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From
the mountains ... To the rivers ...
To the oceans ...
To a world of culture, education, sports and just
plain
fun.
In Northern New York, there are no trade-offs. You
literally can have it all — gorgeous natural surroundings, private isolation
with easy access to metropolitan areas, excellent schools for your children,
high-quality medicine for your family, and a comfortable, relaxed lifestyle amidst
some of the most scenic country and most enjoyable recreational opportunities
in America. The region is only a "secret" because many
people think New York State ends at the Hudson River. The farther
north you go, the more you're awed by the fresh, clean, green majestic
beauty of Upstate New York, culminating in the fabled North Country,
which Native Americans called the "Garden of the Great Spirit."
If you haven't heard about Northern New York, it's only because the
lucky folks who live here want to keep it all to themselves.
High Quality of Life ... Low Cost of Living
From the mountains
Start with the incredible Adirondack
Mountains, one of America's last great wilderness regions,
where it's still possible to hike, fish, hunt, climb,
ski, camp, canoe and explore for endless miles without
seeing
another human soul. Hundreds of pristine
lakes and thousands of acres of thick, green pineforest
make up this enchanting area, which lends its riches
to the naturalist and the fun-seeker alike.
Nestled in the Adirondack Mountains is Lake Placid,
home of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. So whether
you participate in or just enjoy watching competitive
winter sports - luge, ski jumping, hockey, figure skating,
and more - the Olympic village of Lake Placid will
welcome you for a day-trip or a long weekend getaway.
At the foothills of the Adirondacks is the Tug Hill
Region, which gets as much snow as any part of the country. The ground
disappears in October and returns in May. In between,
it's a winter wonderland of white powder skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, snowshoers and
just plain snow lovers, who can enjoy snow fun
right up to their ears -literally.
To the rivers
Nearby is the magnificent, historic St. Lawrence
Seaway, 454 miles long, where you can find one of nature's true wonders:
the Thousand Islands. Actually, there are 1,864 islands, stretched out
in the river like diamonds in a necklace. A river so clean it's compared to
the Caribbean by Northeastern scuba divers. The islands are all
shapes and sizes, some with just enough space for
two
trees and an osprey nest, others big enough for a castle
- like Boldt Castle, where visitors come every year
to learn about the tragic love story that built it
and stay for the sheer awe it inspires.
And for faster water, the Black River offers kayakers,
whitewater rafters, and fishermen some of the best recreational opportunities
around. Considered some of the "biggest" water
in the eastern United States, the Black River is
being reviewed by the International Freestyle Committee
as a future site for the World Freestyle Kayaking
Competition.
To the oceans
Follow the mighty St. Lawrence east, and you'll
pass through Quebec and on toward Newfoundland,
Nova Scotia and the great Atlantic Ocean. Follow it
west and you'll come to the smallest and most inviting
of
the Great Lakes - Lake Ontario - if you consider 7,540
square miles of rolling blue water "
small." It's more like an "inland ocean" of
opportunities for great boating, swimming and fishing,
with Toronto and other Canadian ports on one side and
the United
States on the other.
To a world of culture, education, sports and just
plain fun.
Culturally, the entire region is a living monument
to our country's earliest history. It's where the French came from Canada
and the British from across the Atlantic; where
the Dutch trapped and traded with the Iroquois, the
Algonquin and the Mohawk; where the French and Indian
Wars and
much of the American Revolution were fought; where
the War of 1812 lives on to this day in the restored
battlements of Fort Henry, Fort Wellington and the
Sackets Harbor Battlefield; and where our very system
of government took some of its precepts from the model
of the great Iroquois Confederacy.
Museums are everywhere
- military, nautical, cultural, artistic, scientific, agricultural, technological, even criminal. You'll
find theaters for drama-lovers, galleries for art-lovers,
and concert halls for music-lovers. Being a prime vacation
land, there are always festivals, celebrations and
special events, from the Antique Boat Show on the shores
of
the St. Lawrence to the Busker's Rendezvous
on the old-European-style streets of Kingston, Ontario,
Canada.
For the sports-minded, there is nothing short of
everything - 30 public golf courses; more lakes,
rivers, ponds and streams than you can count; tennis
courts and clubs galore; horseback riding through the
most
glorious country imaginable; fishing, hunting, swimming,
boating, hang gliding, hiking, rock climbing, biking,
and scuba diving; skiing on snow or water, cross country
or downhill - and anything else you can do or dream
you
can.
When your children aren't being educated by the
sheer beauty of Northern
New York itself, they're
receiving a first-rate education in the classrooms
of its schools and on the campuses of its colleges.
Elementary and high school children learn in smaller
classes with more individual attention, and the distractions
of
a fast-paced, urban lifestyle are worlds away. For
higher education, some of America's top - ranked institutions
are right here, such as St. Lawrence University
and Clarkson University, a premier school for engineering
and technology.
In short, the "Garden of the Great Spirit" still
is a garden spot of natural beauty, fantastic recreation,
superior education, abundant culture, and historic
past. For living, working and raising a family, it's
the Northeast's best kept secret.
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