The 5 Best Outdoorsy Towns to Explore in New York

Since New York is best known for New York City, many people often forget that the rest of the state is virtually a nature-lovers' paradise, with expansive forests, crystalline lakes, and mountains galore. As such, when it comes to exceptional outdoorsy towns in New York, there are almost too many to count. But, there are some that stand out from the rest in terms of beauty, accessibility, and the uniqueness of activities offered!

Ithaca

Fit snugly in the middle of New York on the bottom edge of Cayuga Lake and to the right of Watkins Glen State Park, Ithaca is perhaps most famous for being the home of Cornell University. But, it should be better known for how perfectly located it is in regards to offering a plethora of outdoor activities.

With close access to numerous other state parks and state forests, Ithaca is an adventure town in New York famous for waterfalls, trails, and deep gorges that slice into the land. However, the very best part about Ithaca is how accessible everything is, with Cornell students favoring the Cascadilla Gorge Trail to visit waterfalls in their time off, and Cayuga Lake for fishing and boating in the summer. Then, outside of the hikes through the gorges and to the waterfalls, there’s also excellent birding in this area of New York, with falcons and bald eagles being particular favorites. 

New Paltz

This nature town in southern New York has many classic outdoor activities that New Yorkers love, like hiking, birding, and biking, but it is best known for a slightly more unique activity: rock climbing. New Paltz sits at the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains, known widely in the climbing community as one of the best places to rock climb in all of North America.

This is the case for a few reasons, but mainly it revolves around the fact that most of the cliff faces are climbable, of high quality, and perfect for “traditional” climbing, where one person goes up first and relies on the features of the cliff to find a hold, puts temporary gear in place, and then the second person behind them removes the gear as they continue upwards. In other words, New Paltz is practically a traditional climbers' paradise, where they can climb some days, and choose one of the many popular hiking trails another day. 

Montauk

New York isn’t known for its beach life or coastlines, so Montauk is a refreshing change of pace for New Yorkers looking for a bit of the ocean. Located at the most southeastern part of New York and surrounded by the sea on three sides of the city, Montauk almost exclusively has ocean views and, as such, offers every manner of ocean-related activity available, like boating, swimming, kayaking, fishing, surfing, and more!

In addition to this, the town also offers trails that connect the beaches to other areas, like the Hither Hills State Park, where sand dunes reign supreme, and Camp Hero State Park, where you can access the trails on horseback as well. For those looking to see more animals, head to the shore to view sea lions, dolphins, and an occasional whale!

Lake George

This lakeside town is the perfect example of a town that can utilize the lake at every time of year. Located in northeastern New York, Lake George itself is a long, thin stretch of water with the town of Lake George sitting at its southernmost tip. The lake is clear, blue, and gorgeous, with many islands to explore and beaches to utilize. 

As such, it is a premier boating and watersports spot during the summer, fall, and late spring. Then, in the winter, ice fishing comes into play. But, of course, there are other activities to explore here, with mountains looming and forests just begging to be explored. The Adirondack Mountains offer hiking, biking, snowshoeing and winter sports, and wildlife watching, but the area around Lake George is particularly well known for its trails, like the Buck Mountain Trail.

Lake Placid

Lake Placid might be one of the most obvious outdoorsy towns in New York, as it is renowned as one of the best mountain towns in the United States and was the site of the Winter Olympics twice. Due to this, it’s hard to beat the amenities for winter sports that Lake Placid offers, including even more niche sports like dog sledding, ski jumping, bobsledding, and ice climbing.

But, although winter shines most in Lake Placid, the other seasons offer activities as well, with the lake offering watersports and the surrounding mountains hosting trails for hiking and biking. Additionally, the scenic nature of the landscapes has made the area rather popular for casual driving, so there are many viewpoints and lookouts to pull into. 

New York is more than its famous city; there’s a whole state to explore! This state is covered in forests, dotted with lakes and crossed with rivers, and rises high with mountains. As such, there’s all manner of activities to go along with such gorgeous landscapes, some of which are Olympics-worthy, and others are local havens. So, why wait? Go out and visit New York’s most outdoorsy towns!