Plan your trip
Planning to come to campus? To enhance your trip, we’ve collected a few resources to ensure you have a great experience, including a few tips and tricks from current students.
Campus visits during the covid-19 pandemic
As a proactive measure against the spread of COVID-19, many of the options below may be limited or unavailable. Please see the Ways to Visit page for Skidmore’s current offerings and policies, Virtual Visits for other ways to explore, and connect individually with off-campus establishments for travel details.
Beautiful any time of year
Parking
Visitors are welcome on our campus and there are no requirements to register vehicles
as long as they are parked during normal business hours and don’t remain on campus
overnight.
For prospective students and families, your best option is to start at the Office of Admissions, which has its own parking lot.
City of Saratoga Springs
Skidmore is located just one mile north of downtown Saratoga Springs. If you are able,
we encourage you to explore Saratoga by foot by taking the pleasant walk from campus
through the historic residential district that brings you down Broadway into the heart
of our city.
Where to stay
One option is Skidmore’s Surrey-Williamson Inn, adjacent to the Eissner Admissions
Center. For reservations, visit the Inn's site or call 518-580-8270. Be sure to mention you are visiting as a prospective student
and family in order to receive a discount of approximately 20% off the market rate.
Several hotels, inns and B&Bs are also within a short drive of campus. For a complete
list, visit the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau.
*The Surrey is closed until further notice in the college-wide effort to de-densify
campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Where to dine
We encourage all visitors to use their campus visit as an opportunity to explore our
on-campus dining options, including the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall and The Spa. Ask
your tour guide when you arrive for more information.
There are also more than 50 local restaurants within a few miles of campus. We recommend
exploring those in downtown Saratoga Springs on and off Broadway, including those
on Caroline, Phila, Spring and Henry streets. You may also be interested in venturing
a few blocks off Broadway to the niche Beekman Street Arts District.
Downtown Saratoga dining options
*Dining policies may differ during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prepare for alternative arrangements.
Accessibility
Skidmore College is committed to providing equal opportunities for people with disabilities or impairments. If you or your guests need an accommodation, please contact the Admissions Office at 800-867-6007 or 518-580-5570. With ample advance notice, we will do our best to make appropriate accommodation arrangements.
Campus visit tips from Thoroughbred Ambassadors
Student tour guides, known as Thoroughbred Ambassadors, give campus tours. They’re also your student-to-student contact for tips and tricks that will make the most of your Skidmore experience. When it comes to planning your trip to Skidmore, they have a few helpful suggestions.
Take full advantage of your time with your tour guide. Bring all of your questions. Even if there isn’t time during the tour, they’re often available before and after as well. Many of them are also happy to share their email address if something comes up later. Just ask!
Here are a few questions that go beyond “What do you think of Skidmore?”
- What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekends?
- What’s the best class you’ve taken recently?
- What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were applying to college?
- Do people really think Creative Thought Matters?
- How do people get around campus and town?
A significant part of Skidmore’s charm is the ever-lively Saratoga Springs.
- Get a restaurant list. Tour guides maintain a colorful list of restaurant recommendations. Don’t leave the Admissions Office without asking for a copy!
- Take a $5, 30-minute tour. Downtown, in the heart of Congress Park, is one of the most convenient ways to learn about our small city. The Saratoga Springs History Museum, in the Canfield Casino, tells the story of Saratoga Springs from its beginnings.
- Leave time for a stop on your way out of town. Check out Saratoga Spa State Park. The historical landmark has biking and hiking trails and hosts the famous Roosevelt Baths, Hall of Springs and Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
While your tour guide will take you around the campus, you can also get a taste for our classroom experience through Skidmore’s other visit options. If shadowing a class interests you, be sure to register at least two weeks in advance so our Admissions team can try their best to match you with someone in your area of interest.
Our award-winning Murray-Aikins Dining Hall provides nutritious and sustainable food while also functioning as a social hub for students running between classes during the day or extracurriculars in the evening. Your tour guide will bring you through here, winding you through the many stations and delicious smells — Supremo’s for Pizza, Emily’s Garden for vegetarian dishes, The Diner for hot meals and more.
- Eat a cookie. If you have a chance when you’re in “D-Hall,” grab a cookie. Yes, you can have one (or two). Yes, they are amazing.
- Look beyond the food. You’re there to check out the food. But campus dining spots are also great places to people-watch. And not just the students. Also look for our amazing and friendly dining staff. They’d love to meet you.