Saratoga Springs NY has officially kicked off another summer of FUN and I was lucky enough to have been invited to celebrate the opening weekend at Saratoga Race Course!
Being from upstate NY my entire life I have never really traveled outside of Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester. Getting an opportunity to travel to Saratoga Springs was a really nice experience for my husband and I. This past weekend was also my husband's birthday so it was nice to get out of town for the weekend and spend time just the two of us.
Prior to our trip I did some research on Saratoga Springs and it's history. I am a history nerd so I dove deep into finding out everything I could at the town before our trip. Geographically, Saratoga Springs is a small town located in upstate NY near Albany and Schenectady. If your an outdoor nature buff you will love this location because it is nestled near the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. Fun fact: the city sits on top of natural springs with the water rumored to bring good health! I was humbly invited to attend Fashion Saturday event at the Saratoga Race Course this past weekend. My husband and I didn't know what to expect besides some silly assumptions we made to entertain ourselves in our car ride there!
If you have ever been curious to visit Saratoga Springs or are planning a visit this summer here is my travel guide on places to visit:
1. SARATOGA RACE COURSE
The Saratoga Horse Track is a historical sports venue. It is the oldest sports venue in the United States. The Horse track opened in 1863 and in its over 155 year old history some of the sport's greatest jockeys, trainers and thoroughbreds have competed there. There are so many fun things to do that I wanted to list some below.
Here are some of my favorite things:
FOOD
There are so many choices of food at the race course. Food trucks, to a la carte menu in the club seating to Shake Shack! Yes there is a Shake Shack there too! Saratoga is known for creating the original potato chip so my husband and I placed and order and it was really good! I recommend trying them if your a potato chip lover. I also have to add how many the Saratoga water is! Both sparkling and regular the water was delicious. I imagine this is what drinking from a fresh natural spring would taste like (no exaggeration guys it really was that refreshing).
SADDLING PADDOCK
This was probably my first place. It was a beautiful part of the track where onlookers can watch the thoroughbreds and jockeys prepare for their race. In this circle you also find trainers and owners there. Its a perfect place to snap a close photo or check out the horses up close before placing your bets.
RACE
The most exhilarating and energizing part of a day at Saratoga race course is when the horses are racing down the stretch. When they turn that wide corner the crowds stands in unison and you hear all different kind of cheers for their winning horse to pull through. If you want to get close to the action ( I recommend at least doing it once) head to the track apron. Its usually crowded there so plan to go before the race starts and give yourself a close up view of the horses competing neck and neck to cross the finish line.
2. RESTAURANTS
Let me know just say WOW! I was blown away at the diversity and abundance of restaurants, coffee hubs and bakeries located on and around Broadway in Saratoga Springs. I suggest you bookmark a couple of places before your trip on Yelp. It helped me plan out our trip a lot and make reservations where needed.
On Friday night we made reservations at Druthers Brewing. The food was delicious and the serving was extremely generous! My husband ordered the Buffalo mac n cheese and its size is so big that it can be shared with two people. I ordered a wood grilled pizza and it was fantastic. Skinny crust just how I like it and deliciously flavored sweet sauce with tons of toppings. The prices are affordable and is a really cool hang out spot.
For breakfast we checked Urban Roots Juice. I really wanted something light and cool for breakfast. Urban Roots Juice offers smoothie bowls, juices, smoothies and an array of avocado toasts. We ordered a smoothie bowl and a avocado toast with bacon! It was so yummy and light and exactly what I wanted before we headed to the race course that day.
3. SHOPS
While your strolling Broadway you will find many fun and local shops. There are unique gifts and toy stores, book stores, local boutiques and larger retail brands all along Broadway and near by side streets. The retail shops are a mix of old charm and today's young trends. My favorite was a local hat boutique for both men and women that had to most unique and prettiest horse race hats I have ever seen! The employees were kind and helpful and I just had a great time playing dress up and trying on so many beautiful hats.
4. CONGRESS PARK
Right off of Broadway is a beautiful quaint park called Congress Park. Funny story: there are a few spring drinking fountains in the park so the first one we saw I recorded my husband taking a sip! Watch our vlog to see his reaction 😂 You will also find in the park an operational wooden carousel that was built in 1911 and a WWII memorial. Great place to take some quiet time to enjoy your visit to Saratoga and relax in beautifully taken care of park.
There are many many more things to do in Saratoga besides these four that I posted. If you want to research more below are some articles you should check out:
I am planning on doing more fun travel guides this summer so if you guys have any recommendations please leave them below!
*Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. I was invited to go to the race course and had such a great time visiting the town that I wanted to create a travel guide. All opinions are based on my own experience and are 100% mine*
No comments
Post a Comment