Award Winning Adirondack Gilded Age Tour
Day Trip 

Guided tour of Great Camp Sagamore, the Vanderbilt family wilderness retreat for over 50 years and the only Great Camp open for public tours. Designated an "American Treasure" and a National Historic Landmark. Cruise and dine aboard the W.W. Durant. Indulge your senses with a historic cruise and luncheon, Sunday brunch or dinner. Sail by more Great Camps than anywhere else. Adirondack Museum tour. Fascinating regional history and art at the "Smithsonian of the Adirondacks." (NY Times) Did you know ? The Gilded Age Tour appears in the April 2000 issue of Better Homes and Gardens as part of the article, "Neighborhoods With a History." Did you know? The Gilded Age Tour partners received the New York State Millennium Arts & Business Partnership Award in 1999. In addition to the Gilded Age Tour, we have intermodal packages and multiday itineraries. 
Adirondack Gilded Age Web Site

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Rail/Sail/Sagamore
Day Trip 
Ride the train from Utica, NY to Thendara and relive the golden age of railroading on the line that played host to the rich and famous en route to their summer camps and grand old resort hotels at the turn of the century.

Go for the GOLD in Lake Placid
3 days/2 nights

DAY 1 - Guided Tour of Lake Placid and 1932 and 1980 Olympic Sites: explore one of the largest ice arena complexes in the world featuring 4 indoor ice rinks. Visit the Olympic Jumping Complex where ski jumping and free style training and competitions happen year-round. Nordic jumping takes place on the 90 meter hill all summer long with the use of a special porcelain covering on the landing hill. Ride the gondola to the sky deck atop the 26 story, 120m jump tower for a ski jumper's view of the jump ramp and the spectacular views of the surrounding High Peaks. Adjacent to the ski jumps is the year-round training site of the US Freestyle Team. In the summer months, Freestyle jumpers train by performing their flips, turns and twists landing in the 750,000 gallon pool instead of on snow! After lunch head for Ausable Chasm. Carved out by the Ausable River over the past 500 million years, the Ausable Chasm's massive stone gorge stretches out over 1 1/2 miles. Nature trail. 12-man raft or individual float tube river rides. In addition to or instead of Ausable Chasm, visit High Falls Gorge, another deep and dramatic ravine cut into the mountainside by the Ausable River, which drops over 700 feet in the course of four waterfalls.

Day 2 - Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) at Paul Smiths & Lake Placid Cruise. The VIC Center offers miles of surfaced trails, multi-image presentations, exhibits on the Adirondacks and park-wide information. Picnic lunch at the VIC. Then drive into the village and cruise the pristine waters of Lake Placid in an enclosed tour boat. The hour-long narrated tour travels 16 miles on one of the world's most beautiful lakes. Plenty of time afterwards to "stroll the strip"- shop! Depart the next day.

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Castles & Cruises
2 Days/1 Night

Day 1 - Overnight in Alexandria Bay. Two nation cruise on St. Lawrence w/guided tour Boldt Castle. Wine & cheese reception at hotel followed by dinner. After dinner entertainment!

Day 2 - After breakfast & check-out, depart for Great Camp Sagamore in Raquette Lake Guided tour Sagamore . Luncheon cruise aboard the W.W. Durant with historic narration.

Castles & Cruises
5 days/4 nights - Departing From America's Heartland Region

Day 1 - Check-in at hotel at Niagara Falls and depart for a tour of Niagara Falls. Highlights to include: Prospect Park, the US Observation Tower and a boat ride on the Maid of the Mist. This tour then continues to Canada with sights to include the Floral Clock, Whirlpool Overlook, Table Rock, a buffet dinner overlooking the Falls and the Illumination of the Falls.

Day 2 - After a continental breakfast at the hotel, depart for a day of sightseeing in Toronto, highlights to include: Old and New City Halls, escalation to the top of the CN Tower (the world's tallest free-standing structure), lunch on your own and time to browse at the Queens Guay Terminal, a tour of Casa Loma, an actual castle nestled in the heart of Metropolitan Toronto!

