Touching down at Watertown Airport in Watertown places you close to cities like Syracuse, Oswego, and Kingston, all easily reachable. Watertown is the hub of New York's North Country, a mill town on the Black River about 20 minutes from Lake Ontario and a half hour from the Thousand Islands. The city has a brick Public Square, a big military presence from nearby Fort Drum, and a reputation for heavy winter snow that locals wear as a badge of honor.

Standout experiences around Watertown: - Raft or kayak the Black River whitewater right at the edge of town - Visit the zoo and overlooks at Thompson Park, a sprawling Olmsted-designed hilltop park - Learn that the five-and-dime chain got its start here when Woolworth opened his first store downtown - Walk the War of 1812 battlefield and waterfront in Sackets Harbor - Cruise past island mansions and tour Boldt Castle from Alexandria Bay - Browse wooden runabouts at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton - Fish Henderson Harbor and Lake Ontario for bass, salmon, and trout - Snowmobile or cross-country ski the Tug Hill Plateau after a lake-effect storm

Watertown is the natural launch point for the Thousand Islands, with Clayton and Alexandria Bay about 30 minutes north and the bridge to Canada just beyond. Sackets Harbor is 15 minutes west, Oswego and its lakeside fort are about an hour south, Syracuse is about 70 minutes, and Kingston, Ontario, is roughly an hour away with a passport. Try a slice of Croghan bologna from the next county over, a smoked ring sausage locals swear by, and come in summer for lake days or in winter for serious snow.