End-of-Summer Staycations for the Rochester, NY area
by Debra Ross
Is the school year fast approaching but you want to have a last hurrah to summer with your kids? KidsOutAndAbout has you covered with great ideas close to home!
The Wine, Women, Wearables, and Water Staycation around Seneca Lake
Suppose you want to launch your kids right into the school year with some great new clothes, an outdoor adventure that involves plenty of waterfalls, and a little bit of education? We recommend heading east on the Thruway for a gorgeous car ride through the rolling hills of Seneca Lake wine country down to one of our area's premiere destinations!
Always when you plan an action-packed staycation day with your kids, you want to save the best for last. So it depends what YOUR kids think is the best. For some, shopping is where it's at, so that should come toward the end of the day. For others, you want to save the outdoor adventure for the end as the ultimate reward, and they may want to crash afterward. So do this trip either forwards or backwards, depending on your own kids' inclinations:
1. Wearables: Clothes shopping at Waterloo Premium Outlets, about 40 minutes from Rochester.
2. Women's Rights: Jump a few miles east to Seneca Falls for a free trip into the Women's Rights National Historic Park collection of buildings. You'll spend up to an hour there, depending on whether you see their little movie, appropriate for all ages. Take a selfie with a life-sized bronze sculpture of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others from the history of the first Women's Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls in 1848. The Visitor's Center is typically open Wednesday through Sunday, but in August they are also open on Monday and Tuesday.
3. Wine and Other Natural Wonders: Head south on 414 down the east side of Seneca Lake. Did you know that the many and varied wineries along the trail are also very family-friendly? They are filled with cool people who like to educate you about win, plus neat products in addition to offering wine tasting. We bought fudge, honey, crafts, and a mug at various winderies in one afternoon.
4. Water at Watkins: The Water part of this trip is the series of waterfalls at Watkins Glen State Park. Climb up 800 steps along 19 waterfalls up the height of a 70-story building... or take a $5 bus ride up to the top and hike DOWN the stairs. This hike is not one on which you'll want to bring active toddlers who are always bent on escape (you'll be too nervous they'll head over the waist-high rock barriers), but sensible older kids and babies in backpacks are fine. (You'll want to leave the strollers in the car.) Parking at Watkins Glen is $8/carload. In 2015, Watkins Glen State Park was voted the #3 best state park in the U.S. in USA Today's Reader's Choice Poll.
Bounce Around Rochester
A bit closer to home, there are lots of memorable places your kids can bounce. We recommend mixing a very low cost with some slightly pricier options for fun and variety. KidsOutAndAbout has a whole list of places where kids can jump and bounce. Here are some fun options:
Jumping Pillows: Wickham Farms in Penfield and Long Acre Farms in Macedon have outdoor jumping pillows; those two places are open all the warm season from May through October. Wickham Farms lets you pay for individual activities one by one (like their mini-golf, batting cages, and corn maze), whereas with Long Acre Farms you're paying one low price to visit what they call their "Back 40" activities. Stokoe Farms, in Scottsville, has a jumping pillow, too, but it is only open from mid-September through the end of October, which won't help you for a summer staycation. Brown's Berry Patch in Albion, which had a pillow, closed as of early 2015.
Indoor Bouncing Fun: Indoor playgrounds such as Jump Club in Brighton and Bounce-It-Out in Pittsford offer indoor bounce houses and structures that will thrill and exhaust your kids up to age 10, while you chat patiently with your friends or use the local Wi-Fi. For gentler jumping fun for the toddler and preschooler set, visit The Sandbox in Fairport.
Gain Real Altitude: The latest indoor play craze to hit the nation is indoor trampoline parks. Rochester's first one, Sky Zone, in Greece, opened in December 2013 and within a year had zoomed its way to #8 on KidsOutAndAbout's annual survey of the Top 20 Places to Take Kids in Rochester. Altitude Trampoline Park opened in 2015 in Henrietta at South Town Plaza. I have yet to meet a kid who has been to either place who isn't dying to go back. This is a little pricier option, but you can't beat it for an exhilarating staycation experience.
Thrills, Chills, and Skills
Three other trends sweeping the country have recently taken up residence right here in the Rochester area: an indoor racetrack, a cable wake park, and a high ropes adventure park... all within easy driving distance and perfect for a staycation!
Pole Position Raceway: One of Rochester's newest attractions is an indoor karting racetrack right within Marketplace Mall in Henrietta. Pole Position Raceway lets you race electric cars around an indoor racetrack in the old Bon-Ton wing, making your heart race almost as thoroughly as if you were doing something other than steering a cool little electric car up to 40 miles per hour. Pole Position also has a junior program, and you can even send your kids to camp there! Some of the most enthusiastic racers could probably spend the whole day there, but we'd suggest doing it as a fun end to your back-to-school shopping at Marketplace Mall. Head in there first to make your appointment, then shop, then come back and have fun!
Roseland Water Park's new Wake Park: Roseland Wake Park, the first cable wake park in the Northeast, opened at Roseland Water Park in Canandaigua in July 2015. The cable wake park at Roseland is a five tower system that can accommodate up to nine wakeboarders, wake skaters, knee boarders or water skiers at the same time since the average speed is 18mph. The wake course includes a variety of jumps, rails and pipes for guests to hit. In addition to the cable park, they have the Aqua Glide, which is a floating obstacle course/jungle gym. This is more for older kids and adults than for the younger set, so if you have a range of ages of kids, we'd definitely advise bringing along multiple adults, so that one can stay with the younger kids in the main part of Roseland Water Park while another can hit the boards (did I say that right?) with the older ones. The Learn to Ride package for the wake course is $49, including equipment, lesson, and ticket for the course, in addition to the regular entrance fees at Roseland.
Bristol Mountain Aerial Adventures: Bristol Mountain Aerial Adventures is an outdoor ropes course located up in the trees at the top of Bristol Mountain in Canandaigua. They opened in 2014, offering a variety of high-ropes challenges for both kids and adults in a natural setting. After careful instruction on the use of the gear, you're set free to climb through the course in the trees. There are seven regular courses (click here for the KidsOutAndAbout review of the regular courses) and two new kids courses (click here for the KidsOutAndAbout.com review of these new 2015 additions for younger kids). Elements include zip lines, tight rope walk, rope ladders, and bridges. Reservations are highly recommended to avoid disappointment. Expect to spend at least 2-4 hours on the course, even the kids course.
So... what are YOUR favorite staycations in the Rochester area? Email me at ross@kidsoutandabout.com with your suggestions!