There are hundreds of colleges and universities scattered all over the Empire State. For many of the schools in what we call “downstate,” college campuses consist mainly of the sidewalks and busy streets surrounding these urban schools. However, in Upstate New York, it is a far different story!
Here is a short list of some of the most beautiful college campuses in our region.
The 12 colleges on our list are good schools academically and are great schools naturally. From a college set within the stunning Adirondacks to a school on the shore of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes, these schools are amazing locations to visit.
This 19th-century gatehouse at Bard College looks like a beautiful, imposing castle in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. Photo: Getty ImagesGetty ImagesBard College
Located in Annandale-on-Hudson (Town of Red Hook), Bard College opened in 1860. Today, the school, which has great views of the Hudson River and the faraway Catskill Mountains, sits on a 1,000-acre campus that serves about 2,000 students. There are many beautiful, old stone buildings on the campus. And one striking newer one: The Fisher Center, which is the arts center for the campus, was designed by Frank Gehry. His modernistic steel design stands in stark contrast to many of the other 70 buildings on campus. The campus also consists of the adjacent Montgomery Place, the estate of members of the historic Livingston family from the American Revolutionary War era.
This photo shows Cornell University’s McFaddin Hall in Ithaca, N.Y., during summer. Photo: Getty ImagesGetty ImagesCornell University
Cornell University opened its doors in 1865. This world-class university consists of a several-thousand-acre campus with many historic buildings dating to the 1800s, and with natural vistas of Cayuga Lake and several of the famous gorges of Ithaca. In fact, two of those gorges run adjacent to the college: Cascadilla Gorge and Fall Creek Gorge. There are too many classic buildings to mention here, but the McGraw Clock Tower is the exclamation point that centers the campus. It has a 1875 Seth Thomas clock and a 14-foot pendulum. Sage Chapel is the university’s original non-denominational place of worship. It contains several original Tiffany stained glass windows and is the final resting place of many of the early founding fathers of Cornell, including Ezra Cornell.
The United States Military Academy at West Point is viewed from Cold Spring, N.Y., across the Hudson River. Dominick Fiorille for New York UpstateDominick Fiorille for New York UpstateU.S. Military Academy at West Point
For history, beauty and location, it is hard to find a better way to spend a day on a university campus than here at the venerable United States Military Academy at West Point. Perhaps the most visited college campus in the country, thousands come here each year for tours of the campus and buildings. No tour would be complete without a visit to Trophy Point. This is a lookout that offers one of the best Hudson River views in the region. At Trophy Point, a visitor can gaze upon the remnants of the historic Great Chain. This massive Revolutionary War iron link chain was strung across the Hudson to deter the British from sailing north to Albany. The West Point Cemetery, also on the campus, is very interesting, holding the remains of hundreds of graduates who served in virtually every war America ever fought. Don’t miss the grave of General George Armstrong Custer, who graduated last in his class in 1861. His memorial obelisk is adorned with bronze buffalo heads jutting out from the sides of it.
Pigeons take off at dawn in front of the JMA WIreless Dome through the steam of the SU Steam station Tuesday, October 28, 2025. N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.comN .Scott Trimble | strimble@syraSyracuse University
Syracuse University offers a landscape profile that is hard to miss in Syracuse, its namesake city. But, as students can attest, the hike from bottom to top can be daunting, especially in the Salt City’s notoriously brutal winters. The campus was chartered in 1870. More than 21,000 students fill the 700 acres of the campus with activities, dormitories, educational halls, public events and perhaps the most famous landmark “on the hill,” the JMA Wireless Dome (formerly called the Carrier Dome). This athletic facility is the oldest domed structure on any campus in America. The iconic Hall of Languages, with its stately Second Empire design from the founding of the college, is said to have been the inspiration for one of the most famous houses in cartoon history, the Addams family home! Crouse College is a beautiful 1889 Romanesque structure that was the first college of fine arts in the U.S. At its completion, this towering brownstone structure was the highest building in the city of Syracuse.
Colgate Memorial Chapel is the centerpiece of the academic quad. Built in 1918, it is used for convocations, concerts, lectures, and interfaith church services. Its golden dome is one of the most visible features on campus, and can be seen from the village as well.Kathe HarringtonColgate University
Colgate is always a contender when national rankings come out naming the most beautiful campuses in America. And rightfully so. There are two sections to the 600-acre campus in Central New York. The administration, classroom and dormitory buildings are high on the hillside, as well as another flat, more open section in the front of the college near Hamilton’s residential/business district. Both are equally attractive. Colgate’s campus, which first opened in 1827, consists of 88 buildings. There are several Colgate traditions that are inextricably linked to the campus’s beauty. The Willow Path is a beloved pathway lined with willow and beech trees near the entrance to the campus. It is said that students who share a first kiss on this path are destined to marry. Cardiac Hill is a daunting incline to the uppermost campus, and Taylor Lake is a photographer’s dream, especially when swans or the ever-present Canadian geese are making ripples along the water’s surface.
