Everyone has heard of the beauty of fall in New England. Fewer people know of the grandeur and autumn colors of upstate New York: the Adirondack, Catskill and Shawangunk Mountains and the beautiful Hudson River Valley. The Grand Fall Tour takes you to all these areas, combining six train rides, two cruises and travel on our private motorcoach through the fall color. Railroad travel features two routes on Amtrak, two routes on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, the Upper Hudson River Railroad, and a charter on the Delaware & Ulster RR through the heart of the Catskills and over Highmount Summit in a vista-dome streamliner. You will also cruise on Racquette Lake in the Adirondacks and on the Hudson River past the mansions of Hyde Park.

Attractions include the wonderful Adirondack Museum (with a collection of lake boats, Adirondack furniture and art); historic Camp Sagamore (an Adirondack great camp); and the new Wild Center nature museum in Tupper Lake. Multi-night hotel stays include two nights at the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort in Lake Placid with lakefront rooms on Mirror Lake, three nights at the Best Western Sunset Inn in the Adirondack Mountains, and three nights at the fabulous Mohonk Mountain House in the Shawangunk Mountains above the Hudson River valley. Additional attractions and many included meals make this a truly special program, escorted by RTC General Manager Carl Fowler (who grew up in this area).

NOTE: This is a moderately active tour. To fully enjoy this program, participants should be able to climb a flight of stairs and walk at least a quarter-mile during several of the sightseeing trips.

Call 877-929-7245 to book or for air or rail fares from your city to and from Albany.

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• The Adirondack, Catskill and Shawangunk Mountains
• Amtrak’s Adirondack
• Adirondack Scenic Railroad
• Upper Hudson River Railroad
• Durant Brunch Cruise
• Mohonk Mountain House
• Delaware & Ulster Railroad
• The Rip Van Winkle Flyer
• Hudson River Scenic Cruise

• 9 Nights Lodging
• All Rail and Boat Transportation on the Tour
• All Attractions as noted
• 20 Meals
• Chartered Motorcoach
• Services of a Professional Tour Director
• All Transfers during the Escorted Portion of the Tour
• Luggage Handling during the Escorted Portion of the Tour

Day One, Tuesday, October 7
Independent arrivals. Tour participants arrive independently in Albany NY by rail or air. Your included hotel for this evening is the downtown Crowne Plaza Albany Hotel. The airport is about 7 miles northwest of Albany. The Amtrak station is at Albany-Rensselaer just a couple of miles from downtown. The hotel provides free transfers on-call from both the airport and Amtrak.

Day Two, Wednesday, October 8 (B,D)
Amtrak’s Adirondack to Lake Placid. In mid-morning you transfer to the fine Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station and board the Adirondack for the scenic ride to Plattsburgh NY on America’s oldest continuously incorporated railway, the Delaware and Hudson (D&H), as it winds north deep into the Adirondacks. The route takes you along the shores of Lake Champlain and on cliffs above the water. From here you can see autumn color in New York and Vermont as well as historic Fort Ticonderoga on the New York shore. Optional lunches can be purchased on board. The Adirondack route recently was proclaimed one of the ten most scenic train trips in the world by National Geographic Traveler magazine.

Upon arrival in Plattsburgh, board your chartered motorcoach and drive into the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains to famous Lake Placid. Here you stay two nights at the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, located on the shores of Mirror Lake. Your Welcome Dinner is here tonight, and breakfast is included each morning you are at the hotel. The hotel includes a full-service health club, racquetball court, indoor pool, sauna, whirlpool, and steam bath. Also included are a restaurant, deli, internet café and coffee bar, and a nightclub with dancing.

Day Three, Thursday, October 9 (B,L)
High Falls Gorge - Adirondack Scenic Railroad - Wild Center. This morning you visit High Falls Gorge before returning to Lake Placid for free time and an included luncheon at The Great Adirondack Steak & Seafood Company. After lunch ride the Adirondack Scenic Railroad one-way to Saranac Lake on a route originally served by the Delaware and Hudson and New York Central Railroads. Until the late 1960s, direct service with sleepers ran to Lake Placid from Grand Central Terminal in New York. The line served both the 1932 and 1980 Olympics, then lay dormant for 20 years before restoration by the volunteers of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. Lovely views of the peaks mark the route.

