Road Trips to Nearby Cities

 

Corning and Upstate New York are not just great places to call home - they’re a centrally located starting point for any road trip.

“America’s Crystal City” has small town charm and hospitality with big city delights. Just ask the locals – living in Corning is fun! Whether you come from an urban, suburban or rural setting, you’ll find that Corning and Upstate New York provides a rich arts and culture scene, a vibrant nightlife, outdoor recreation, accessible amenities, and open spaces.

But, for all that the region offers residents and visitors alike, you may still need the occasional getaway. In just a few short hours you can easily road trip to many well-known larger cities, with their entertainments and diversions, for quick daytrips or weekend getaways. 

Here are a few of those nearby cities, ranging from closest to furthest:

 

Ithaca, NY

Travel time by car: 55 minutes.

Distance: 43 road miles.

Ithaca is a small city like Corning, but it is worth a mention for a quick daytrip to satisfy your out-of-town fix. LGBTQ and vegan/vegetarian-friendly cultures thrive in this college town, home to Cornell University and Ithaca College. “Ithaca is Gorges,” is their motto, with over 150 waterfalls in the area. Check out the Ithaca Commons.

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Rochester, NY

Travel time by car: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Distance: 105 road miles.

Here’s a bit of local lingo for you: if someone says they visited “Ra-Cha-Cha,” they mean Rochester. The city sits on the southern shores of Lake Ontario, and hundreds of thousands go downtown every year for many world-class festivals, including Highland Park’s Lilac Festival and the Xerox International Jazz Festival. Take the kids to The Strong - National Museum of Play, the second largest children’s museum in the US.

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Syracuse, NY

Travel time by car: 2 hours.

Distance: 99 road miles.

Syracuse has decided there are two seasons – “Winter” and “Not Winter” – and you can “Do Your Thing” in either season. Syracuse is home to The Great New York State Fair in Not Winter, and exciting NCAA Division I college sports year-round, courtesy of Syracuse University. Locals brag about Dinosaur BBQ, and out-of-towners frequent Destiny USA, a premier shopping, dining and entertainment complex voted the #1 travel destination in Syracuse by Tripadvisor.

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Buffalo, NY

Travel time by car: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Distance: 123 road miles.

A Buffalo road trip may call for at least a weekend, because you’re mere miles away from iconic Niagara Falls, too (both the US and Canadian sides).* This is NY’s second largest city, and with a variety of things to see and do, including tailgating at Buffalo Bills football and Buffalo Sabres hockey games. And yes, Buffalo wings were invented in Buffalo, at the Anchor Bar, but culinary travelers may also be interested in a “Buffalo Brewcation” to 10 area craft brew locations. 

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Toronto, Ontario

Travel time by car: 3 hours, 50 minutes.

Distance: 222 road miles.

As a Corning resident, you can instantly and easily be an international traveler, with a road trip over the border to the “New York City of Canada.”* Toronto is the largest city in Canada, with over 2.6 million people, and the residents are quite multi-cultural in ethnicity and religion. Visiting Toronto, you’ll find “The Views Are Different Here,” and the city welcomes you with “So Much Love.” *If you’re planning a trip to Canada, don’t forget your passport!

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Philadelphia, PA

Travel time by car: 4 hours.

Distance: 255 road miles.

The “City of Brotherly Love” is a family-friendly destination steeped in America’s history (visit the newly opened Museum of the American Revolution), but it also has LegoLand! A long weekend road trip here also positions you for a daytrip to the New Jersey shores of the Atlantic Ocean, with some beaches and boardwalks just a little over an hour away from downtown Philly.

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New York, NY

Travel time by car (to Manhattan): 4 hours.

Distance: 257 road miles.

Take heart, transplanted Manhattanites, you’re not far away from “The Big Apple” and the shops, restaurants, nightlife and culture you left behind.  If you’ve moved here from other parts of the world, you’re in easy driving distance to all that the five boroughs of The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island have to offer. Consider a drive and ride combo – drive from Corning to Port Jervis, NY and ride the Metro-North Railroad commuter line into Penn Station – then walk or use the city’s public transportation to get around. Gray Line New York, with its 48-hour hop-on, hop-off double decker bus tours, is a terrific and touristy way to navigate iconic attractions and destinations like the Empire State Building, Chinatown, Times Square, Macy’s, the World Trade Center and more.

We want you to feel at home in Corning, but who doesn’t like a road trip now and again? If you have a destination in mind, find out how close Corning is to any city in the world!

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