Nothing in life is as soothing and gratifying as nature. Whether in its natural state, or man made, there is no greater miracle than looking at G-d's design and knowing the world is much bigger and beautiful than all of our problems. It is a beautiful way to raise your children as well. Nature will never fail anyone (except of course, the occasional natural disaster!). As soon as my first child was born, I would relieve myself from stress and put him in a snap n' go and just go to any botanical garden imaginable and take pictures. It was my therapy. Our tradition lives on and there is no shortage of beauty in and around New York City (you'd be surprised!!) From waterfalls to parks to ponds to mountains to rivers to preserves to hiking to gardens, every inch is a work of art! A lot on my list double over as two things. For example, most of the mansions I've visited have gardens, most of the parks have ponds or gardens or hiking, and vice versa. Most of these parks include playgrounds. A lot of these places are great to catch a sunset as well! Here is a complete and categorized list of all I've seen and all I still have yet to see! Follow me on instagram and facebook for live adventures (social links above) and share with your friends if you appreciate this page!
Mansions and Museums
Parks
Gardens
Hiking
Still on My Bucket List
Hiking/Whitewater Rafting/Tubing/Waterfalls
Bear Mountain https://parks.ny.gov/parks/13/details.aspx
Buttermilk Falls, Ithaca NY www.newyorkupstate.com and www.newyorkupstate.com/ithaca (did this as a child on a road trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls...you can swim here too)
Bushkill Falls, PA www.visitbushkillfalls.com (only two hour drive from NY)
High Falls Gorge, Upstate NY https://highfallsgorge.com (on a road trip to Lake Placid when the kids are teenagers...lots of hiking..no swimming)
Rainbow Falls, Watkins Glen State Park, Seneca Lake Finger Lakes (do this on the way on a road trip to Toronto or Niagara Falls) www.tripadvisor.com
Rainbow Falls, Ausable Chasm Keesville, NY (do this on the way on a road trip to Montreal) www.adirondack.net
River Tubing, Farmington, CT (do this on the way on a road trip to Boston) www.farmingtonrivertubing.com
Robert H. Treman State Park, Upstate NY (do this on the way on a road trip to Niagara Falls or Toronto. You can swim here too! This is near the Finger Lakes and Ithaca) parks.ny.gov/parks
Rockefeller Preserve, Pleasantville, NY https://parks.ny.gov/parks
Split Rock Falls, Upstate NY http://nnywaterfalls.com (on a road trip to Lake Placid when the kids are teenagers...you can swim here)
Stony Kill Falls, Upstate NY www.newyorkupstate.com and www.parks.ny.gov (only one and half hour drive from New York City, and you can swim here...NUDE!)
White Water Rafting, Delaware River www.sourcedadventures.com
Mansions and Museums
Heckscher Museum, Huntington NY https://www.heckscher.org/
Rockefeller Mansion: Kykuit, Sleepy Hollow NY http://www.hudsonvalley.org