A short drive then takes you to Tupper Lake to visit one of the newest attractions in the Adirondacks: the wonderful new Wild Center which features an ice wall, indoor trail exhibits, live animals, outside trails, films, and observation towers to further acquaint you with the natural history of the area. Return to Lake Placid for the evening.

Day Four, Friday, October 10 (B,L,D)
Upper Hudson River Railroad. A box lunch is included for your drive in the Adirondacks to North Creek. Here you board the Upper Hudson River Railroad for a round-trip ride on the former Adirondack Branch of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad between North Creek and Riverside. Teddy Roosevelt boarded the train at North Creek for his return to Washington DC when he became President (upon the death of William McKinley). The tracks follow the Hudson River Gorge in an area of wild grandeur. Restorations at the North Creek depot and Riverside freight station are an interesting addition to the trip. Detrain and drive to Old Forge, where we stay three nights at the Best Western Sunset Inn. A deluxe continental breakfast is included here each morning. Amenities at the Inn include an indoor swimming pool, hot tub, sauna and tennis courts. Dinner is included this evening.

Day Five, Saturday, October 11 (CB,L,D)
Adirondack Museum - Adirondack Scenic Railroad. After breakfast drive to Blue Mountain Lake, location of one of the best small museums in the U.S. The Adirondack Museum has something for everyone: a history of logging and mining in the area; a wonderful exhibit of guide boats, canoes and sailing craft; art, photography and folk art; a private railroad car; and unique Adirondack furniture (including wonderful rocking chairs to try out). This museum is a true “hidden treasure”, called “the best of its kind in the world” by the New York Times! Lunch is included here in the cafeteria. You then continue on to Old Forge, where you make another trip on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, traveling round-trip to Otter Lake before returning to the Inn. Another dinner is included in the area this evening.

Day Six, Sunday, October 12 (CB, Brunch)
Camp Sagamore - W.W. Durant brunch cruise. Following breakfast, travel to Raquette Lake and tour Great Camp Sagamore, an 1897 “great camp” built by W.W. Durant and owned by the Vanderbilts. Buildings toured here include the bowling alley! Drive to Raquette Lake and enjoy a wonderful brunch cruise and narration on the re-created lake steamer “W.W. Durant”. The cruise includes viewing the famous “Adirondack Great Camps” owned by the rich and famous (including Andrew Carnegie and Collis P. Huntington, builder of the Southern Pacific Railroad) during the Gilded Age. Overnight again at the B.W. Sunset Inn with dinner on our own.

Day Seven, Monday, October 13 (CB,D)
Amtrak from Albany to Croton-Harmon - Mohonk Mountain House. Following breakfast this morning, drive to Albany NY and board Amtrak for the ride south along the Hudson River to Croton-Harmon. This is a beautiful route along the east bank of the Hudson. The New York Central’s “Water Level Route” was home to such legendary trains as the Empire State Express and the 20th Century Limited. This is fast track! The train will reach speeds approaching 110 mph, yet the scenery overwhelms any realization of the quick pace. Never leaving the shore, the line offers vistas of the Catskill Mountains, West Point, and Storm King and Bear Mountain. En route you pass Bannerman Castle, a partially destroyed armory with a distinctly Gothic appearance; stately mansions; and lighthouses.

At Croton-Harmon you re-board your motorcoach for a drive past the United States Military Academy at West Point and over supremely scenic Storm King Drive. From the heights, you can admire the grand gorge of the Hudson as it courses through the Highlands between the Ramapo and Taconic Mountains. Yur motorcoach takes you up the steep grade into the Shawangunk Mountains and your destination for three nights, the incomparable Mohonk Mountain House. All meals (and afternoon tea) are included during your stay.

