USA Guide
The Mid-Atlantic
The three Mid-Atlantic states – New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey – stand at the heart of the most populated and industrialized corner of the US. Although dominated in the popular imagination by the gray smokestacks of New Jersey and steel factories of Pennsylvania, these states actually encompass beaches, mountains, islands, lakes, forests, rolling green countryside, and many worthwhile small cities and towns.
Although many travellers to the East Coast do not venture much further than New York City itself, the region offers varied attractions, from the crashing Atlantic surf of Long Island, through the wooded Catskill Mountains that line the Hudson River and the imposing Adirondack Mountains spread over a quarter of the state. In the northwest corner of the state, beyond the more industrialized Erie Canal cities along I-90, awesome Niagara Falls and artsy post-industrial Buffalo hug the Canadian border. Pennsylvania is best known for the fertile Pennsylvania Dutch country and the two great cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. New Jersey, often pictured as one big industrial carbuncle, offers shameless tourist pleasures along the shore – from the boardwalk and casinos of Atlantic City to the small-town charm of Cape May.
Highlights
1 The Adirondacks, NY A vast and rugged alpine wilderness offering superb hiking, skiing, fishing, and mountain-climbing opportunities.
2 Ithaca, NY This lovely Finger Lakes' town has a solar-powered library, its own legal tender, more restaurants per capita than New York City, waterfalls, gorges, local vineyards and an Ivy-League university.
3 Niagara Falls, NY Take the memorable Maid of the Mist boat trip, or visit the Cave of the Winds and stand close enough to feel the spray from these majestic falls.
4 History in Philadelphia, PA See the Liberty Bell and trace the steps of Benjamin Franklin in the city of brotherly love, where the Declaration of Independence was signed.
5 Art and architecture, Pittsburgh, PA The Warhol Museum, Cathedral of Learning, and two outlying Frank Lloyd Wright houses lend a surprising cultural flair to the so-called Steel City.
6 Cape May, NJ The cultured end of the Jersey shore is exemplified by the Victorian architecture, quaint B&Bs, and swish restaurants of this pleasant resort town.
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