After 2 ½ years, we finally took a vacation. We decided to go locally for 2 days and 1 night but at the last minute, we decided on 3 days and 2 nights instead. We went upstate NY, the Mohonk Preserve and Mohonk Mountain House for hiking and just relaxing. It’s a 2 hour drive. I’ve checked out the Mohonk Mountain Hotel. It’s $200 per person per night which included hotel and 3 meals. That would be $800 if we stay for 2 nights. That is way over our budget. So I decided we go to a motel about 20 miles away after reading all the reviews online. Our trip turns out to be less than half the cost if we were to stay in the Mohonk Mountain Resort.
The first day we got there, we hiked in the preserves which is not the same as the Mohonk Mountain House (it is privately own). It was a nice, quiet 5 miles hike round trip except at the end. We took the West Trapps Trail and started off with the Overcliff road. The trail was dry and easy but when we got to the Undercliff Road towards the last quarter of the trail, there were a lot of millipedes. I hate anything that crawls on the floor like snakes, worms etc.. The Millipedes were disgusting. I held my husband tight and screamed all the way till the end of the trail. There were a few people on the trail and they were wondering what I was screaming about. Sure, my husband was a little embarrassed by me. I couldn’t help it. I told him that I’ll never go back to this trail ever again.
On the 2nd day of our vacation, we had lunch first, and then drove to the Mohonk Mountain House. Admission was $18 per person. And if you want to park closer to the house, it’s an additional $10. There is a trail which we can hiked up to the house so we figure we would hike since this is the main purpose of our vacation. At the end of the day, I would say it was a mistake to hike the additional 2-3 miles just to get to the Mohonk Mountain house. When we got to the Mohonk Mountain House, I was amazed with the beauty of the resort. We had to hike some more toward the Sky Top Tower. In additional to that, we walked around one section of the garden outside the Mohonk Mountain House. At the end of the day, we still have to hike back to our car. Our shins were sore. We wished we had paid the extra $10 so that we parked closer to the hotel rather than hiking another 1.5 miles back.
On our 3rd day, we planned on doing more (going to the Storm King Art Center, Apple Picking or something else). We ended up driving across the bridge to Poughkeepsie and then drive around Newburgh and came home before rush hour.
I was glad to be back to see my baby. It was a nice get away with no cooking, cleaning or baby sitting for a couple of days. We won’t have another vacation for a while.
My wife and I went there some years ago. We didn't stay at the resort nor eat in its dinning room. However, we walked around, sat on the veranda over looking the lake and went on a carriage ride. My wife will never forget the ride; the wheel she was sitting over was hugging the rode overlooking a void or drop that seemed like hundreds of feet. It was really safe and beautiful. We loved the stay, maybe things changed.
ReplyDeleteI think it is still as wonder as you described. Had I had known that we have to pay to get in there (it is private property), I would've made reservation to have lunch there. It's $60 for buffet lunch. That would've include entrance fee and parking close to the hotel. My husband had gone there with his friends a few months ago and he said they have great food there. I do not doubt that.
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