Getting to Know Saratoga Springs
The Saratoga Springs area means different things to different visitors: to horse racing fans, it is home to Saratoga Race Course, the oldest continually-operating track in the US; to history buffs, it’s near the site of the Battle of Saratoga; to snack food fiends, it’s the birthplace of the potato chip.
Saratoga Springs is all that and more. It’s been a viable tourist destination for over a hundred years. Thanks to the reputed healing powers of the mineral springs, it was something of a medical tourism draw even before the town was founded in the late 1700s. Nowadays, people come for much more than the springs. They come for the culture, the experience, and some of that upstate New York scenery.
Getting There: Saratoga Springs is a great place for a vacation rental. It’s three hours north of New York City by car; 40 minutes north of Albany; and two hours south of Lake Champlain. If you can’t find a vacation rental in the city, check out some of the surrounding towns, like Malta, Ballston Spa, or Corinth.
What to Do: Drink water from one of the 18 mineral springs, just so you can say you did; shop, dine, see a concert, opera, ballet, play, or horse race; visit historical sites, golf, or just enjoy the natural beauty of the area.
