By Elena Price
New York, the famous Empire state, is too often unfairly confused with, or overshadowed by, it’s eponymously-named largest City, yet it contains a treasure-house of extraordinary natural beauty, buildings of historical importance and many attractions to rival, or outshine, any of America’s forty-nine other stars on the flag.
New York is one of America’s best-known, most populated and visited states; its reach spreads from the border with Canada and the great lakes down to its lowest points close to nearby Philadelphia, and from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Chautauqua-Allegheny region at the West. From the dense urban areas of the Bronx in New York City to the vast Catskills park upstate or the Adirondack mountains, the geographical variety it contains is remarkable.
So, too, is its cultural geography: any space containing NYC with its estimated 800 languages spoken, its impossibly vast mixture of nationalities, whilst accommodating the small-town life of cities like Schenectady or Ithaca or the serene Mohawk reservation of Akwesasne cannot fail to represent a very American miracle of diversity.
Another great asset of New York is that the state houses many great American buildings, redolent with meaning to the nation and its values: there are of course, the skyscrapers of New York City to visit, and Wall Street, ground zero; but New York State is also home to the Federal Hall Building, a hugely important historical site where the Bill of Rights was passed, and where the presidential inauguration of George Washington took place.
Moving upstate, the historical town of Rochester possesses George Eastmann house, the world’s oldest museum dedicated to photography, holding a worldwide reputation for its collection, also recognised as a major historical building in itself as the mansion belonging to George Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodiak company. Also in Rochester, Susan B. Anthony House, is an official national historical landmark (recognised by the government): the home of the celebrated woman’s rights activist who was arrested in 1872 on its front porch after attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
One of the most popular cities to visit, on different merits, is Buffalo, the second most populous settlement in New York, facing the great Lake Erie and close to Niagara falls. If one visits in fall (or autumn) the seasonal russet foliage combined with the outstanding natural beauty of the area makes the town and its surrounding areas one of the most handsome in the north east.
Nearby, Niagara Falls is a breath-taking destination. A dramatic location at the border of the two great nations of Northern America, its waterfall’s wild torrents draw millions of visitors a year, and represents an excellent family-friendly attraction that should inspire an appreciation of nature from even the most committed of city-dwellers, and wide-eyed wonder from children.
The state’s beautiful national parks are a great draw for Americans and tourists alike: regarding the former, many citizens find a reaffirmation of their patriotism in the midst of one their nation’s great wildernesses; as for visitors, many discover a new side to America in contrast to the popular television depictions of the US as a land full of city-dwelling film stars- and explore its bounty with fascination.
The two largest and most visited parks are the vast Adirondack, to the eastern upper part of the state and the smaller, but equally scenic Catskills Park in the southern state area, several dozen kilometres North West of New York City.
Adirondack is the the largest park in the contiguous United States, constituting an unimaginable 6 million acres, comprising roughly 3,000 lakes and 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of streams, rivers and more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of hiking trails. An estimated 7-10 million tourists visit the park per year, no doubt to explore this unconquered kingdom of nature, and to visit the famous Adirondack Mountains that overlook its breath-taking forests and lakes.
The Catskills, although more spatially restricted, is a nonetheless a massive park full of topographical variation and natural beauty: from the Catskill Mountains through its reservoirs, creeks and forests. Coyotes are natural predators in the area, and at night they can be heard under the backdrop of the stars. The fauna of the park includes the rare black bear, bobcats and mink as well as high stocks of wild trout in the rivers.
From the larger-than-life world cultural hegemon that is New York City, with its unrivalled array of attractions, to the wilds of the national parks and the historical charm of her small towns, New York State is a testament to the richness of America’s wealth of natural and man-made assets.
Because of the size of New York it is also a very easy destination to fly to with some of the busiest and largest airports in the world. If you fly into New York City you can even get from the airport to your hotel or destination using one of the iconic yellow cabs.
