert Planetarium remain closed at this time. A limited number of visitors are being accommodated on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 11am-6pm. Galleries are open from 12-5pm. Admission to enter the property: $14 per carload; members free. (80 Little Neck Road, Centerport, NY 11721, 631-854-5579, www.vanderbiltmuseum.org, info@vanderbiltmuseum.org).
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site was the “Summer White House when Theodore Roosevelt served as 26th President, from 1902-1908. He lived in this Oyster Bay estate until his death in 1919, and it remains just as it was when he was in residence. The historic home is not yet reopened (the national site is being reopened in phases), but you can explore the 83 acres of grounds which include Audubon Center and songbird sanctuary (note: public restrooms are closed at this point). Check out the virtual tour (20 Sagamore Hill Road, Oyster Bay, 922-4788, https://www.nps.gov/sahi/planyourvisit/conditions.htm)
Garvies Point Museum and Preserveis a center for research on Long Island geology and the Island’s Native American archaeology. The museum is reopening July 18 (capacity limited to 3-4 family groups at one time). The nature trails (you can really imagine when Native Americans lived here), picnic area (bring a bag lunch), bird & butterfly friendly gardens and Native American Herb Garden, and trails to shoreline are open. Call 516-571-8010 ahead of time to check for availability. (50 Barry Drive, Glen Cove NY 11542. 571-8010, www.garviespointmuseum.com)
Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park landscape and tree planting was designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead, who designed New York’s Central Park and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Located on the Connetquot River it has 690 acres of lawns and open meadows, a wildflower garden, a marshy refuge, and paths ideal for bird watching. The grounds are open but the English Tudor-style manor house is closed at this time. (440 Montauk Highway, Oakdale, https://bayardcuttingarboretum.com/
Bethpage State Park has five golf courses including Bethpage Black, home of the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009, and the only public course on the PGA tour. Its narrow fairways and high roughs have been the scourge of many of the game’s best-known players. Facilities include four other color-coded 18-hole championship-length courses and a clubhouse/restaurant. You can also picnic, hike, bike (there is an outstanding bike path), play tennis and horseback ride on 1,475 acres (For information about Bethpage State Park Golf Course, 516-249-0700).
Jones Beach State Park, the largest public beach in the world, offers 6.5 miles of uninterrupted Atlantic Ocean beachfront, two public swimming pools and a smaller beach on Zach’s Bay. The Jones Beach Boardwalk spans two miles of the white sand beach. Along the boardwalk perimeter are basketball courts and deck games, a band shell offering free concerts and social dancing, plus a miniature golf course. You can surf cast on the beach and fish from piers, tie up your boat at a marina.
Since 2011, State Parks has completed and started more than $100 million in projects to restore Jones Beach State Park’s historic grandeur, attract new visitors and create new recreational facilities. Projects completed include the rehabilitation of the West Bathhouse Complex and Field 6, restoration of the historic Central Mall mosaics, new playgrounds at the West Games Area and Zach’s Bay, new gateway signage, completion of the new Boardwalk Café restaurant, and a new WildPlay Adventure park with zip lines, and a 4.5 mile Jones Beach Shared Use Path along Ocean Parkway. This season, visitors will see $6.6 million in improvements: the West Games Area features a new mini-golf course, new cornhole and pickleball courts as well as refurbished courts for shuffleboard and paddle tennis.
With the state and Long Island’s improving COVID-19 situation, concessions are now allowed to open with restrictions at state ocean and lakefront beaches, including popular destinations such as Jones Beach, Robert Moses, Sunken Meadow, and Lake Welch in Harriman State Park.
Along with all 180 New York state parks, capacity is restricted (you can check online to see if daily limits have been reached, 518-474-0456, https://parks.ny.gov/parks/)
For more Long Island attractions ideas and information on “travel confidently”, visit discoverlongisland.com.
Cape Cod, MA — If ever there was a time for a Cape Cod getaway, it is now, and with health numbers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts accommodating the safe reopening of businesses and organizations, Cape Cod’s beaches, trails, golf offer well-deserved respite.
The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, regional tourism council for the entire Cape region, has provided guidance for visitors:
LODGING, DINING and WHAT’S NEXT
Cape-wide, lodging establishments, restaurants (indoor and outdoor dining), personal services (day spas, salons, etc.) are open. This month, bars, museums, fitness gyms and everything besides nightclubs and large venues were reopening under Phase III of Reopening Massachusetts.
