Faraway, so close: Short-trip plans for our New York summer

Two weeks of train travel across Europe. Rolling cross-country like a vagabond beatnik. Following your favorite band up and down the east coast.

These are serious summer travel plans—but every seasonal sojourn doesn’t have to be so ambitious.

Sometimes, the best trips are the quick jaunts to idyllic locales less than three hours from your front door. Could be for a week; could be for a long weekend. Either way, it’s a change of scenery to refresh your perspective, recharge the batteries, and bask in the calm of someplace that’s not your bedroom or backyard.

Thankfully, we at The Martin Group have plenty of options that are just short drives from our four New York offices.

With trips planned to state parks, beaches, or the famed tennis courts of the U.S. Open, our associates in Albany, Buffalo, New York City, and Rochester already have directions to some convenient destinations across the Empire State and beyond. Here’s where we’re headed.    

Allegany State Park – Salamanca, NY

Distance from our Buffalo office: 64 miles

The traveler: Andrew Martis

As the largest state park in New York—and with two distinct developed areas, Quaker and Red House–Allegany provides plenty to see and do. Cabins and camping areas offer visitors a chance to embrace the rustic outdoors, while beaches and biking trails offer a nice combo of rest and recreation. Put it all together, and it’s a getaway beautiful enough to impress the likes of our senior art director.  

Lake Demons – Howard, NY

Distance from our Rochester office: 53 miles

The traveler: Katie Steelman

Note: This is not the setting of a 1980s horror flick. Instead, it’s a frequently mispronounced (demon = lemon), clandestine Finger Lakes destination, and one sought after for its boating opportunities, biking trails, and beautiful lakefront panoramas—which means plenty of photo ops for our expert copy editor.  

Cooperstown – Cooperstown, NY

Distance from our Albany office: 78 miles

The traveler: Jeanie Guity

Touring the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Sipping a few farm-fresh ales at Brewery Ommegang. Taking in a little theatre at the annual Glimmerglass Festival. It could all be on the agenda for a summer trip to Cooperstown. Depending on your speed and attention, it could all be crammed in a day—but we’ll assume our associative creative director plans to take her time. 

Bemus Point – Bemus Point, NY

Distance from our Buffalo office: 72 miles

The traveler: Andi Ridge

On one side of Chautauqua Lake rests the intellectual destination of Chautauqua Institution, perfect for quiet contemplation or group discussion about the works of Hawthorne and Hemingway. On the other is Bemus, an ideal place for our esteemed account director to enjoy some waterskiing, bar-hopping, or barefoot roaming between lakefront cottages.

Arthur Ashe Stadium – Flushing, NY

Distance from our NYC office: 10 miles

The traveler: Taylor Augustyn

It’s nice to be able to take a short drive (or subway ride) to catch U.S. Open matches and celebrate some of the most iconic moments (and personalities) in tourney history. John McEnroe’s acerbic brilliance. Venus versus Serena. Andre Agassi’s retirement. The echoes are everywhere, and our senior account manager’s ready for the experience.

Crystal Beach – Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada

Distance from our Buffalo office: 13 miles

The traveler: Sarah Warner

Once the esteemed home of the Comet, signature loganberry, and rectangle lollipops now replicated in local Buffalo grocery stores, Crystal Beach was part amusement park, part beachfront getaway. Today, it’s out of the rollercoaster business, but the beachfront relaxation is still in full effect. Just a short trip over the Canadian border for our senior account manager and others, it’s the perfect quick-drive escape.

Green Lakes State Park – Fayetteville, NY

Distance from our Albany office: 139 miles

The traveler: Brendan Kennedy

Comprised of two glacial lakes, surrounding forestry, and a Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course, the near-Syracuse spot is perfect for those looking for an alternative from heavier traveled state parks, but with just as much beauty. Our public relations manager and his family made their first visit last year, and are ready for a return engagement with the park’s rental boats and kayaks this summer.

Niagara-on-the-Lake – Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada

Distance from our Rochester office: 109 miles

The traveler: Bayley Ward

Finally, with a quick cruise up north, travelers can experience a little taste of old English royalty on the streets of Ontario’s cherished Niagara getaway spot. From the quaint shops of Queens Street to the ostentatious interiors of the Prince of Wales Hotel and British pub revelry of The Olde Angel Inn, there’s an endless array of options for our senior account manager and others to cross the Northern border—and turn back the clock.   

If you want to learn more about the experience, hobbies, and tastes of The Martin Group, click here.