Manorville, NY Outdoor Activities

Berkshire Bike and Board stables a crew of bicycle-savvy mechanics, who assemble shipped parts from brands such as Giant, Scott, and Felt into road-worthy cycles. Sales staff call on their own riding passions to help customers peruse the stock of hybrid, mountain, road, and children's bikes and select the vessel most suited to their needs. Patrons can then take their preferred model on a test ride to ensure that the bike is a good fit and harbors no ill feelings toward the family automobile. A lifetime of free tune-ups accompanies each of the shop’s cycles, and an array of aerodynamic gear can keep bikers safe and comfortable. Temporary cyclists can also borrow from an onsite rental fleet. Men’s and women’s snowboards and snowshoes round out the selection to help customers conquer the mountains in any season.

Colossal train engines once pulled hefty freight along the O&W Railway's main line. Today, where the rails lines formerly cut through glistening tree canopies, a 2-mile unpaved trail splices through six rural hamlets, just 90 miles from New York City. It's along this rails-to-trails path that Woodridge Segway Tours whisks its adventurers through beautiful mountain views, clean country air, and the sounds of fresh water trickling. With safety helmets securely atop their heads, tour takers steer the two-wheeled segway transporters with intuitive gestures: leaning forward to go ahead, leaning backward to reverse, and pulling on their ears to make the segways sing.

There’s a fire in the field and only one way out. Unfortunately, that way is twisted and riddled with dead-ends. But at the end, past 5 acres of carved paths and corn-themed puzzles, past thousands of stalks of corn swaying in the wind, past delirious visions of poker-playing scarecrows, is a fire hose. Such is the theme of Ellms Family Farm’s interactive Hero Rush Amazing Maize maze, an obstacle that carries on pastoral autumn traditions with roughly 90 minutes of music and fun. Yet this maze is just one way that the Ellms family celebrates the changing season—it also serves up crispy apple-cider donuts, lobs wee ones into the air on the farm-favorite Jumping Pillow, and treats guests to a number of other themed activities it has developed over the years.

The farm’s history stretches back to 1984, when Chip and Sally Ellms planted their first batch of Christmas trees and began inviting visitors to stop by and admire the easy wind and downy flakes of winter. As the family grew, the farm kept pace, expanding to cover more than 200 acres and incorporate activities that help guests celebrate autumn as well. Throughout the harvest season, guests flock to the fields to play conductor or coal shoveler on the MooMooChooChoo train or pick out fresh pumpkins in the patch.

Looking to put a new spin on a classic family activity, the minds behind Glowgolf decided to give the game a phosphorescent update. Incandescent courses place friends and family amid a tropical-fantasy golf world of neon orange, green, and violet surroundings. Players putt luminous orbs through vibrant treasure chests and glimmering windmills while negotiating tricky obstacles near walls portraying black-light-lit aquatic scenes. With more than 20 locations spread over 10 states, Glowgolf's fluorescent labyrinths challenge human players and traveling gnomes.

History books chronicle the happenings of politicians and leaders of a country, state, or city, but a folklorist shares the stories and lives of the people who made a community what it is. In the Ghosts & Legends tours—a series of tales about the local and infamous—Randy Felts weaves a blend of south Texas history and tall tales that date back up to 500 years. Randy loves a good ghost story, but what he loves even more is sharing a good ghost story. As a USA Today writer puts it, “Felts likes to emphasize history, culture and drama rather than ghost hunting,” which is further exemplified by his lack of paranormal investigative equipment on each nightly tour.

Certified by the US Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and drawing upon more than three decades of in-sky experience, master pilot and instructor Dan Guido teaches the basics of foot-launch hang-gliding to a new generation of enthusiasts. He puts SSusquehanna Flight Park’s five training hills and one mountain launch to good use by introducing fundamentals during beginning practice runs or demonstrating how to stop at eagle crossings during advanced soaring sessions. Lessons schemes range from single introductory sessions to the six-session Hang One program, which helps new fliers earn their USHPA Novice rating.