BEACHES, LAKES, PONDS, RIVERS & WATERWAYS
Across the 70-mile peninsula Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds, Atlantic Ocean, Cape Cod and Buzzard Bays beaches are open — including Cape Cod National Seashore’s six dazzling beaches. Inland, hundreds of lakes and ponds, more than a dozen rivers and other waterways offer unique and refreshing ways to explore the Cape without the crowds. Kayak, SUP, canoe, sail, motorboat, Jet ski, water ski or swim the Cape’s pristine waterways. Windsurfer alert: Hyannis’ Kalmus Beach (at the end of Ocean Street, with a dedicated surfing area of the water) and West Dennis Beach (on the road of the same name) are favorite wind- and kite-surfing locations because of their favorable high winds. It’s also fun to watch from the beach.
Visitors who wish to get some exercise (or practice extreme social distancing), take a hike! Throughout Cape Cod’s 400 square miles there are miles of hiking, walking and mountain biking trails comprising Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries (no dogs please), Trustees of Reservations nature reservations, US Fish & Wildlife Service wildlife refuges, MA Wildlife Management Areas (Frances Crane in Falmouth and Hyannis Ponds in Hyannis), Barnstable Land Trust and 15 Town conservations trusts. Within these pristine land tracts, find peace and serenity, varied hiking, walking and mountain biking terrains from beginner to extreme, a wide variety of flora and fauna including more than 100 varieties of trees. One can also find the unique characteristic of coastal marshes offer superb opportunities to view wildlife and typical coastal wetlands biome, such as ferns, bulrushes, cattails, reeds, sedges, and rushes. These lands are ideal for plein air painting, photography, bird watching as well as more active pursuits.
In Provincetown, walk across Provincetown Harbor on the boulder-ed Breakwater to Long Point (about 1½ miles one way) to explore Long Point and see Long Point and Wood End Lighthouses up close. Walk back or take the Long Point Shuttle over or back (be aware, high tide is not a safe time to cross!).
CULTURE & HISTORY
Explore the Cape & Islands Bookstore Trail, a great way to get out and visit some new parts of the cape and score a great read. History and culture buffs can find much to enjoy along the Cape Cod Museum Trail featuring 80 museums, historical societies and other cultural locations. In the Town of Yarmouth, be one of the first to explore the Olde Cape Cod Discovery Trail, including the ever-popular Edward Gorey House, celebrating the life and work of this enigmatic American writer, illustrator, playwright and set designer who purchased this unassuming house in 1970 and lived here until his death in 2000. On this enchanting Trail, discover natural beauty and historic heritage in Yarmouth. While in Yarmouth, take a Town-wide tour of the 17 whimsical sand sculptures along the Town’s Sand Sculpture Trail using this downloadable map and perhaps win a prize by entering the annual Sand Sculpture Trail Photo Contest (details on the website).
Heritage Museums & Gardens’ many gardens and nature trails are open for strolling, as is the Café, although its museums and collections remain shuttered for the present.
Along Hyannis Harbor, HyArts Artists Shanties are open daily (Hyannis Harbor Overlook shanties, just opposite at the end of the Walkway to the Sea, is opening). These small fishing shack-style structures provide Cape Cod artists and artisans space to work and sell at these “seaside studios.” Visitors can stroll, speak to artists and artisans, take pictures and enjoy the harborside location and nearby restaurants.
Old King’s Highway (also called Route 6A), runs 62 miles along the Cape’s northern coast through nearly all the Cape’s towns from Bourne to Provincetown. This meandering former Native American path was a principal east-west cart route for early Cape farmers and settlers. In the 17th century it evolved into an extension of Plymouth’s King’s Highway. Along the Highway, view four centuries of architecture (including former sea captains’ homes), centuries-old stone walls, and find shops, galleries, restaurants, scenic pullovers, museums, and Cape Playhouse (oldest summer theater in America). A Cape map with helpful markers and hyperlinks can be downloaded from Google here.
Nothing can be more evocative of Cape Cod than its treasure trove of more than a dozen lighthouses. These maritime sentinels are nostalgic and, even in the 21st century, vital navigation guideposts for seamen. Most of the Cape’s lighthouses are accessible and some are even open for tours. This map can direct visitors to the Cape’s lighthouses and includes some background and hyperlinks to those that have websites. Many visitors enjoy taking a Cape ‘Lighthouse Tour’ to see how many they can visit while they are on Cape Cod.
