6 Family-Friendly Getaways from New York City

Travel, Travel Tips, World Roaming 4 Minutes

Slide 1 of 7: New York City is anything but boring. But sometimes, when the hustle gets too frenetic and the kids are climbing the apartment walls, you need to take a breather with the brood. While a weekend in Paris or Papeete may feed your office daydreams, parents know that a real vacation is one that entails significantly less schlep (and expense) when factoring in those teeny ones. Happily, there are several resorts tailor-made for families within a 2.5-hour drive in the mountains north of the city. From the Poconos to the Catskills, these four-season retreats do brisk business in the quick family escape. They excel at active diversions, from horseback riding to hiking, waterslides to sledding hills. Several are all-inclusive, so you can skip out on the hand-in-your-pocket workout, too. With little more left for you to do than show up, each makes a family fun-filled getaway with your gang feel refreshingly effortless. Best of all their rural settings and mountain backdrops feel a world away.

New York City is anything but boring. But sometimes, when the hustle gets too frenetic and the kids are climbing the apartment walls, you need to take a breather with the brood. While a weekend in Paris or Papeete may feed your office daydreams, parents know that a real vacation is one that entails significantly less schlep (and expense) when factoring in those teeny ones. Happily, there are several resorts tailor-made for families within a 2.5-hour drive in the mountains north of the city.

From the Poconos to the Catskills, these four-season retreats do brisk business in the quick family escape. They excel at active diversions, from horseback riding to hiking, waterslides to sledding hills. Several are all-inclusive, so you can skip out on the hand-in-your-pocket workout, too. With little more left for you to do than show up, each makes a family fun-filled getaway with your gang feel refreshingly effortless. Best of all their rural settings and mountain backdrops feel a world away.

Slide 2 of 7: Skytop, PA (95 miles from New York City) This grand 124-room mountain lodge (along with some stand-alone storybook cottages) has been wowing Poconos vacationers since the 1920s. Its timelessly elegant Dutch Colonial-style stone manor house is filled with soaring ceilings, stone and wooden accents, crackling fireplaces, and period furnishings that are evocative of a bygone era. Step outside and the immense 5,500-acre grounds of forests, lakes, waterfalls, streams, and fresh mountain air beg for little adventurers to get out and explore. Set them loose on 30 miles of woodland hiking trails designed to burn off that surplus kid steam. In summer, there’s a drop-off kids’ camp with nature programming, as well as swimming and an inflatable trampoline park on the lake; in winter, there’s skiing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and ice-skating—plus, find four tennis courts and an indoor and outdoor pool. Optional activities include a ropes and zip line course, paintball, and rock climbing. There’s also clay shooting, boating, and an 18-hole golf course. Rates inclusive of meals and select activities from $429 for two adults; supplemental kids’ rates from $80 (ages 5 to 12); plus an 18 percent service charge. Room-only rates start at $159/night

Skytop Lodge

 

This grand 124-room mountain lodge (along with some stand-alone storybook cottages) has been wowing Poconos vacationers since the 1920s. Its timelessly elegant Dutch Colonial-style stone manor house is filled with soaring ceilings, stone and wooden accents, crackling fireplaces, and period furnishings that are evocative of a bygone era. Step outside and the immense 5,500-acre grounds of forests, lakes, waterfalls, streams, and fresh mountain air beg for little adventurers to get out and explore. Set them loose on 30 miles of woodland hiking trails designed to burn off that surplus kid steam.

In summer, there’s a drop-off kids’ camp with nature programming, as well as swimming and an inflatable trampoline park on the lake; in winter, there’s skiing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and ice-skating—plus, find four tennis courts and an indoor and outdoor pool. Optional activities include a ropes and zip line course, paintball, and rock climbing. There’s also clay shooting, boating, and an 18-hole golf course.