Day 3 - After breakfast at your hotel, depart for Alexandria Bay, NY on the St. Lawrence River After checking into hotel, Two Nation Boat Cruise on the St. Lawrence River and Guided Tour Boldt Castle Complimentary Wine & Cheese Reception at the hotel, followed by buffet dinner Evening entertainment featuring Ron Minor, Rag Time Piano

Day 4 - After breakfast and check-out, depart for Blue Mountain Lake Arrive Adirondack Museum, dubbed the "best of its kind in the world" by the NY Times, for lunch in their enclosed, glass cafeteria overlooking Blue Mt. Lake and self-guided tour. Depart Museum for Raquette Lake & Great Camp Sagamore, the Vanderbilt wilderness estate Guided Tour Great Camp Sagamore, designated an "American Treasure" and National Historic Landmark and featured on A&E's America's Castles TV series. Buffet dinner cruise on Raquette Lake, aboard the W.W. Durant, with historic narration as you sail by the Great Camp estates of Collis P. Huntington, Governor Lounsbury of Connecticut, the Carnegies and the Collier publishing family Overnight in hotel in Old Forge

Day 5 - Breakfast buffet and depart for home Consider a lunch stop at the Belhurst Castle in Geneva, NY on your way home.

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CASTLES & CRUISES
5 days/4 nights
Departing From America's Heartland Region

Day 1 - Meet your guide and be prepared for a grand day at the "Fabulous Falls." Visit Goat Island, where you'll see the best and closest views of the falls and rapids from the Luna Island and Terripin Point. Ride the thrilling Maid of the Mist Boat. In Canada, drive along the beautiful Niagara Parkway called by Winston Churchill "the most scenic Sunday afternoon drive in the world" to Table Rock, where you'll have a magnificent view of the Horseshoe Falls. Continue on the Parkway to see the Whirlpool and the Floral Clock. Your guide will give you facts, history, legends and tales of daredevils! Check into your hotel. After time to freshen up, depart for a dinner at a fine local restaurant, or enjoy one of two dinner shows- "Oh Canada Eh?"- a feast of Canadian food, folklore, fun and great music of "Music and Magic"- a great musical review featuring songs from Broadway to Branson.

Day 2 - After breakfast and check out, depart with your guide for Buffalo. You'll tour the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site, a restored Victorian Mansion, then drive up the "Avenue of Millionaires" where you'll see wonderful mansions of the Gilded Age. At Forest Lawn Cemetery, you will see a remarkable monument built in this era. You'll hear about facts and history, and Buffalo's legends of the Gilded Age. Lunch on your own and then depart for Alexandria Bay on the St. Lawrence River. Arrive Pine Tree Point Resort in Alexandria Bay and check-in. Freshen up, complimentary wine and cheese reception, buffet dinner, followed by live entertainment, featuring Ron Minor, Rag Time Piano.

Day 3 - After breakfast at your hotel, Alex Bay Boat Tours Two Nation Narrated Luncheon Cruise on the St. Lawrence River, Guided Tour Boldt Castle and High Tea at Casablanca on Cherry Island. When you hear the story of Boldt Castle, it's as if the tragically romantic story were lifted from the pages of a Victorian novel. As a testament of his love for his wife Louise, millionaire George C. Boldt, owner of the lavish Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, set out to build a full-sized Rhineland-style Castle on Heart Island. Construction began in 1900 on a magnificent six-story, 120-room castle, complete with a drawbridge and Italian gardens. No detail or expense was spared. In 1904 Boldt telegrammed the island and commanded the workers to stop all construction. His wife had died unexpectedly. A broken-hearted Boldt, who could not imagine his dream castle without his beloved, would never return to the island. The castle remained vacant for 73 years. Since 1977 millions of dollars have been invested in the restoration of the Heart Island structures. All aboard for a cruise to Casablanca on Cherry Island, a turn-of-the-century island home located in the heart of famous Millionaires Row. This private home, which still contains all the original antique furniture, was built in 1892 and represents the Gilded Age of days gone by. After you tour the house at your own pace and stare down the gargoyles that guard the front of Cherry Island, relax with High Tea before boarding the vessel to return to the mainland. Dinner at an area restaurant.

