Almost equidistant from New York City and Boston, Saratoga Springs, New York, is an ideal destination for a memorable getaway from “Big City Life.”
One of the city’s slogans highlights three of its allures: Health, History, and Horses.
Admittedly, the city is best known for its famous racetrack. But visitors can craft a weekend itinerary that seamlessly blends historical horse racing with wellness venues, fine dining, shopping, art, and culture.
A Center For Horse Racing Enthusiasts
The Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, will be held at the Saratoga Race Course in 2024 (on June 8th) and 2025. (The first change in venue of this leg in 156 years will allow for the renovation of Belmont Park.)
One of the country's oldest operating horse racing courses, Saratoga hosted its first thoroughbred meet in 1863, shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg. Sports Illustrated named the track one of the top ten greatest sporting venues worldwide.
Racing season at Saratoga runs from July to September, but you don’t have to be a gambler or horse-racing enthusiast to get goosebumps when you step foot on these hallowed grounds.
Beautiful trees and greenery surround the historic Victorian grandstand. Abundant plantings of red and white flowers mimic the colors of the grandstand canopy. Bronze floor plaques (dubbed the Hoofprints Walk of Fame) at the Marylou Whitney Entrance to the track pay homage to some of the greatest horses in racing history.
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Of course, in season, people-watching is the second most popular pastime at the track, when even staid spectators don playful hats and colorful attire.
Devotees of the sport will also want to visit the multimedia National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, conveniently located on Union Street across from the track. Its front lawn is lined with politically correct white-faced jockey statues.
The museum’s collection of more than 29,000 objects and artifacts, including films, statues, photography, paintings, and jockey racing attire, make the history of horse racing come alive.
One Of America’s First Spas
While wellness tourism has soared in popularity, the spa at Saratoga Springs officially opened to the public on July 26, 1935.
But before this, Native Americans relied on the healing properties of natural mineral springs on the site of what is now Saratoga Spa State Park. In the mid-1800s, the bathhouses in Saratoga Springs became a “watering hole” for the rich and famous until private industry discovered the waters, risking their depletion.
After New York State embarked on an ambitious project to create a landscaped park modeled after European spas, it became a mecca for people seeking healing and preventive therapy for various heart, skin, arthritic, and digestive disorders. In addition, the state erected a plant (in operation between 1935 and 1970) to bottle the mineral waters.
Today, the Roosevelt Baths at the park (named after Franklin D. Roosevelt, who spearheaded the construction of the bathhouses under the Works Progress Administration) allow visitors the unique experience of soaking in a private mineral bath in one of the 42 original treatment rooms and take advantage of massages, facials, and scrubs.
Saratoga Spa State Park, set on 2,370 sprawling acres, is a National Historic Landmark noted for its recreational activities and stunning neoclassical architecture, including buildings with impressive temple facades, massive columns, and arcades.
The beautifully landscaped park has two pools, two golf courses, tennis courts, walking trails, picnic grounds, seasonal cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing trails, an environmental education building, and 13 public mineral springs where anyone can bottle their own.
The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located in a fully restored modern facility (once the former water bottling plant). It has permanent and changing exhibits that trace automobiles' history, technical, and design aspects. The current exhibit, “Enzo Ferrari: An Obsessions with Speed,” runs through October 27, 2024, and showcases a rare selection of Ferraris.
The park is also the site of the spectacular Saratoga Performing Arts Center, which is summer home to the New York City Ballet and Philadelphia Orchestra and offers world-class musical and dance performances and other entertainment year-round.
Saratoga National Historical Park
History buffs shouldn’t miss a visit to family-friendly, 3,200-acre Saratoga National Historical Park, operated by the National Park Service, only a 20-minute ride by car from downtown Saratoga. This is where the Battles of Saratoga were fought in 1777, marking the first surrender of the British Army during the Revolutionary War.
After a stop at the Visitors Center, visitors can explore the battlefield, follow the half-mile trail in Victory Woods, see the final encampment site of the British army, visit restored homes and important monuments in the park, and attend special events and demonstrations that educate and inspire.
And So Much More
Broadway, the walkable, tree-lined main street of downtown Saratoga Springs is a shopper’s paradise with one-of-a-kind boutiques, gift shops, art galleries, and dozens of eateries. Some of the Victorian buildings date back to the 1800s.
Many stores sell horse-themed souvenirs, clothing, and jewelry; visitors can even find a horse jockey statue to purchase and take home.
A wide choice of accommodations includes country inns, bed and breakfasts, full-service resorts, retro-style motels, and an upscale Holiday Inn. The Adelphi Hotel and Saratoga Arms Hotel are two notable properties right on Broadway.
The Adelphi Hotel, once a drawing room for Saratoga society, opened its doors in 1877. The 65-room property was renovated in the 1970s after lying vacant for five years. But as just one example of a town steeped in history that is continually reimagining itself; the owners are now marketing modern branded residences not far from the hotel.
Built in 1870, the four-diamond Saratoga Arms Hotel is a beautifully restored 31-room property. It couples modern amenities and bespoke service with the ambiance of a boutique inn. Beyond the inviting front porch are parlors and lounges with turn-of-the-century period furnishings, and original fireplaces, moldings and plasterwork, and chandeliers. Guest rooms are impeccably up-to-date, spacious, and well-appointed. The hotel is managed by the mother-daughter team of Saratoga natives Kathleen and Amy Smith, who transformed a deteriorated rooming house to its present glory.
Whether for a romantic couples weekend, a girlfriend getaway, or a family vacation, the multiple charms of this deceptively small but impressive city in upstate New York will beckon you to return.
