Saratoga (Winter)

The 142-year-old Travers Stakes thoroughbred race draws in thousands of horse fans to Saratoga Springs each August. When winter's chill descends, so do the tourist numbers, though many festivals and activities keep the historic hamlet hopping for those who visit in the off season. Culinary meets comfort in the twelfth annual Chowderfest, where a buck will earn you a vote and a sample of one of more than thirty hearty soups and stews. Take the taste-testing further at the annual Saratoga Restaurant Week, where three-course dinners ring up at $18, lunches for $9. Dancers clog off the calories each February at the annual Dance Flurry. More than ...

The 142-year-old Travers Stakes thoroughbred race draws in thousands of horse fans to Saratoga Springs each August. When winter's chill descends, so do the tourist numbers, though many festivals and activities keep the historic hamlet hopping for those who visit in the off season. Culinary meets comfort in the twelfth annual Chowderfest, where a buck will earn you a vote and a sample of one of more than thirty hearty soups and stews. Take the taste-testing further at the annual Saratoga Restaurant Week, where three-course dinners ring up at $18, lunches for $9. Dancers clog off the calories each February at the annual Dance Flurry. More than 600 performers, in eight different Saratoga venues, equals more than 200 performances, workshops, concerts and crafts for visitors to enjoy in one weekend. The Saratoga Battlefield of the Saratoga National Historic Park, Saratoga Spa State Park and the Moreau Lake State Park are renowned for their natural beauty, and these areas offer wintertime ice skating, snowmobiling, ice fishing, Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, sledding and marshmallow-toasting bonfires. With all of this, even those most longing to hear the bugle’s “Call to Post” will find something of interest to hold them over until opening day.

About the Expert

Sascha Zuger is the author of the New York State Moon Handbook, the travel novel Girl Overboard (under the pseudonym Aimee Ferris), and is a freelancer for publications such as National Geographic Traveler, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.