Two Upstate NY spots named among best places to see solar eclipse

Total eclipse

This combination of photos shows the path of the sun during a total eclipse by the moon Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, near Redmond, Ore. On April 8, 2024, spectators who aren't near the path of totality or who get cloudy weather on eclipse day can still catch the total solar eclipse, with NASA, science centers and media organizations planning to stream live coverage online from different locations along the path. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)AP

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Still not sure where you want to go to watch the 2024 total solar eclipse? Upstate New York is a totality great bet.

Two places in the Empire State have been dubbed among the top spots to see the solar eclipse: The ever-majestic Niagara Falls and the expansively beautiful Adirondacks. The two popular destinations were included in Country Living’s roundup of the best scenic spots in the path of totality.

The eclipse is the celestial show in New York since 1925. Upstate hasn’t experienced totality — the magnificent moment when the moon completely cloaks the sun — in 99 years and won’t again for another 375 years. (The contiguous United States will have to wait until 2044 to see the next total solar eclipse.)

Read more: Over 80 stellar ways to watch, celebrate 2024 solar eclipse in Upstate NY

Niagara Falls is widely considered one of the best watch spots in the eclipse’s 15-state path. NASA will camp out at the falls, which National Geographic has named seeing totality at Niagara Falls as one of the top adventures to have in 2024.

Country Living tapped Niagara Falls for its beauty and wealth of eclipse-related activities, ranging from talks with astronauts to fireworks.

But travelers headed to Niagara Falls can’t expect to watch the eclipse in solitude: About 1 million people are expected to flock to the Buffalo area to witness totality. (Prepare for traffic jams, friends.)

The Adirondacks — the second spot on Country Living’s list for New York — may offer a quieter adventure: Officials predict a still mighty, but less intimidating, 100,000 people will flock to the mountainous region for the eclipse.

The magazine highlighted two viewing spots in the Adirondacks: Totality in Tupper, a party hosted by the Adirondack Sky Center at an elementary school in Tupper Lakes, and The Wild Center, which is throwing a ”Total Solar Eclipse Festival”.

But will New York’s notoriously changeable weather ruin the party?

For now, it looks like Upstate may buck history and offer some of the clearest skies along the total solar eclipse path in the United States, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

More about the 2024 solar eclipse

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