For a dazzling look at one of Cape Cod’s most magnificent unexpected and edifices, take a free tour of Church of the Transfiguration at Rock Harbor in Orleans. The architecture, contemporary frescoes, mosaic tile floor and eye-popping apse are truly impressive. It recently built 10-bell 100-foot Bell Tower is topped by a bronze angel statue. The Church also offers concerts of its E.M. Skinner Organ as well as its choir, Gloriæ Dei Cantores throughout the year.
Museums are scheduled to open during Phase III of Reopening Massachusetts, but dates are somewhat fluid, depending upon health metrics.
Cape Cod is one of the best destinations anywhere for cycling, with 114 miles of cycling trails from the Upper to the Outer Cape (on top of generally bike-friendly roads). Among our favorites: Cape Cod Canal’s Cycling Trails are 7.1 miles, paved and off-road, along each side of the Canal. Falmouth’s 10.7-mile Shining Sea Bikeway rail trail is truly a coastal treasure hugging the Buzzards Bay coast from Woods Hole to North Falmouth past Sippewissett Marsh, cranberry bogs and overlooking Chapaquoit Beach. Cape Cod Rail Trail, now running from South Yarmouth to South Wellfleet is 25.7 miles end to end, including a new bridge over Bass River and other improvements.
Besides the larger, better known trails, there are several other cycling trails such as Chatham Loop (five-mile loop accessible from Chatham Fish Pier); Nauset Marsh Trail (3¼ miles roundtrip from Doane Rock picnic area to Coast Guard Beach in Eastham, intersecting with Cape Cod Rail trail); Head of the Meadow Trail (two miles; access in Truro at Head of the Meadow Beach parking area; its runs to Head of the Meadow Beach); Province Lands Trail (7½ miles; challenging paved loop through majestic dunes to Herring Cove and Race Point Beaches in Provincetown. This hilly loop starts from the Province Lands Visitor Center in Provincetown).
One of Cape Cod’s most popular and exciting activities is whale watching, which run through October. Reports of many whales just offshore continue to arrive from fishing boats. Whale watches depart from Provincetown and Barnstable lasting approximately four hours. (Be sure to bring sunglasses, sunblock, sweatshirt and, of course, a camera.)
FISHING
Nothing like the thrill of reeling in a great striper of other fish. Whether at the Cape Cod Canal, taking a fishing charter, going out on a friend’s boat, surfcasting or shell fishing, Cape Cod is the place for anglers. Massachusetts does not require a license for recreational saltwater angling; here are MA saltwater fishing regulations. To clam for quahogs or oysters, a license required from Town where gathering will be done for anyone age 14+.
Cape Cod golf clubs are open, with restrictions such as shorter hours (contact the golf club for reservations).
DRIVE-IN THEATRES
Wellfleet Drive-In has been the Cape’s only drive-in since 1957. But this summer the following drive-ins will open, with limited space for distancing, but offering new movie viewing options.
Main Street, Hyannis Drive-In | Parking lot at corner Main Street & High School Road, 50 cars max; $20 /car; six consecutive Fridays starting 3 July 2020.
Heritage Drive-In | Route 130 Sandwich; admission $15, admission for military members, seniors, and children 11 and under is $12.
DINING
Cape Cod’s culinary scene runs the gamut from clam shacks to haute cuisine. Many Cape restaurants are renowned for decades with new eateries calling the Cape home as food trends and opportunities flourish. In addition, check out the Cape Cod Beverage Trail featuring craft beer and spirits. Finn’s Craft Brew Tap House opened in Hyannis! In Chatham, make a stop at the popular Chatham Fish Pier where visitors can watch the day’s catch be offloaded afternoons from the observation deck (there is also a fish market offering fresh fish and take away cooked seafood).
GETTING HERE and AROUND
Air carriers are flying, CapeFLYER’s weekend service between Boston South Station and the Cape with stops in Braintree, Brockton, Middleborough/Lakeville, Wareham Village, Buzzards Bay, Bourne and Hyannis runs through Labor Day. Plymouth & Brockton and Peter Pan Bus Lines offer transportation between Boston, Providence and Cape Cod (several locations). Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority offers Cape-wide transportation year-round. If traveling onward to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket, air and ferry transportation (Steamship Authority, Hy Line Cruises, Freedom Boat Lines, Island Queen, Patriot Party Boats, Bay State Cruises, Boston Harbor Cruises and Ptown Fast Ferry) are running on schedule.