Day 4 - Breakfast buffet at the hotel and depart for Blue Mountain Lake Arrive Adirondack Museum for lunch in their enclosed, glass cafeteria overlooking Blue Mt. Lake. Called "the best of its kind in the world" by the New York Times, The Adirondack Museum tells the stories of how people lived, traveled, worked and played in the Adirondacks in numerous outdoor/indoor exhibit areas located on spacious grounds overlooking Blue Mountain Lake. Depart Museum for Raquette Lake and a guided tour of Great Camp Sagamore, the Vanderbilt wilderness estate. Dating from 1897, Sagamore was the Great Camp of the Vanderbilt family for over 50 years. Now a National Historic Site and nominated Landmark, Sagamore has been featured on A&E's America's Castles, Bob Vila's Home Again and CBS' Sunday Morning. Visitors will see 27 buildings in their 1 1/2 hour walking tour including the three-story Main Lodge and the surprising bowling alley. Buffet dinner cruise on Raquette Lake, with historic narration as you sail by the Great Camp estates of Collis P. Huntington, Governor Lounsbury of Connecticut, the Carnegies and the Collier publishing family. Raquette Lake is the birthplace of the Great Camps style of architecture and the summer home of the millionaires who lived in those Great Camps during the Gilded Age, under the "illusion of roughing it." The interior of the vessel's dining room echoes the ambience of an opulent by-gone era by surrounding one with wainscoting, stained and etched glass, gleaming brass, rich carpeting and polishing oak, while at the same time, offering the convenience and comfort of modern amenities. 8:00 pm Check into hotel in Old Forge

Day 5 - Breakfast buffet and depart for home Consider a lunch stop at the Belhurst Castle, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in Geneva, NY. Enjoy a truly unique dining experience! As you enter through the architecturally impressive port-a-cochere and leaded French doors, you will be overcome by the awe-inspiring interior. Carved aged cherry, chestnut and rich mahogany, combined with mosaic tiled fireplaces and beamed cathedral ceilings, set the scene for a memorable dining experience. In 1885, Carrie Harron Collins, a descendent of Henry Clay, hired an architect and 50 men to begin work on her dream. Four years, and more than $475,000 later, 48 men completed her dream- Belhurst Castle.  

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Gilded Age and Garnets (or Diamonds)
2 Days/1 Night

Day 1 - Overnight in Old Forge. Drive to Great Camp Sagamore for guided tour, followed by buffet dinner cruise aboard the W.W. Durant.

Day 2 - After breakfast in Old Forge, drive to Blue Mt. Lake for self-guided tour Adirondack Museum . Lunch in Museum's glass enclosed cafeteria. Garnet Mine tour and dig. OR Breakfast in Old Forge. Drive to North Creek to Garnet Mine for tour & dig. Then Upper Hudson Train ride along Hudson. Depart for home with possible stop at Herkimer and prospecting for Herkimer diamonds at Herkimer Diamond Mines.

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Freedom Trail Itinerary
From Hartford, Conn. area 2 day/1 night 

Day 1 - Arrive Torrington, Conn. Slide show and talk on John Brown's birthplace. Drive to Saratoga Springs where a guide will meet you and help you learn about their African American Heritage and give an introduction to the Underground Railroad connection in Saratoga Springs. Lunch at Hadie's Chicken Shack (which figures in the Underground RR story) Tour Wing-Northrup House and learn about the story of Solomon Northrup, a free African American who was captured and sold as a slave for 12 years. Hotel in Glens Falls. Dinner & Evening program: An African-American storyteller and program on the "Freedom Trail."

Day 2 - Depart for Lake Placid. Interpreted visit to John Brown's Farm and burial place. Picnic lunch at the farm, either outside at picnic tables or inside a heated building followed by an original dramatic portrayal of Mary Brown, wife of the Abolitionist, by Kathleen Thomas. Free time to stroll the strip-shopping in downtown Lake Placid. Depart for Connecticut. **This year is a particularly opportune time to visit John Brown's birth and burial places. It is the 200th anniversary of his birth: May 9, 1800. Torrington is planning special commemorations as is Harper's Ferry and John Brown's Farm. Contact Gail Kruppa at Torrington Historical Society, 860-482-8260.