Slide 3 of 7: Monticello, NY (95 miles from New York City) Opened in April, The Kartrite in the Catskills shies away from kitsch and rustic themes, instead embracing a contemporary and bright urban aesthetic. Its raison d’ être is the region’s newest (and New York’s biggest) indoor waterpark (at two acres), with 11 attractions like a lazy river, FlowRider surf simulator, zero-entry lagoon for tots, heated indoor/outdoor pool, and high-speed waterslides. For landlubbers, there’s an adjacent arcade, mini-bowling, ropes course, indoor rock-climbing, laser tag, spa, and more. It’s just a quick hop over to the billion-dollar, 2018-debuted Resorts World Catskills Casino next door; in 2020, the Monster Golf Course reopens, following a Rees Jones redesign, just down the road. (Bunk down in one of The Kartrite’s 324 all-suite guest rooms for an extended stay, just keep in mind that the on-site restaurants are missable.) Waterpark day passes from $59/person; pass-inclusive room rates from $249/room (plus $35/nightly resort fee); thekartrite.com

The Kartrite Resort

 

Opened in April, The Kartrite in the Catskills shies away from kitsch and rustic themes, instead embracing a contemporary and bright urban aesthetic. Its raison d’ être is the region’s newest (and New York’s biggest) indoor waterpark (at two acres), with 11 attractions like a lazy river, FlowRider surf simulator, zero-entry lagoon for tots, heated indoor/outdoor pool, and high-speed waterslides. For landlubbers, there’s an adjacent arcade, mini-bowling, ropes course, indoor rock-climbing, laser tag, spa, and more.

It’s just a quick hop over to the billion-dollar, 2018-debuted Resorts World Catskills Casino next door; in 2020, the Monster Golf Course reopens, following a Rees Jones redesign, just down the road. (Bunk down in one of The Kartrite’s 324 all-suite guest rooms for an extended stay, just keep in mind that the on-site restaurants are missable.)

Slide 5 of 7: Hawley, PA (90 miles from New York City) The 160-room Woodloch Pines Resort has put forth a woodsy wonderland of kid-primed activities in the Poconos for more than 60 years. Its 300 acres sit on the banks of Lake Teedyuskung, a haven for swimming, boating, and water sports. Robust daily programming is centered on old-fashioned family fun, with everything from bingo to bonfires, and scavenger hunts to stage shows, alongside Woodloch signatures like family “bakery wars,” Olympics-style competitions, and pop-up petting zoos. There’s a laundry list of amenities, too: Highlights include an outdoor and indoor pool and splash zone, indoor playground, bumper cars and bumper boats, go-karts, archery, seasonal snow-tubing, mini golf, rock climbing, ice skating, paintball, an escape room, and sports courts galore. Quick-paced, tasty meals are served family-style with themes (like '90s night or Hawaiian) and frequent character appearances. The rooms aren’t glitzy but are welcoming with cozy, country decor. Down the road, find an 18-hole championship golf course at Woodloch Springs, and a superlative destination spa at luxe sister property The Lodge at Woodloch. All-inclusive rates start from $129/night, per adult; supplemental kids’ rates from $40 (ages 3 and up); woodloch.com

Woodloch Pines Resort

 

The 160-room Woodloch Pines Resort has put forth a woodsy wonderland of kid-primed activities in the Poconos for more than 60 years. Its 300 acres sit on the banks of Lake Teedyuskung, a haven for swimming, boating, and water sports. Robust daily programming is centered on old-fashioned family fun, with everything from bingo to bonfires, and scavenger hunts to stage shows, alongside Woodloch signatures like family “bakery wars,” Olympics-style competitions, and pop-up petting zoos. There’s a laundry list of amenities, too: Highlights include an outdoor and indoor pool and splash zone, indoor playground, bumper cars and bumper boats, go-karts, archery, seasonal snow-tubing, mini golf, rock climbing, ice skating, paintball, an escape room, and sports courts galore.