For additional information about visiting Cape Cod call 888-33CAPECOD, visit www.capecodchamber.org. To download a digital copy or order a 2020 Cape Cod Travel Guide, follow hyperlinks. For additional information on reopening Cape Cod, visit the Chamber’s dedicated website at www.reopeningcapecod.org.
Erie Canal Adventures rents Lockmaster canalboats that let you cruise fancy free on the Erie Canal, New York State (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com.
By Karen Rubin Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
If you want to see how America came to be, travel along the Erie Canal. A marvel of engineering when it was opened in 1825, the canal, which spans 353-miles from Albany to Buffalo, creating a water highway for commerce from the Midwest through New York City to the rest of the world, remains a dazzling achievement. But it was also the artery and an engine for invention, innovation, economic development, and ultimately social and political movements. Bike along the Erie Canalway (now virtually uninterrupted and part of the 750-mile Empire State Trail; there are several bike tour companies that offer inn-to-inn bike trips), but to really get the sense of it, float along the canal, tying up at the small towns and major cities that the canal birthed, and see unfold before you all the major social and economic movements that made America: immigration, labor, abolition and civil rights, women’s rights.
A few years ago, I had that opportunity, and in this time when people are shunning cruising because of the coronavirus pandemic but embracing RVs, renting your own self-skippered, specially-designed Lockmaster canal boat offers the best of those worlds. Founded decades ago as Mid-Lakes Navigation by Peter Wiles who designed the Lockmaster canalboats and was a significant force in repurposing the Erie Canal from commercial to recreational use, the company, Erie Canal Adventures, is now in the hands of Brian Kennan, and . And even though you are still in New York State, the sights and experiences are as interesting and exciting as sailing the canals of Europe.
The company has made accommodations for COVID-19 – sanitizing the compartments so that there is a tape over them until the passengers arrive; instead of cooking utensils and “hard goods” being kept on the boat, they are taken off after each trip, sanitized and provided to guests in a sanitized tote when they arrive.
The orientation is still done on the water – the guide wears mask and gloves – to take you through one of the canal locks (thrilling), but the orientation that would have been done in the cabin is now offered by video.
Bikes are still provided but they are taken off the boat after each cruise, sanitized and replaced for each trip.
This part of New York State is already in Phase 4 – meaning that there is indoor and outdoor dining (with social distancing), many of the museums and attractions have reopened like the George Eastman Museum and the Strong Museum (with limits on capacity). In the various canal towns, you won’t have any trouble finding groceries or restaurants. And New York State has been successful containing the spread of illness and turning from the worst infection rate to the lowest in the country, because New Yorkers have scrupulously adhered to using masks and social distancing. (Now, to prevent any reemergence, the state is imposing a 14-day quarantine on visitors from states where COVID-19 rates are surging.)
Cruising the Erie Canal in a Lockmaster canal boat, as cyclists ride the towpath (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com.
I am at the helm of a 41-foot canal boat, a boat so enchanting and lovely, it turns heads and evokes waves, smiles, and snapped photos as it chugs pleasantly along at a top speed of 6 mph.
From this vantage point, I can appreciate this marvel of engineering, of grit and ingenuity the Erie Canal was, the vital role it played in the United States’ emergence as an Industrial giant in the 19th century and a dominant economic power in the 20th century.
There is no place in the United States like the Erie Canal, and no experience like having your own self-skippered canal boat – our floating home for the week – and a bicycle with which to explore the towns that were literally birthed by the canal. And to a New York City kid, seeing this bucolic countryside is a revelation. (“This is New Yawk!”)
It is extraordinary and thrilling to travel on the 363-mile long Erie Canal that slices through New York State and played such a vital part in the nation’s history, especially as we go through locks that are filled for us, and under bridges that must be lifted for us to pass.
Most of all, it lets us explore and appreciate the extraordinary innovation and ingenuity that developed because of the Erie Canal, the villages and towns, the factories and businesses that developed, and how the canal turned New York City into a global financial capital, and united the East with the West, how it funneled thousands of immigrants who populated the Midwest.
This is a true adventure. One where there are new discoveries, new insights, new perspectives formed with every new encounter. The Erie Canal birthed these places and now we see how they are being reborn, revitalized.