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All it took was Money!
3 days/2 nights

Day 1 - Gilded Age Tour (Luncheon cruise, Sagamore, Museum) Dinner & Overnight in Glens Falls

Day 2 - Saratoga Signature Tour including the Victorian mansions of Saratoga Springs, Canfield Casino; Ghost Jaunt & dinner then back to hotel; or skip Ghost Jaunt and do cocktail party/catered dinner in courtyard at Hyde and evening tour Hyde Collection*. Overnight and depart for home next day** The Hyde Collection offers a world-class holding that spans the history of western art from 4th century BC through the 20th century. Remarkable pieces by such masters as Botticelli, da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, Cezanne, Picasso, Homer, Ryder and Whistler are displayed in Hyde House, an Italianate Renaissance villa built in 1912 for Louis and Charlotte Pruyn Hyde who derived their wealth from a paper company co-founded by Charlotte's father in Glens Falls, NY. All of the living and entertaining spaces are around a beautiful two story sky-lit central court filled with tropical plants.

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The Tide of American History Was Turned At Plattsburgh
3 days/2 nights

Plattsburgh is kind of an undiscovered gem, full of important Revolutionary War and War of 1812 history and only one hour from Montreal!

 Day 1 - Daytime tours of the historic district of Plattsburgh are conducted by "Mrs. Eliza Adams Mooers," who "comes alive" to show visitors the scene where she witnessed the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814. She will board the coach and talk as coach slowly makes its way. Battle of Plattsburgh Interpretive Center- on display are the secret orders sent to the British Commander in Montreal, Gen. George Prevost, ordering a diversionary force to be sent to Sacketts Harbor, while his main force was to invade at Plattsburg. The Diorama of the Battle of Plattsburgh brings the battle to life. A climb to the top of the Macdonough Monument, which honors Commodore Thomas Macdonough, winner of the naval battle in the Bay of Plattsburgh, gives you a wonderful view of the entire area where the battles were fought on land and on sea. The tide of American history was turned at Plattsburgh, during the Battle of Plattsburgh, September 6-11, 1814. The city of Plattsburgh was the LAST American city ever to be occupied by foreign troops. And the LAST naval battle between our English-speaking nations took place here. Interpreted tour. Next visit the Kent-Delord House Museum- The Kent Delord house was occupied as headquarters for the British during the Battle of Plattsburgh. Costumed docents take you back through the history of the Delord family who occupied the house and left it intact as a museum. Opposite the Kent Delord House Museum, overlooking Lake Champlain, is the monument to Samuel de Champlain, who first saw this magnificent inland sea in 1609. Champlain arrived in New France in 1603 and founded Quebec in 1608.

Day 2 - Take a Guided Tour Historic Plattsburgh Air Force Base. No longer used by the US Department of Defense, it is a great historic site. It is the only air force base in the US that has been occupied by the military continuously from 1776 until 1995. It is the second oldest Army base, after West Point. The Old Base is home to 26 buildings that are listed on the National Historic Registry. The Stone Barracks, built in 1830, is a National Monument. Plattsburgh State University's Museum Without Walls is home to over 4,450 antique to contemporary works. The section of most interest would probably be the Rockwell Kent Gallery and Collection which contain the most complete and balanced collection of Rockwell Kent's work in the United States. Rockwell Kent was an artist, author and political activist who lived for the last 44 years of his life at his beloved Asgaard Farm in the Adirondacks. He was one of the foremost American illustrators, reaching great popularity during the 1930's, as well as a prolific and celebrated commercial advertising artist. Including the Rockwell Kent Gallery in your itinerary is especially appropriate if you visited the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake which has a special exhibit of Kent's paintings through 2000. Visit the former Champlain Hotel, a Victorian luxury resort situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Champlain and Valcour Island. The veranda commands one of the best views of the lake. It is now Clinton Community College. A local historian could give a fascinating lecture on Plattsburgh's role in Revolutionary War history from this site. Valcour Island was the scene of the First Naval Battle ever fought by the struggling Americans, under the command of Benedict Arnold, in October, 1776. While Arnold lost the battle, he was able to delay the British invasion over the winter, thus enabling the Americans to preval at Saratoga. Benedict Arnold's last gunboat has been located at the bottom of the lake. The Royal Savage, which was sunk off the coast of Valcour Island, is also the name of a popular restaurant along the Lake Shore Road.