Schenectady, NY Outdoor Activities

At The Lazy Horse Equine Center & Hannanna Stables, steeds trot around the sandy footing of an indoor arena, two 60-foot round pens, and a sprawling outdoor space. During private and group lessons, instructors tailor the curriculum to individuals' experience levels, zeroing in on the basics of Western or English riding styles or expounding on advanced skills such as barrel racing or jumping. The center's staff also pioneers expeditions on nearby trails and boards horses in stalls spacious enough to accommodate their antique armoires filled with oats.:m]]

At Whispering Pines Campsites & RV Park, your ceiling is a lush forest canopy and your living room is set up in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. Seventy-five acres of pine trees surround the campsites, which are fit for both tents and RVs. In these dense forests, you can go fishing for trout in the local ponds, which are fed by a stream, or you can watch as sasquatch hide from paparazzi amid the towering trees.

You don't always have to rough it here, though. Whispering Pines has an aboveground swimming pool and volleyball nets, and you can clean up afterward in a hot shower. Many sites even have WiFi and cable TV. Additionally, downtown Saratoga Springs is only eight miles from the campgrounds; stop by here to check out its troves of museums and historic sites.

Nestled in the verdant mountains of Lake Luzerne, Adirondack Tubing Adventures launches inner tubes, rafts, and kayaks on guided adventures down the Hudson River. Watercrafts pile up around its rustic cabin, where colorfully painted school buses await to cart parties to their body of water of choice. Once there, a seasoned guide will steer vessels across calm waters, amidst lofty trees, and past inquisitive wildlife or Boy Scouts earning their bear-linguistics badges. The company keeps a full stock of water shoes, water toys, and floating coolers available for rent.

At Player’s Park, gentle hills and dales peppered with greenery surround an 18-hole miniature-golf course, the park’s scaled-down version of the nine-hole par-3 course. The par-3 course, open during the day and into the evening, provides players with short-game practice, just as the mini-golf course provides putt-polishing opportunities for players shorter than a putter.

In addition to hosting rounds of golf, Player’s Park stays true to its name by inviting kids to play on a row of bounce-house inflatables. Families can also visit the ice-cream parlor, where they can play the quiet game as they chow down on ice cream or other quick bites such as burgers, hot dogs, and fries. Designed for sit-down dining, the eatery has an air-conditioned interior as well as an outdoor porch for those who prefer Mother Nature’s air conditioner—the flapping wings of a curious butterfly.