Trip Planning for late Summer

January 14, 2010 6:43 PM

Trying to figure out the prefect trip for late July. So far my top two choices are Upstate New York and Montana. I'm not set on either but we have family in Milton and Cold Spring NY and I have heard that Montana is nice in the summer. I'd love any and all suggestions. We are in Texas so we are looking for a cool climate break (70s or 80s are ideal). Also we will have our 5 month old with us.

Here are the criteria....

*Affordable hotel/ b&b...with character. Would prefer under $1oo a night. Have always wanted to stay in a haunted hotel, so that'd be cool

*nature that's accessible...so that we can go on hikes or maybe go swimming

*quaint downtown/ not over run by tourists. With at least one cool coffee shop/ bookstore/ museum/ restaurant/ co-op

something like Alpine or Marfa Texas perhaps but with outdoor activities and slightly more to do. For the record, places like Jackson Hole are not our cup of tea. Too overpriced, too touristy. We want some place with history, where we can stroll around town or drive to scenic spots, hike or swim and just relax. And somewhere we won't spend an arm and a leg.

posted by madmamasmith to travel & transportation around New York, NY (6 answers total)

Cooperstown - several museums, Otsego Lake, beautiful scenery. Can I come?
posted by jgirl at 7:22 PM on January 14, 2010

We went to Ft Benton, Montana once from Texas and back the long, long way through Yellowstone. Ft Benton was nice and non-touristy. It's on the Missouri River and lots of historic sites, museum type stuff. Mostly, the weather was beautiful and it was just a nice relaxing place.

http://www.fortbenton.com/links.htm (can't hyperlink from my phone)
posted by tamitang at 7:54 PM on January 14, 2010

Finger Lakes in upstate NY.
posted by quodlibet at 8:36 PM on January 14, 2010

Bozeman Montana is very quaint, and although its busy in the summer with tourists - in comparison to anything on the East Coast, it'll seem quaint. There is a B & B near the downtown area called the Voss Inn. I'm not sure about the rates, but if that doesn't work out, there are plenty of hotels in the area that may fit your needs. The mountains around the area are amazing in the summer. In the winter they're full of skiers, but in the summer you'll have them to yourself. You may also want to look into Bigfork, Montana. Its adorable and very close to Glacier Park for hiking. Unfortunately, I'd love to recommend visiting Yellowstone to you, but (although its not terribly far from Bozeman) with a 5 month old it may be too far to go (and the towns around don't meet your requirements). Although Livingston, Montana is also an amazing small town to look into (even Anthony Bourdain recently devoted a whole hour of his show to it). I now live in New York and trust me, if you want mountains go to Montana. If you want hills come to New York.
posted by Unred at 10:18 PM on January 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

We went camping in Montana in the middle of July and it SNOWED during the night. I can pretty much guarantee you it will not snow in July in upstate NY.

It's a couple hours north of where your family is in NY, but I would suggest finding a place in the Adirondacks. Maybe around the Saranac Lake / Lake Placid area, though that might be a little on the touristy side depending on your definition of touristy, but definitely some cool little nooks & crannies. Also, there are a ton of hikes around here you can do with a five month old strapped to you no problem. Hadley / Lake Luzerne might fall on the other end of the touristy spectrum, but if you like hiking/swimming/rafting that's probably going to be in your price range. Plus, rodeo! Downside: no hip/trendy anything.

The Sagamore on Lake George, NY is supposed to be haunted, but forget under $100 a night in the summer and talk about touristy.

If you want to do day trips from downstate, try looking in the Catskills. Some of the old resorts there are kind of fun in a "trying desperately to get back to glory days" sort of way.
posted by Jugwine at 5:56 AM on January 15, 2010

Have you considered Grand Teton National Park? Its in Wyoming, but sounds like it could fit your bill.
posted by WeekendJen at 9:52 AM on January 15, 2010