Going through one of the locks on the Erie Canal, New York State (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Setting off on our first morning, I have rarely felt that exhilarating sense of being so fancy free – to not have a set itinerary or schedule or even know where I am going or what I will see, but to have the power and ability just go where your curiosity leads. It is a marvelous.
We had trepidation about navigating the boat – a 41-foot long houseboat, like a floating RV – docking and most intriguingly going through the locks along the canal. But when we arrive, we get a two-hour orientation – every aspect about operating the boat, plugging in to electricity and water; how to turn on the engine, the stove, the shower, flush the toilet; how to recharge the batteries by running the engine in neutral; how to operate the radio and the correct protocol when contacting bridge and lock operators to “request passage”.
We are taken on a “shake-down” cruise that includes going back and forth through a lock. We are provided with a chart book and a handy sheet that lets you approximate how many hours between ports (important to keep track of the hours the lift operator is available).
Key advice: “Don’t approach anything faster than you would care to hit it.” The steel-hulled boat is powered by a 50 horsepower diesel engine; its top speed is 6 mph, and it weighs 11 tons “so you can’t get into trouble,” we are told.
The canal boat is outfitted with just about everything you might need – from ponchos to potholders to paper towels. There is even a grill and BBQ tools and canisters of propane. There are safety devices, a tool kit, even a sewing kit.
Our boat, the Canadice, is 41 feet long and can sleep 4 people (one double bed and two bunk beds in the galley; a well designed galley kitchen with small refrigerator and freezer; a shower; a table and sitting area in the bow), suitable for a family; the largest Lockmaster can accommodate 6 adults.
Within moments, the thrill of what this is all about floods over me: This is a real adventure, where have to do everything yourself, not have it done for you, make decisions.
Going through a lock on the Erie Canal: the lock tenders are extremely helpful (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
As we sail along, I reflect on how lovely this boat is: the gorgeous knotty pine wood detailing; the varnished wood seats and a railing that makes for a back rest as you hold the tiller, brass and varnished wood. The cabin is beautiful knotty pine. It has a canvas canopy over the helm and even on a hot day, the breezes as we travel are delightful. The bow has screens with plastic and canvas that zip and snap easily so we can close everything up in the event of rain and a table that can even be moved inside.
The design for the Lockmaster came from Peter Wiles, Sr., who was a key architect of the transition of the Erie Canal from commercial to recreational use. He had a small tour boat business on Skaneateles Lake and went to England to see the self-skippered canal boats that operated on the Thames, and brought back the concept for boats that he would design and build here.
Wiles took the charm and the traditional design but adapted the boat to the Erie Canal, with a wider (roomier) beam, mostly flat bottomed and do not have a keel (the Erie Canal is only about 12-feet deep and is actually filled and drained each season). He founded the MidLakes Navigation company which, when we visit, is run by his children, Sarah and Peter Wiles (the company has since been acquired and renamed Erie Canal Adventures).
Fairport
We soon get the hang of piloting the boat, and after a couple of hours sailing, we come to Fairport, a most charming town, with shops and restaurants right along the canal. It is a picture-perfect model of revitalization.
Fairport did not exist before construction of the Erie Canal dried up a swamp and produced a “fair port” for travelers. “Commerce thrived as entrepreneurs turned ideas into products,” says one of the best guides to this portion of the canal, “100 Must See Miles”
Henry Deland’s mansion is now the Green Lantern Inn, Fairport, one of the canaltowns on the Erie Canal (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.ccm
One of these entrepreneurs was Henry Deland who had the idea to produce baking soda from wood ash. The building right on the canal and next to the bridge where there is now a delightful Towpath Cafe was where Deland manufactured his baking soda which was transported by canal to international markets.
Just up Main Street, on the south side of the canal, I find the Deland Mansion, built in 1876. After Deland made his fortune in Fairport, he bought land and founded Deland, Florida in 1876, which he thought to build into a citrus, agricultural and tourism center. He sold his northern business and hired people to clear land, lay out streets, erect buildings and recruit settlers, most from upstate New York; he lost his fortune in an orange freeze in 1885.
The mansion is magnificent: Second Empire style with tower, porches, fireplaces, it was one of the grandest private residences in western New York. After several private owners, including the Clark Family, the Deland Mansion opened as the Green Lantern Inn sometime after 1928, and served as a restaurant, speakeasy, rooming house, banquet hall.
The mansion is across from the First Baptist Church, which was built at same time as Deland built his mansion.
