Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Politics
Popular Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo, NYC overwhelmingly
Democratic, upstate more conservative
Famous for
Niagara Falls (half of it), the Hamptons, wineries, Hudson River
Unusual river
Genesee River is one of the few rivers in the world that flows
south−north, from south central New York into Lake Ontario at Rochester
Driving distances
NYC to Albany 160 miles, NYC to Buffalo 375 miles
Information
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
(
800-456-2267, 518-474-0456;
www.nysparks.com
)
Camping, lodging and general info on all
state parks. Reservations can be made up to nine months in advance.
formation and more.
Uncork New York
(
585-394-3620;
www.newyorkwines.org
)
One-stop shop for statewide
wine info.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Long Island
Private-school blazers, nightmare commutes, strip malls colonized by national chains,
cookie-cutter suburbia, moneyed resorts, windswept dunes and magnificent beaches −
and those accents. Long Island, which accommodates the boroughs of Brooklyn and
Queens, has all of these things, and that explains its somewhat complicated reputation.
The site of small European whaling and fishing ports from as early as 1640, Levittown,
just 25 miles east of Manhattan in Nassau County, is where builders first perfected the art
of mass-producing homes. But visions of suburban dystopia aside, Long Island has wide
ocean and bay beaches, important historic sites, renowned vineyards, rural regions and of
course the Hamptons, in all their luxuriously sunbaked glory.
Getting There & Around
The most direct driving route is along the I-495, aka the LIE (Long Island Expwy),
though be sure to avoid rush hour, when it's commuter hell. Once in the Hamptons, there
is one main road to the end, Montauk Hwy. The
Long Island Rail Road
(LIRR;
