Best day trips from Albany, ranked
Saratoga Springs main street in autumn
Albany sits within 90 minutes of some of the Northeast's best small-city, mountain and river escapes — here are the 7 worth the drive.
The essentials
Saratoga Springs (35 minutes north on I-87) is the best day trip: Broadway shopping, the Saratoga Race Course from late July through Labor Day, the Adelphi Hotel for a drink, and 15 Church for dinner. Troy (15 minutes north) has a genuinely fun Saturday farmers market and the antique-brick downtown that Albany kind of lacks. Hudson (40 minutes south) is Warren Street's antique-shop-and-restaurant stretch — worth an afternoon.
The nature options
Thacher State Park (25 minutes west) has the Indian Ladder Trail along a Helderberg cliff — free, dramatic, and open May through November. Grafton Lakes State Park (35 minutes east) for swimming in summer. The Berkshires — Williamstown for the Clark Art Institute or North Adams for MASS MoCA — are 75 minutes east and easily a full day. In fall foliage season (mid-October), any of these become 30% more worthwhile.
Before you book
The questions people ask about Troy, answered with this month’s numbers.
Saratoga Springs during racing season (late July through Labor Day), or Hudson for antiquing and dinner outside of that window.
Barely — there's a bus but the schedule is impractical for day-trippers. Rent a car for the day for around $50.