Each of the canal towns we visit has done a superb job of using historical markers and photos to illustrate the “then and now.” As we follow them, it is like a story that unfolds.
At Fairport, there is a marker that shows how Old South Main Street “yields to urban renewal: Commercial block changes from necessities to niceties.”
The beauty of the canal boat is that you can organize the day around what you want to do – whether it is to just hang out in a town – perhaps visit a museum. Our main purpose is to position us to bike the towpath. And so we tie up the Canadice at Fairport, take down our bikes from the roof, and head out about 7 miles to the next major town, Pittsford, along the canal bikeway. It is one of the prettier rides, with lovely homes on the canal.
The Great Embankment, Erie Canal, New York (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Just before Pittsford, we cross over a mile-long section called “The Great Embankment.” This is the highest canal embankment, actually built over the Irondequoit Creek which rushes through a tunnel under the canal.
In the earliest days of the Erie Canal, the embankment thrilled both onlookers and passengers as boats seemed to travel in midair over the mile-wide valley created by the Irondequoit Creek. The canal has been rebuilt three times since it originally opened in 1823. The original canal was a mere four-feet deep and 40-feet wide; three times it was enlarged, made deeper (first 7 feet deep and 70-feet wide, then 12-feet deep and 120-feet wide), and in many cases, moved entirely to make a better route as boats became motorized.
This is our first introduction to the engineering of the Erie Canal. I really hadn’t even thought of the canal as having a false bottom, that the canal is actually drained (around November 1), and refilled (around May 1) each season.
The Great Embankment is a revelation, but we will find even more dramatic examples of engineering, as we explore by bike and boat.
We return to Fairport, and prepare to get underway again – actually boating back to Pittsford.
It’s just passed 6 pm when we leave Fairport.
But to leave Fairport, you have to go under a lift bridge, and Fairport’s is very distinctive: it is constructed with no right angles.
Bridge at Fairport (no right angles) lifts for us to sail under, on the Erie Canal, New York State (c) Kaaen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
There are 16 lift bridges on the Erie Canal, all of them in the west, and the eastern-most one is here at Fairport. The bridges are delights to look at – they have ornate towers and it is wonderful to watch how they work.
We have been instructed on the etiquette of using the radio to ask the lock tender to lift a bridge or open a lock. Some are covered by operators handling multiple bridges, so you might be told to standby and wait for the operator to get back to the bridge. (take note of the hours of operation – westward from Macedon toward Buffalo, the locks are open 7 am to 10 pm; eastward to Lake Oneida in Syracuse (the boats do not go all the way to Albany), the lifts operate 7 am to 7 pm).
Pittsford
We tie up for the night at Port of Pittsford Park, right below the Main Street Bridge (there is no charge but some of the ports along the canal charge up to $15 to overnight).
We stroll the charming streets (and there are some gorgeous residential streets as well), and see what an affluent community Pittsford is. Old money and new money poured in over the last 15 years to revitalize the downtown area.
Pittsford was settled in 1789 by Revolutionary War veterans, but it was the Erie Canal that first brought prosperity to the town, because it facilitated transport to market of tons of heavy gravel from the nearby hills.
We see stunning Victorian-era buildings – the Phoenix Hotel, built in 1812 in the Federalist style, 1812 to serve the Erie Canal and Turnpike trade, restored 1967 as an office building across from the Town Hall, dated 1890. There is also the Canal Lamp Inn, a stunning Victorian, right beside the canal bridge. (Self-guided walk through Pittsford, villageofpittsford.org).
Just minutes after we finish our picnic dinner of pizza and get inside our boat and close the hatches, it starts to pour. We are cozy inside. We hear the patter of rain as we watch a DVD on our computer.
Cruising in a canalboat on the Erie Canal, New York State (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
The star attraction – and the major character – in this travel epic is the Erie Canal, itself. The historic markers we come upon are like chapters in the story, and as our trip unfolds, our appreciation of what the canal was, what it represented, and the impact it had, grows.
All 11 Lockmasters in Erie Canal Adventures’ fleet sail from Macedon, near Rochester, NY, and with enough time, you can cruise some 200 miles from Buffalo to Lake Oneida in Syracuse along the canal. Besides sailing along the Erie Canal (as far as , you can also sail on other waterways, taking spurs south to the Finger Lakes, or north up the Oswego canal to Lake Ontario.