Sunset hits the grounds of Vassar College in the summer of 2009 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Photo: Getty ImagesGetty ImagesVassar College
Vassar College is a private liberal arts school located in Poughkeepsie. Its entire 1,000-acre campus is considered to be a “dedicated arboretum,” consisting of a collection of more than 200 varieties of trees. The centerpiece, known as the Main Building, was designed by famed architect James Renwick Jr. (St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Smithsonian Institution, etc.), and when it opened, it housed the entire college. It was, at the time of its completion, the largest building in the United States by floor space.
This photo from The Post-Standard’s archives shows the study where Mark Twain wrote some of his most famous works on Elmira College’s campus in Elmira, N.Y.The Post-Standard archivesElmira College
A beautiful 42-acre campus located in an urban neighborhood of the city of Elmira in the Southern Tier. The pretty campus is home to the college’s 700 students. The homages to Mark Twain are everywhere on the Elmira College campus, from statues of Twain and his wife, Olivia, who was a graduate of the college (1864), to the famous author’s own writing study, which is located on the grounds and is a tourist attraction. In this study, Twain wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as well as “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” The college was founded in 1855, and one building still exists from the opening day: Cowles Hall, distinctive with its tall octagonal center tower.
Talk about a location! Paul Smith’s College of the Adirondacks is surrounded by an incomparable natural setting. Located on the Lower St. Regis Lake, this school has a campus that spreads across a whopping 14,000 acres, making it one of the largest college campuses in the world. With beauty all around it, it is no wonder that the 1,000 students enjoy a campus life centered around outdoor activities. Paul Smith’s is the only four-year college located in Adirondack Park.
A woman walks on the campus of Hobart & William Smith Colleges, in Geneva, N.Y., on Nov. 5, 2025. Photo: Getty ImagesGetty ImagesHobart and William Smith Colleges
This Finger Lakes college campus is a stunner! With many vistas overlooking the blue waters of Seneca Lake (the largest of the Finger Lakes), the campus reflects the history and beauty of the surrounding area. The college gets its name from the merger of two schools, William Smith College for Women and Hobart College for Women. There are more than 2,000 undergraduates who attend. Hobart and William Smith Colleges is one of the oldest colleges in New York state (began in 1794 as Geneva Academy). Perhaps the most famous graduate of the long line of changing institutions here is Elizabeth Blackwell. She graduated from the (then) Geneva Medical College in 1849, becoming the first licensed female doctor in the United States.
This photo shows an aerial view of Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. Photo: Getty ImagesGetty ImagesHartwick College
Oneonta is famously known as the “City of the Hills.” And that is no more apparent than at the location of the city’s two hillside universities, SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College. Hartwick College towers over the city landscape, and from around every corner on the 425-acre campus, the view down the Susquehanna Valley is gorgeous. There are many open spaces, gazebos, overlooks and bench areas for students and staff to enjoy the view in all seasons. Still, the steep inclines from dormitories to classrooms to athletic fields here are legendary. So, although the thousands of students who have attended Hartwick College since it opened here can attest to having worn out several pairs of shoes over the course of their education, it cannot be denied that the natural vistas offered by the campus are unforgettable.
– A student walks through the campus of Hamilton College, in the Oneida County town of Kirkland. About six inches of snow fell in a late spring snowstorm on April 19, 2022. Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.comGlenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.comHamilton College
Just a beautiful, historic college campus located in tiny Clinton, about 10 miles southwest of Utica. Hamilton College, a private liberal arts school, received its charter in 1812. There are about 1,850 students at Hamilton, and the campus covers 1,350 acres. There are many historic buildings and many newer ones, including a fitness and dance center (2006), a student center (2010) and a music and arts center (2014). The campus is attractively landscaped and sits on a hill overlooking the village of Clinton. A statue of college namesake Alexander Hamilton stands near the center of the campus, facing the college’s chapel, the only three-story chapel in the U.S. Also of note, the Sage Rink, built in 1921, is the oldest indoor collegiate hockey rink in the country.
SUNY Geneseo was founded in 1867 and is home to nearly 5,000 students. The campus consists of many buildings, including several newer-designed ones stemming from a major building initiative in the early 2000s. Still, the most attractive campus structures are the ones constructed in the first half of the 20th century. These include a 1938 campus carillon, an arboretum, a clock tower and others. The college is known for its beautiful westward-looking views. From an area called The Gazebo, the view stretches out across the Genesee Valley for dozens of miles. The sunsets viewed from here are so spectacular that crowds actually gather to observe them. The campus is just a few steps from Geneseo’s busy college town business district and the famous “Bear Fountain” in the middle of the street.