I want to see SNOW!

Hi,

My boyfriend and I planning a trip to NYC from Christmas until about the 5th of January andI really want to see snow. We%26#39;re from L.A. and have never really seen a wintery snow like you do on t.v, post-cards, etc. My question is if places like Central Park will fill my desire to see trees and ground covered with snow, or if I should head upstate. I%26#39;ve been to NYC once before (but in April) and we might be going to Cooperstown (boyfriend is a huge baseball fan), will Cooperstown be more like the true winter I envision? I want to experience one of those Norman Rockwell winters at least once in my life. Thanks for any input!

I want to see SNOW!

Snow in NYC is entirely unpredictable. I remember years when there was hardly ever snow on the ground all winter, and I remember other years where there was snow on the ground non-stop from Christmas to almost Easter. The big lake-effect snow area for New York State -- where you are guaranteeed piles of snow all winter -- is just east of Buffalo (which of course is nowhere close to NYC, the southernmost point in the whole state.) One thing you might consider is an overnight jaunt from NYC to Burlington, VT -- you can fly there from LaGuardia for about $100 round trip, and the likelihood of snow up there is much greater.

I want to see SNOW!

As the previous poster mentioned, snow is very unpredictable. I think it was 3 years ago, we had a blizzard on Christmas day that dropped 10 inches of snow. Then the next year it was 50 degrees - you can never tell! If there is snow, Central Park will give you the vision you have of the trees and ground covered with snow.

You would definitely see snow in Burlington VT that time of year, though if you don%26#39;t want to travel quite that far you could take trains to CT or Westchester/Rockland counties in NY.

I would also suggest the Adirondack Mountain area of NY - or almost anything from Albany north.

Yep, your best bet is to go upstate (i.e. anyplace north of Westchester County.) Cooperstown sounds like a great idea!! Very quaint area.

By the way, snow is made out of frozen water and is cold. ;o)

OK, just kidding - but seriously, don%26#39;t forget the gloves and hat. I%26#39;ll never forget my freshman year roommate from Louisiana who ran outside in her pjs to run in snow for her very first time - only to run right back in and say, ';Damn, this stuff is cold and wet!'; LOL!

As far as your perhaps driving north from NYC....One thing about snow is you have to be very careful about ';heading up'; to it. It is beautiful but can be very very dangerous is you have no understanding of driving in it....sort of like having a %26#39;street sense%26#39;. You need to know how to brake in it, what to do if you start to skid, to be sure to wear seatbelts, to be vigilant of other drivers who might not know how to drive in it however good you are; to have a few items to survive getting stuck in it such as blankets, charged up phone, flashlight, snacks; to wear appropriate clothing even if the car does have heat in case you need to walk; to know how to get unstuck in some cases....bring kitty litter, shovel, rock the car. I learned to drive in Buffalo...in the snow belt where you could count on schools closing whenever there was a foot of snow(!) and snow could drift up to above ground electric wire... and when I came to Virginia I had to protect myself from nervous people hurrying home from work when there was barely an inch on the ground. Understandable that they were nervous, yes. They weren%26#39;t used to it.

I%26#39;m wondering, where is your stopover? Do you perhaps have a long layover in a cold northern city? Or in the interest of guaranteeing snow you might want to arrange it so. Someone here suggested Vt. as definitely having snow then. Just a thought.

At the end of December and the beginning of January, there is about a 25 percent chance that there will be snow on the ground in NYC. If you go 100 miles north, there will be close to a 100 percent chance.

Excellent advice, explorer3!

How aout checking out bus or railroad trips upstate? That%26#39;s way you%26#39;ll only need to hire a taxi (driven by a local person) to get from the bus depot/RR station to the attraction you are visiting.

This website shows what%26#39;s around the different areas of New York State. Click on ';Hudson Valley';, ';Catskills'; or ';Central'; regions. (That%26#39;s probably as far as you want to go during a short trip here.)

www.iloveny.com/search/regions_index.asp

It%26#39;s a really good general website for ideas, maps and recreation listings. Enjoy!

You would have a good chance of seeing snow in Cooperstown.

Btw, there%26#39;s the Norman Rockwell museum in Stockbridge, Mass., not too far off course from the drive to Cooperstown. (I%26#39;m not sure what%26#39;s open in Cooperstown in winter, are you?)

http://www.nrm.org/

snowsnowsnow: To summarize, there is no guarantee of snow anywhere in the northeast at any time, BUT the farther north and/or higher elevation you go, the higher the chance you will encounter your winter dream. If you are going to Cooperstown anyway, and please heed the words of caution about winter driving, stay an extra night and explore areas to the north and west such as the Syracuse area which gets the ';lake-effect'; snow previously mentioned. The Catskills (between NYC and Cooperstown) are another possibility for snow, but I don%26#39;t know anything about that area. Good luck!

A suggestion -- if you want a ';sure thing'; snow experience, take a trip us to the Adirondacks. Night life is going strong in Lake Placid, you can ice skate outdoors in an Olympic setting (rentals avail), check out a ski jump, and even try skiing Whiteface with an instructor -- if you%26#39;re a thrill seeker, try the luge or bobsled demonstrations. Sometimes there are dog sledding demos nearby and you can cross country ski, snowmobile rentals....Don%26#39;t just look at the snow -- come and play in it like we do! :)