10 Offbeat Towns to Visit in Upstate New York

Outside of New York City, the Empire State is full of charming, less-traveled spots. However, Upstate New York specifically really stands out as it is sparsely populated with people but densely populated with nature preserves, historic sites, and miscellaneous oddities. Small upstate NY communities corral all of those things for the sake of eccentric adventurers. If you fancy yourself one of them, take a trip to these wonderfully offbeat non-NYC settlements.

Little Falls

Little Falls is a little city with a lot of intrigue. Home to 4,605 people as of the 2020 Census, it is the second-smallest city in New York and straddles both sides of the Mohawk River. Overlooking one of its tributaries is Beardslee Castle, an authentic Irish-style castle built in the 1860s and serving as a restaurant, event venue, and ghost hunting ground. To see a less haunted but still somewhat creepy attraction, head a dozen miles southeast, just past the village of Palatine Bridge, to a field featuring a 15-foot replica of Squidward's house from SpongeBob SquarePants. It is a long way from Bikini Bottom.

Potsdam

Unlike Little Falls, Potsdam is classified as a town despite having over thrice its population. About 15,000 residents, thousands of temporary students, and sprinkles of offbeat tourists cover such sites as SUNY Potsdam, 1/2 Ton's Bar & Grill, and the North Country Children's Museum. But the strangest locale is Potty Gardens. In protest of zoning laws, resident Hank Robar built multiple gardens with potties as flower pots. One is at 82 Market Street and the other is at 85 Maple Street. They might make you say, "That's a lot of pots, damn."

Oneida

Oneida is a hidden gem in Upstate New York that's definitely worth a visit. This charming town offers a blend of history, good eats, and outdoor fun. For history buffs, the Oneida Community Mansion House provides a fascinating glimpse into 19th-century utopian life. Foodies will love local favorites like the rustic Creekside Inn for a cozy meal and the picturesque Turning Stone Resort for a more upscale dining experience. Outdoor enthusiasts can explore the trails at the nearby Verona Beach State Park or enjoy a leisurely day fishing at Oneida Lake. Whether you're in the mood for a bite, a hike, or a bit of history, Oneida has something unique to offer.

Whitehall

You probably associate Sasquatch with the Pacific Northwest, but Whitehall, New York, claims the celebrated creature as its own. Sightings of a supposed 'squatch in the '70s turned Whitehall into the Northeast Bigfoot Mecca, so much so that the town made the unconfirmed animal its official animal in 2018. Moreover, Sasquatch statues were built outside the Skene Valley Country Club and the Vermont Marble, Granite, Slate & Soapstone Co. On the last Saturday of September, Whitehall hosts the Sasquatch Calling Festival to coincide with its officially observed Sasquatch Appreciation Day.

Cohoes

Cohoes is a city of about 18,000 at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. Once an important industrial hub, it is fringed by defunct riverside factories that give it a steampunk character. This character has helped revitalize Cohoes, since people are occupying or visiting buildings like the Ogden Mill, National Auto Building, and Harmony Mill No. 3. The last of those is the discovery site of the Cohoes Mastodon, whose 13,000-year-old skeleton is now displayed at Albany's New York State Museum. The mastodon once weighed between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds.

North Pole

Skip a trip to the Arctic Circle and circle the map around Lake Placid, New York. Skirting that circle is North Pole, a village designed like Santa's village. Appropriately, it comprises a theme park called Santa's Workshop, which has everything from a toy shop to a reindeer barn and is considered the "oldest continuously run theme park in the country." North Pole is part of the town of Wilmington, which, like its neighbor Lake Placid, has a selection of snowy sites that you can visit after the workshop. These include High Falls Gorge, Whiteface Mountain, and the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge.

Oneonta

There is a Oneonta town and a Oneonta city. They are adjacent and have small populations, but the city has over twice as many residents as the town. It also has offbeat haunts like a roller skating rink called Interskate 88, a book and gift shop called Green Toad Bookstore, and a university called SUNY Oneonta, which has a memorial for the Twin Towers that is roughly 175 miles from the site of the real Twin Towers. Another quirky attraction is just outside Oneonta in East Meredith, a tiny hamlet with a converted grist mill called Hanford Mills Museum. Each year, it schedules an ice harvest of the kind depicted in Frozen, but 2024's event was canceled due to warm weather and thin ice.

Clayton

Upstate New York is full of unique festivals. Joining Whitehall's bigfoot festival and East Meredith's ice harvesting festival is Clayton's pumpkin chucking festival, which is dubbed the "Punkin Chunkin Festival." Each October, thousands of people flock to this small town to watch pumpkins be catapulted into the St. Lawrence River. After watching the launches and sampling a wide variety of food (notably pulled pork and BBQ chicken), visitors can check out Clayton's other oddities like the Antique Boat Museum, Thousand Islands Museum, and 1000 Islands River Rat Cheese. Yum.

Chatham

Chatham is a town of about 4,100 people and dozens of quaint and quirky wonders. Chief among them is Chatham Brewing, a 6,000-square-foot factory of food and drink, including 20 barrels of beer; the Crandell Theatre, which is the "oldest and largest single-screen movie theater in Columbia County"; and the Mac-Haydn Theatre, a vibrant musical venue that may seem out of place in a small town. But the quirkiest Chatham haunt is the Taconic Sculpture Park, an outdoor gallery of abstract sculptures built by self-taught artist Roy Kanwit. You can see a 19-foot-tall plaster head from the Taconic State Parkway.

Oswego

Located on the banks of Lake Ontario, Oswego is a bank of odd treasures. The central vault is a two-acre, triangular park that hosted some of the quirkier events in US history, particularly the 1756 sacking of Fort George by French commander Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. It is now called Montcalm Park. Nearby is another historic preserve, Breitbeck Park, which features a monument to Rosemary Nesbitt, the founder of the H. Lee White Maritime Museum who was also known for dressing like a ghost and telling spooky tales on Halloween. Just across the Oswego River from both parks is the Fort Ontario State Historic Site, a bastion fort turned the only Holocaust refugee camp in America turned modern-day museum.

Little Falls, Potsdam, Oneida, Whitehall, Cohoes, North Pole, Oneonta, Clayton, Chatham, and Oswego are in the upper echelon of Upstate New York communities. They not only have beautiful scenery and vibrant stores but also a range of offbeat attractions, from a SpongeBob SquarePants house to a toilet garden to a sasquatch festival to a roadside sculpture park.