Disclaimer: In early October 2024, I was invited by Travel Alliance Partnership and Discover Saratoga to experience an historical tour of Saratoga Springs, New York.
I’m ashamed to say that I don’t know my state that well. Sure, I can locate all of the prominent cities and attractions — and food destinations — but ultimately lack first-person knowledge about many of them.
For my first ever FAM trip, i.e. familiarization trip (to learn more about a certain place), I took a few days to visit Saratoga Springs, one of the many quaint albeit bustling highlights of upstate New York.
I have cooked up a photo essay to outline all of the places that stood out to me, and to show why I think Saratoga County is worthy of your vacation time.
For the trip upstate, I took the Vermont-bound Ethan Allen Express Amtrak service. I’m always on tenterhooks with Amtrak (they like to blame freight trains for their frequently tardy service), but this time the total roundtrip delay was only about 10 minutes.
OK, before we get into the points of interest, I think it’s best to start on the reason why this place first made headlines.
Water
Horses didn’t make Saratoga Springs famous– just look at the name of the place!
Each indigenous culture in the region naturally had its own name for the mineral springs, which was particularly unusual due to many of the springs providing carbonated water.
In 1771, a Kanienkehaka Mohawk family introduced the water to English settlers; in 1802, the town of Saratoga Springs was founded by Massachusetts colony-born Gideon Putnam.
Importantly, he decreed that the water shall forever be free to access for everyone…although anyone is permitted to bottle it.
Some of the springs can still be enjoyed today. And by enjoyed, I mean a couple of them taste like salty cream soda. It’s up to you to figure out which is which:
After decades of resorts popping up in the late 19th century, some visitors became more interested in balneotherapy, that is, bathing in water to help treat diseases and ailments.
In 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, among the most famous visitors to the area, and long-time advocate of mineral baths, inaugurated the Roosevelt Baths & Spa in the beautifully kept Saratoga Spa State Park.
But yeah, there are horses, too!
Saratoga Race Course opened in the early 1860s, and is one of the oldest extant sporting venues in the country. Given its renown, the Belmont Stakes (of the Triple Crown of horse racing) was held there this year, and will come back for 2025.
Not to mention, right across the street from the race course is the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame:
Saratoga Arms Hotel
For accommodations, I was hosted by the Saratoga Arms Hotel, located on Broadway, the main thoroughfare in Saratoga Springs.
I should say that the folks at the Saratoga Arms Hotel had good service down to a tee. No matter the ridiculousness of my questions (e.g. don’t you have anything spicy in the pantry?), staff remained composed and eager to help.
Plus, they’ve got a small buffet of snacks and drinks included in the room rate; I highly recommend the granola bars made in-house.
PLUS PLUS, the robe. Wow. That robe was peak comfortable. Shucks, could I have charged that to my FAM trip sponsors?
Nah.
Back to reality, the building dates to 1870, and reflects the Second Empire architectural style of that era. The current hotel opened in 1999, with a total of 31 individually designed rooms. The Smiths, the hotel proprietors, are chock full of knowledge on the property, and the region.
Attractions
The Battles of Saratoga are where the tide turned during the American Revolution.
Starting with the retreat of American colonists at Fort Ticonderoga on July 6, 1777, the home team repeatedly blazed through much stronger (and indeed, much better trained) British and Hessian legions.
Eventually, on October 17, 1777, British General John Burgoyne surrendered to General Horatio Gates, making that the first time in recorded history the former had raised the white flag.
On February 6, 1778, the American side signed its first ever Treaty of Alliance, with France recognizing the heroics of the scrappy group, as well as their independence.
Visit Saratoga Springs in 2025 for a number of events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Saratoga.
The Saratoga, Corinth, & Hudson Railway doesn’t go far, but it doesn’t need to.
Instead, the goal of the trip is to join a festive crowd for a specific theme, be it Mother’s Day, Halloween, Christmas, or something (anything) involving liquor.
For 2-3 hours, you will be deposited at Lamothe Landing, wherein you will encounter small bites, drinks, games, and live music.
I’m on the fence about museums; they generally give one perspective.
Whereas that may have also been true at The Saratoga Springs History Museum (the former Canfield Casino, located in Congress Park), I still thought it was quite well done. For a small organization, they really packed in a variety of information about the city, covering everything from water and horses, to how women stealthily gambled — and made business deals — not even 100 years ago.
It also helped that Jamie, the museum director, was enthusiastic about his job.
By the way, did you know that Saratoga Springs had the world’s largest hotel, called the Grand Union, back in the 1870s?
I’ve also included a couple of seasonally photogenic offerings close to the race track. A few of those Victorian houses have been converted into B&Bs.
Darn good trip, I say!
And while you’re up there, grab a bite at Sweet Mimi’s Café & Bakery. That was by far, the best meal I had yonder:
p.s. their affogato is still calling my name.
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