Places to visit other than New York in and around the USA

When people visit New York, they tend to stick to the popular tourist attractions such as Times Square, the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty.” However New York is not all pollution, built up areas and hustle and bustle. Some areas of the state are extremely beautiful and many are shocked to find that a sense of nature and a taste of the real out doors are just around the corner. Below are a few of some of the impressive areas that you experience if you just step out of the city.

Letchworth state park

First on the list is the Letchworth state park. The park is approximately 17 miles long and covers 14,350 acres. The Genesee River flows through the park and is often described at the great grand canyon of the East. The river forms three distinct waterfalls, the upper, middle and lower between cliffs as high as 600 feet.

Upper Falls at Letchworth State Park (1)

Letchworth State Park has been named as one of the top 100 camping sites in the nation on multiple occasions. Open year round there is plenty to do in Letchworth State Park, whether it is exploring the 66 hiking trails, going for a horseback ride, or cross-country skiing.

The Park had been named as one of the top camping sites in the Nation and there is always something to do whether it’s snowboarding or hiking. The historic, restored Glen Iris Inn, Letchworth's former home is located on the top of a cliff overlooking Middle Falls, offers in-season meals and overnight accommodations. It is open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Other features of the park include pavilions, picnic tables, a playground, pool, cabins, campsites for tents, trailer sites with dumping stations, and horse-riding trails. The park is the present-day site of the grave of Mary Jemison., who is buried on the grounds of a Seneca Council House relocated there by Letchworth and rededicated in 1872.

Niagara Falls

Although it is quite a distance from New York, Niagara Falls is well worth a trip if you are visiting New York City. These gorgeous waterfalls straddle the United States-Canada border and are the most powerful waterfalls in North America, boasting an average flow rate of 1,500,000 US gallons per second.

Niagara Falls was formed at the end of the last ice age by a receding glacier and is composed of two prominent sections: the American Falls on the American side and the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. Tourism to Niagara falls became popular in the 18th century, even boasting a visit by Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Jerome, and sister-in-law Elizabeth, in 1804.

While never lacking, tourism to the Falls increased after the Marilyn Monroe film "Niagara" was released in 1953. More recently "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" was filmed in Niagara Falls. The majority of visitors come to Niagara Falls during the summer, and at night the Falls are illuminated by lights for several hours. If you want to get up close and personal with the Falls, the Maid of the Mist excursion boat has been taking tourists right up to the rapids at the base of the Falls since 1846.

Corning Museum of Glass

Situated in the Finger Lakes region in the city of Corning, New York, the Corning Museum of Glass is home to the largest comprehensive collection of glass objects and artwork in the world with more than 45,000 objects in the permanent collection.

"Cube Layers" at the Corning Museum of Glass (2) 

Corning Glass Works founded the Corning Museum of Glass in 1950. Corning Glass Works, which was founded in 1851, is a world leader in glass technology. The Corning Museum of Glass was designed as an educational institution focusing on the science and history of glass.

The Museum features the Glass Innovation Center which lets you examine the science behind glass through a variety of exhibits including fiber optics, disappearing LCD glass, and missile nose cones. A Hot Glass Show demonstrates the ancient art of glass blowing.

Thousand Islands

Why not leave the states, do some research on car hire Montreal for example and visit Canada. Right on the border of the United States and Canada border in the St. Lawrence River, the amazingly scenic Thousand Islands stretch for fifty miles. With the Canadian islands in the province of Ontario, and the U.S islands in the State of New York, the name is a bit of a no brainer as there are 1,793 islands in all. The Thousand Islands began gaining popularity in the late 19th century as many socialites from New York and Boston took to vacationing there and it is rumored that the Thousand Islands are the birth place of Thousand Island dressing.

(1) Full photo credit goes to Chris Waits - www.flickr.com/people/chriswaits/

(2) Full photo credit to Chris Dlugosz - www.flickr.com/people/chrisdlugosz/