Slide 6 of 7: Highland, NY (90 miles from New York City) Think you need to head out West for a dude ranch vacation? Think again. Less than a two-hour drive north of New York City, in the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains, Rocking Horse Ranch has been entertaining city slickers for more than 60 years. The horses (nearly 120 of them) are the main attraction at the Western-themed, kid-centric, 500-acre resort—with everything from horse-drawn wagon and pony rides to advanced trail trots. Make way for the exotic animal exhibit, indoor pool and waterpark, live shows and entertainment (like bonfire sing-alongs and magic shows), and drop-off day camp programming for kids up to age 12. Summer sees water sports on the lake, while winter is popular for snow-tubing and horse-drawn sleigh rides. All-inclusive pricing factors in accommodations in the rustic 113-room lodge; three meals led by Culinary Institute of America alumni (plus an afternoon snack and complimentary drinks); and all resort activities—including unlimited horseback riding. Rates from $359/night for a family of four (plus a resort fee of 15 percent of nightly rate); rockinghorseranch.com

Rocking Horse Ranch Resort

 

Think you need to head out West for a dude ranch vacation? Think again. Less than a two-hour drive north of New York City, in the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains, Rocking Horse Ranch has been entertaining city slickers for more than 60 years. The horses (nearly 120 of them) are the main attraction at the Western-themed, kid-centric, 500-acre resort—with everything from horse-drawn wagon and pony rides to advanced trail trots.

Make way for the exotic animal exhibit, indoor pool and waterpark, live shows and entertainment (like bonfire sing-alongs and magic shows), and drop-off day camp programming for kids up to age 12. Summer sees water sports on the lake, while winter is popular for snow-tubing and horse-drawn sleigh rides. All-inclusive pricing factors in accommodations in the rustic 113-room lodge; three meals led by Culinary Institute of America alumni (plus an afternoon snack and complimentary drinks); and all resort activities—including unlimited horseback riding.

Slide 7 of 7: Pocono Manor, PA (95 miles from New York City) The bigger-is-better set can beeline for the four-year-old, African-themed Kalahari Resorts Poconos (a spin-off of an expanding Wisconsin Dells-based brand). Touting a scale of epic proportions, the resort has nearly 1,000 rooms (including a unit that can house 22 guests) and a cavernous indoor water park; at 220,000 square feet, it’s America’s largest. Dive into the climate-controlled aquatic adventure-land—kept at 84 degrees year-round—with features like a wave pool, lazy river, surf simulator, and 32 wild waterslides. Plus, find age-appropriate areas, from a toddlers’ splash zone to an adults-only swim-up bar, along with lessons in the art of mermaid swimming. Beyond the waterpark, a massive arcade has games, escape rooms, virtual reality experiences, bowling, and laser tag, while seasonal outdoor pursuits include a waterpark extension and a ropes course and zip-lining. A spa offering hydrotherapy and halotherapy (with a junior spa space for kids ages three to nine) and 17 on-site bars and restaurants make the case for an overnight stay. Waterpark day passes from $59/person; pass-inclusive room rates from $149/room, plus a $30/nightly resort fee; kalahariresorts.com/pennsylvania

Kalahari Resorts Poconos

 

The bigger-is-better set can beeline for the four-year-old, African-themed Kalahari Resorts Poconos (a spin-off of an expanding Wisconsin Dells-based brand). Touting a scale of epic proportions, the resort has nearly 1,000 rooms (including a unit that can house 22 guests) and a cavernous indoor water park; at 220,000 square feet, it’s America’s largest. Dive into the climate-controlled aquatic adventure-land—kept at 84 degrees year-round—with features like a wave pool, lazy river, surf simulator, and 32 wild waterslides. Plus, find age-appropriate areas, from a toddlers’ splash zone to an adults-only swim-up bar, along with lessons in the art of mermaid swimming.

Beyond the waterpark, a massive arcade has games, escape rooms, virtual reality experiences, bowling, and laser tag, while seasonal outdoor pursuits include a waterpark extension and a ropes course and zip-lining. A spa offering hydrotherapy and halotherapy (with a junior spa space for kids ages three to nine) and 17 on-site bars and restaurants make the case for an overnight stay.

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