Things to Do in Watervliet

The adventurous tour guides at GO Mountain Biking! lead scenic nature-gazing rides for all skill levels as well as harrowing jaunts through rocky terrain for more experienced riders. Each client takes part in a phone interview before the tour to schedule a time and devise a game plan. Tours begin with a review of safety and technique before guests venture out into the wilderness of the Glens Falls area to enjoy the lush landscape, scope out resident wildlife, and gulp fresh, clean air without having to suck from a balloon inflated by Mother Nature.

Tumbling Tykes began as a dream of owner and mother Denise Pardo, who always wanted to create a safe environment for kids to play and learn. Today, her facility buzzes with the voices of sock-clad children who clamber across its indoor and outdoor playgrounds stocked with colorful posters, interactive toys, and stimulating play structures. All of these are designed to foster creativity and self-confidence, as well as promoting physical fitness and improving motor skills. Besides birthday parties and parent-supervised open-play sessions, the center also hosts camps and attentive instructors lead kid-friendly classes in art, music, and cooking.

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.

The 18-hole course at Rainbow Golf Club takes players careening across a 6,287-yard layout carved into the foothills of the Northern Catskill Mountains. Players rip tee shots from one of five sets of tees per hole, allowing for an enjoyable yet challenging round for greenhorns to green-jacket holders. As rental carts transport players across the well-manicured landscape, they must take care to avoid tree-lined fairways, undulating greens, and feral caddies looking to stock up on golf balls for winter's hibernation. The course's signature hole is the 13th, a 135-yard, par 3 that forces golfers to carry their tee shot over water onto an island green, the only known island in New York. A pro shop, practice facilities, and a restaurant with an outdoor patio overlooking the course all provide entertainment when golfers aren't practicing their postputt struts.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Total length of 6,287 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 70.8 from the back tees
• Course slope of 126 from the back tees
• Five sets of tees per hole

Over the course of its 100-year history, Arthur Murray Dance Centers has grown to more than 280 studios worldwide. The Saratoga Springs location is run by Safwat Gerges, a master examiner and adjudicator who has spent more than 25 years working for Arthur Murray Dance Centers. His staff includes Ricardo Sopin and Iraida Volodina, both decorated dancers who specialize in working with beginner students and, wedding specialists Asha Adamczak, Miranda Eldridge, and Tristan Reiman work with wedding couples.

The studio’s elegant, old-world hardwood floor is surrounded by exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling arched windows. Courses divvy students up by skill set and teach the many formal and social styles comprising ballroom, swing, Latin, and disco.