Planning again: future three-weeker in the Northeast

February 2, 2026

lauren

bugsy at a view from acadia mountain — Bugsy in Maine in May 2019—Maine is not part of this trip plan

I started writing this post in the spring of 2025 and am revisiting trip planning while dreaming about escaping the East Coast ice. I had such fun planning a three-week trip for last May that I planned two routes–one heading south mostly staying in the Carolinas, and one into Upstate New York and New England. Since we were starting the May trip with a visit to my sister’s in NC, we did the NC/SC/GA loop, but the second route I came up with is worth stashing away for a future three-week window (outside of black fly season)!

Western Maryland – Myersville/Hagerstown/Antietam/South Mountain SP. This five-mile hike in South Mountain State Park caught my eye.
State College, PA: college towns are usually interesting, and we can hike Mt Nittany for a view. Campgrounds don’t look super convenient, but there are a couple Harvest Hosts options
Ithaca, NY: college town plus beautiful surroundings (“Ithaca is Gorges”)
Letchworth State Park, NY: home of the Grand Canyon of the East
Finger Lakes, NY – Geneva/Seneca Falls/Aurora? Our favorite bike tour operator visits towns in the area, so perhaps piggyback off their research
Lake Placid, NY: cute town, pretty lake. Explore the central Adirondaks, hike Hurricane Mountain
Montpelier/Stowe, VT: pop over and do some hiking in Vermont while we’re next door, including Camel’s Hump
Ticonderoga, NY: sweet town on Lake Champlain with Fort Ticonderoga. This campground on Lake George isn’t super close, but looks like a nice place to camp
Saratoga Springs, NY: History, horses, and scenery at Lake George and the southern Adirondaks. There’s a brewery that’s a Harvest Host in town
Lenox/Stockbridge, MA: old New England towns in the Berkshires; here’s a useful discussion about them and things to do in the area
East Stroudsburg, PA: a base in the Poconos from which to do some hiking in Delaware Water Gap
Winchester, VA: visit friends and enjoy the quaint old downtown, or maybe a more scenic spot along the Shenandoah River like this state park

Tags:

colleges, hiking, maryland, massachusetts, new england, new york, pennsylvania, state parks, towns, vermont

Comments

4 responses to “Planning again: future three-weeker in the Northeast”

Elizabeth
February 2, 2026
This looks amazing and I am saving it for myself!
Reply
1. bugsy
  February 2, 2026
  Yay!!!! I hope you get to do it!!
  Reply
Stephen
February 3, 2026
Oh man, so many of my favorite places from our road trip! Here are a few suggestions for some of those places:
Ithaca – We didn’t go ourselves, but others said they loved the Corning Museum of Glass which I think is near there
Letchworth State Park – We made a quick stop there and it was beautiful; there’s a great view of the Upper Falls & Genesee Arch Bridge on one of the trails
Finger Lakes – YEEEEEESSSSS! This was where we’d originally planned to move to after our road trip ended, but that was before November 2024 happened. I’d recommend Geneva as it’s a beautiful spot on the lake. Seneca Falls has some interesting stuff (particularly the Women’s Rights National Historical Park), but it’s not particularly cute in comparison. I don’t think we visited Aurora, so no opinion on there.
So many great wineries in the Finger Lakes, as well as some breweries. Three Brothers Wineries & Estate had loads of great beers on tap, so that’s somewhere I think you’d both like as they had a wide variety of options.
I highly recommend the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park – one of the most magical places we’ve hiked. There are tons of waterfalls in the area – Shequaga Falls in Montour Falls and Taughannock Falls were a couple of the best ones we saw.
Saratoga Springs – Artisanal Beer Works had ~35 beers when we visited, so you’d hopefully find something you like. That’s just outside of downtown IIRC; in downtown Saratoga Springs there’s Whitman Brewing Co which has lots of space both inside and out depending on what the weather’s like that day.
Montpelier/Stowe – Vermont is one of our happy places. You can do a Ben & Jerry’s factory tour. There are tons of covered bridges. If you’re into the Sound of Music, Trapp Family Lodge is drivable and that’s where the real life Von Trapp family made their home after escaping. There’s a brewery there too; the beer isn’t amazing, but it’s a fun place to visit with lovely views.
Get apple cider donuts at Cold Hollow Cider Mill. If you like hard cider, Woodchuck Cider House has loads of delicious ciders (I say that as someone who doesn’t tend to drink cider normally).
Hiking-wise, the views of Lake Willoughby after hiking up the North Trail on Mt Pisgah are spectacular. The gnats were brutal though.
I don’t know if this’d be too hard to visit given what happened last year with Bugsy, but the Dog Chapel at Dog Mountain is a beautiful place that honors and remembers dogs that have passed on. The chapel is covered inside with photos and notes about owners’ dogs who’ve crossed the rainbow bridge.
Winchester – You’ve probably visited in the past, but the Luray Caverns are very cool. Barrel Oak Winery is in a beautiful setting and is a Harvest Host location (or at least it was when we visited years ago).
If you visit in the fall, you might catch the Shenandoah Valley Apple Harvest Festival which had beer, cider, and all things apple.
Reply
1. bugsy
  February 4, 2026
  Holy cow this is incredible info Stephen! Thank you so much!!
  Reply