Saratoga Spa State Park: a guide to the city’s big backyard

This guide is for residents and visitors who want to use Saratoga Spa State Park well: where to walk, which springs to taste, what else is inside the park and how to plan around concert nights. The park is the city’s biggest open space, and it is easy to spend years here and only know one corner of it.

The park in brief

Saratoga Spa State Park covers 2,379 acres in the south part of Saratoga Springs, between Route 9 (South Broadway) and Route 50. New York made the springs a state reservation in 1909 to protect them from overpumping. In the 1930s the state built bathhouses, a drink hall and graded walkways there, many designed to help people recovering from heart conditions. It became a state park in 1962 and a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

Getting in and around

The main entrance is the Avenue of the Pines off Route 9, a long, tree-lined road. The Lincoln Baths, which opened in 1930, sit at the corner of Avenue of the Pines and Route 9. From there, roads branch to the Hall of Springs, the Gideon Putnam hotel, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the Geyser Creek area. The park’s New York State Parks page has current fees and trail maps.

What to see and do

The park mixes grand buildings, woods, creeks and some of the city’s most distinctive mineral springs.

The springs and the Geyser Creek area

The park’s mineral springs are the reason it exists. Near Geyser Creek, the Island Spouter shoots water up from a mound of hardened minerals, and nearby Orenda Spring has built up orange, iron-rich deposits called tufa. Hayes Well Spring sits near the parking area for the Island Spouter. The Geyser Trail, about 2.9 miles, passes several springs. Bring a cup or bottle to taste them. Our mineral springs guide has more detail.

SPAC

The park’s summer anchor is the Saratoga Performing Arts Center at 108 Avenue of the Pines, with New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra in residence each summer and pop concerts on other nights.

The auto museum

Next door at 110 Avenue of the Pines, the Saratoga Automobile Museum is housed in the park’s old bottling plant and runs rotating exhibitions.

The Gideon Putnam and the golf course

In the middle of the park, the Gideon Putnam hotel at 24 Gideon Putnam Road is the park’s hotel. The Saratoga Spa Golf Course, 60 Roosevelt Drive, is the public course inside the park.

Walking and running

The park is one of the best places in the city to walk, run or ski. The original 1930s walkways still wind between the buildings, and trails run along Geyser Creek and through the woods. Good options:

• The Avenue of the Pines, for a straight, shaded walk from Route 9 toward the Hall of Springs.
• The Geyser Trail, roughly 2.9 miles, for springs and creek views.
• The paths around the Hall of Springs and the reflecting pools, which are paved and good for strollers.

Winter in the park

The park stays open year-round. In winter the Saturday farmers market run by the Saratoga Farmers Market Association moves indoors to the Lincoln Baths at 65 South Broadway, from November through April. Snowy trails are popular with cross-country skiers and snowshoers.

Concert nights

SPAC’s main stage holds up to 25,000 people, so concert nights change the park. Traffic backs up on Route 9 and Route 50, and parking areas fill early. If you only want a walk, go in the morning on show days, or pick a night with nothing scheduled.

Nearby

The park borders Geyser Crest on the west and South Broadway on the east. For a meal before or after, Mama Mia’s Restaurant is at 185 Ballston Avenue.

Good to know

Some springs are shut off for maintenance from time to time, and the park has sometimes had to close sections after storms. In 2007 state officials confirmed that water used in the park’s public baths had been mixed with tap water, so if pure spring water matters to you, drink straight from the spring taps.

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