DAY 1
After an easy car ride, stretch your legs and check out Ithaca’s Sciencecenter, a hands-on science museum that’s fun for all ages with interactive exhibits to explore, connect, and create through science. Check into Hope Lake Lodge at Greek Peak Mountain Resort. Families can spread out in the resort’s spacious suites that come complete with a fully equipped kitchen and cozy fireplace. Families will love splashing around in Greek Peak’s Cascades Indoor Waterpark where it’s 84 degrees inside all year round. Kids will enjoy splashing around in the indoor waterpark and playing in the game arcade while the adults can wind down at the outdoor heated pool and hot tub.
Head to Carvers Steakhouse at the resort for dinner without having to get back into the car or bundle up to go outside into the cold. This upscale yet casual restaurant is great for families looking for a nice meal with options for picky eaters.
DAY 2
Head out for a day of snow fun at Greek Peak Mountain Resort, the largest ski resort in central New York, where the whole family can learn to ski or snowboard with Greek Peak’s low cost learn-to-ski package. The $59 package includes equipment rentals, a lesson and lift ticket. If everyone is up for another adventure the resort also offers snow tubing - a thrilling race downhill on groomed trails. The best part? No need to trek up the hill with your tube, just take a lift! If everyone has had enough of the snow and cold, families can warm up at Shipwreck Amusements just a 10 minute drive from the resort featuring an indoor, blacklight mini-golf course.
End the day with dinner at the resort’s Trax Pub & Grill which offers a cozy and boisterous atmosphere, kid-friendly menu options, and slope-side dining where you can watch all of the action comfortably inside or on the outdoor deck.
DAY 3
Drop the kids off at Bearfoot Den Children’s Activity Center, the resort’s onsite childcare center while you sneak off to a morning at the resort’s onsite spa, Waterfalls Spa for a restorative treatment. Fully recharged, check out of the resort and head to Taughannock Falls for an easy but breathtakingly beautiful hike. The falls are the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains and during the winter, the frozen falls are so stunning, even the kids will be impressed. Wander through the Dewitt Mall and browse the books at Buffalo Street Books, Ithaca’s cooperatively-owned independent bookstore. Before heading out of town, share an ice cream sundae at Purity Ice Cream Co. as the ice cream sundae was rumored to have been invented in Ithaca in 1892. Purity is a retro ice cream stand that has been churning ice cream since 1936.
