Ausable Chasm in the Winter

This Christmas break my family hopped in our Toyota Prius and road-tripped to the Lake Champlain region of the Adirondacks.  Although the ski conditions near our home in Massachusetts were just awful due to the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been experiencing, the conditions were great in the Adirondacks.

To start, we traveled to Plattsburgh by way of Vermont, taking the Grand Isle to Plattsburgh ferry.  It was incredibly easy to take the ferry, which runs every few minutes twenty-four hours a day, and saved us lots of time.  Once we arrived in Plattsburgh, it was just a short drive to the Comfort Inn and Suites, where we were staying for our trip. Read More »

The Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid, NY

Over Memorial Day weekend, my family made the almost six-hour drive from our home in suburban Boston to Lake Placid, New York.  The vacation was exactly what we were looking for – relaxation, quality time, and family fun.

As guests of the Mirror Lake Inn, we had a comfortable three-bedroom suite, complete with with a gorgeous, relaxing view of Mirror Lake.  It was great to just sit on the porch and look out over that view – especially in the morning and the evening, when it was so calm and quiet.

Memorial Day weekend in Lake Placid, while still busy, is a much slower time than the middle of the summer.  Many of the seasonal activities, including some of the Olympic Village activities, are closed until mid-June.  The weather is also a bit too chilly for beach activities, so the crowds tend to stay away.  For us, this was perfect for our purposes!

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By the time you finish reading this, I don’t say you’ll be walking on water like Tiger Woods, but you’ll know the best golf courses in New York State, how to get hold of tee times of your choice, and enjoy golf vacations without breaking the bank.

You could make it easy and book yourself into one of these fancy New York vacations with a few rounds of golf thrown in. But these are usually budget busters, designed for upscale tourists.

So, let’s start with the courses. Here’s a full list of all public and private courses in New York, categorized by city. If that sounds like information overkill, here’s a filtered list of all the best golf courses, categorized by state. FYI, the second link is the 2007 rankings from Golf Digest, for the best golf courses in each state.

But the only name you really need to know is Bethpage Black in Long island, where the U.S. Open will be held from June 15-21, 2009. You need to book tee times two days in advance, if you’re not a New York resident. Before you can use their reservation system, you need to be a registered user. About 30 miles and 45 minutes from NYC, with a $4 reservation fee and $100/120 for weekday/weekend fees. You’ll find a lot more useful and practical info here. Or, you could take the easy way out, and let NY Golf Shuttle do it for you.

Moving Upstate, the Adirondacks, and especially Lake Placid, have a lot more on offer, in terms of golf vacations which are tilted more towards offering a complete getaway experience, rather than just the golf. Select Inns offers cheap golf packages which include lodging, 18 holes of golf and cart. If you’re looking for something more exclusive, the Mirror Lake Inn is an award winning resort which offers upscale golfing packages which combine the golf with signature romantic getaways for couples.

If you’re planning a trip, check out flights to New York.

Photo credit - Golf.com