Day Eight, Tuesday, October 14 (B,L,D)
Free day at Mohonk. The Mohonk Mountain House is a very favorite place. This is the only tour on which we include a three-night stay here! For those of you who have been here with us before, no description of the property is necessary. For the rest, we will attempt to describe what awaits. The hotel estate was purchased by the Smiley brothers in 1869 and remains in their descendants’ hands today. This Quaker family has created a resort that is in tune with the environment and one of the most peaceful places imaginable. The National Historic Landmark Victorian-era hotel is set on a lake surrounded by thousands of acres of forest on top of a mountain ridge. All bedrooms have either a lake or mountain view. In addition to the Victorian gardens, 128 gazebos dot the property, allowing walkers to sit and enjoy lovely views. Except for arrival and departure, no motorized travel is allowed. Movement is on foot, by boat, by horseback or by carriage.

Activities include tennis, golf, boating and fishing, horseback riding, carriage rides, and hiking or walking on miles of roads and trails running throughout the property. Trails vary from level paths to strenuous hiking. There are programs or movies each evening. Other activities include visits to the garden, greenhouse, barn museum, stables or blacksmith shop. A fabulous spa and indoor swimming pool were constructed in 2005, and there is a quiet lounge serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The hotel itself is filled with lovely Victorian, Edwardian and Craftsman furniture, with many quiet alcoves and fireplaces available for conversation, reading or napping! It also includes a library, ice cream parlor, TV rooms, and a long covered porch lined with rocking chairs overlooking the lake…a great place to enjoy afternoon tea and cookies. Limousine service down the mountain is available for a fee to enjoy attractions in the Hudson River Valley such as the Huguenot Houses in New Paltz or Hyde Park, home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Day Nine, Wednesday, October 15 (B,L,D)
Catskill Mountains - Delaware & Ulster Railroad. You temporarily depart your mountaintop retreat, travel up the Hudson, and drive into the famous Catskill Mountains. There is a very special treat to start your day: a chartered ride and luncheon on the vista-dome Rip Van Winkle Flyer on the Delaware & Ulster Railroad. Originally this was the mainline of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, which brought Victorian tourists to the mountains. Direct parlor car services operated on the crack Rip Van Winkle Flyer from as far south as Philadelphia. The U&D merged in the 1930s with the New York Central. Passenger service ended in 1953 and freight service in 1976, but the heart of the line is revived for you on a route that starts just below the 2000-foot summit Arkville and includes a lovely run along the headwaters of the Delaware River into Roxbury. Return to Arkville with time to view the D&U’s museum and historic equipment . Lovely foliage should be on display during this ride.

This afternoon, the tour director shows you some of his favorite places in these ancient mountains, which were the setting both for the first resort hotel in America (the Catskill Mountain House) and the story of Rip Van Winkle. This area also was a favorite of the Hudson River School painters. Alternatively, participants can opt out of today’s activities and spend another day at leisure at Mohonk.

Day Ten, Thursday, October 16 (B,L)
Hudson River scenic cruise - tour ends. Your leisure time at Mohonk continues through lunchtime today. You then make a short drive to Kingston, the capital of New York State at the time of the American Revolution. When Kingston was burned by the British during the war, the capital was moved elsewhere; but its importance as a steamboat and railroad center grew. This afternoon we enjoy a Hudson River cruise on the “M/V Rip Van Winkle”, sailing south past the mansions of Hyde Park. Distant vistas reach from the Catskill Mountains to the Litchfield and Taconic Hills on our beautiful voyage. You then continue north by motorcoach to Albany, where the tour ends.

Participants are dropped at the Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station by 6:00 p.m. and the Albany airport by 6:30 p.m. In addition, an optional post-tour night is available at the Albany Crowne Plaza Hotel for $135 (inclusive of tax) single or double occupancy. The hotel offers departure transfers to Amtrak and the Albany Airport the following day.

   

   

   

 Departure Dates:

• October 07 to October 16

 Per Person Rates:

• $2,799 per person (double occupancy)
• $3,399 per person (single occupancy)