Getting the flavor of ... Saratoga Springs for kids, and more

last updated 8 January 2015

Saratoga Springs for kids

In Saratoga Springs, N.Y., it’s once again time to head to the races, said Marshall Berdan in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 40-day season has kicked off at Saratoga Race Course, the “oldest organized sports venue in the country.” You can take a free, 45-minute, behind-the-scenes walking tour of the 165-acre facility, which accommodates up to 1,900 horses. But the “celebrated racetrack” and its vintage grandstand aren’t the only attractions. Just across the street, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame chronicles the 300-year history of horse racing. Kids can pretend to be jockeys in the Horse Play! Gallery, where they try on racing silks, groom a stuffed horse, and nail on plastic horseshoes. They can even saddle up on a mechanical horse in the Ready to Ride simulator. Finish off with a picnic under a “tree-shaded grove” by the paddock, as you settle in to watch the races.

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The “best-known city in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,” Marquette is also the best place to start exploring the area, said Nancy Trejos in The Washington Post. The U.P.’s “highly hospitable” residents—who proudly call themselves “Yoopers”—are invariably willing to help. Set on the coast of Lake Superior, the port is surrounded by natural diversions. You can hike up Sugarloaf Mountain to take in vast views of the lake and the “lush green forests” that blanket the area. It’s a steep climb, but “the city has built a stairway near the peak.” More ambitious travelers can sail out to tour the picturesque Marquette Harbor Lighthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or explore tiny Presque Isle, which has some of the oldest rock formations in North America. Then return to land to taste whitefish, “a U.P. specialty,” at Northland Pub in the historic Landmark Inn.