Potsdam (New York)

Potsdam (pop 9,000) is a village in the town of Potsdam in northern New York State.

For other places with the same name, see Potsdam (disambiguation).

Understand

Market Street, Potsdam

Founded in 1806 and named after the orange Potsdam sandstone found in Central St. Lawrence County.

Get in

By car

Take US 11 north from Watertown or NY 56 south from Massena.

By bus

• 🌍 Trailways Bus Line, Market Square Mall, 22 Depot St., toll-free: [phone]. 5:45am-12:50pm weekdays, 5:45am-8:30am & 12pm-12:50pm Sat, closed Sunday/holidays. Intercity bus from Massena, Potsdam, Canton, Gouverneur, Evans Mills, Watertown and Pulaski to Syracuse. Air and rail connection at Syracuse. Onward bus connection from Syracuse to NYC. 

By train

There is no Amtrak service in the region. The closest passenger rail is in Brockville (VIA) or Utica-Rome (Amtrak). The closest passenger rail to connect directly to the bus to Potsdam is in Syracuse.

By plane

There is a tiny one-runway Potsdam municipal airport which houses thirteen single-engine planes for general aviation (FAA LID: PTD), but the closest scheduled Essential Air Service is in Massena (MSS ^IATA) or Ogdensburg (OGS ^IATA), each with two daily Cape Air flights to Albany. Massena and Ogdensburg are reachable from Canton-Potsdam by county-level commuter bus:

• St. Lawrence NYSARC, Save-A-Lot, 200 Market St. or Wal-Mart, US Route 11, ☎ [phone]. Weekday commuter bus service to Ogdensburg, Massena (three runs daily), Canton and Morristown. $2. 

Get around

• Potsdam Taxi, 123 Market St., ☎ [phone]. 

See

• 🌍 Clarkson University, 8 Clarkson Ave., ☎ [phone]. Private university founded 1896, 3500 undergraduate and postgraduate students on two campuses; arts, science, business and engineering.  
• 🌍 SUNY Potsdam (State University of New York), 44 Pierrepont Ave., ☎ [phone]. Founded 1816 as the St. Lawrence Academy, which became the Potsdam Normal School to train teachers of music, mathematics and the arts. 4500 students, two libraries and an art gallery.  
• Orchestra of Northern NY, ☎ [phone]. Live performances at SUNY Potsdam's Hosmer Concert Hall and around the region (Watertown, Massena). $22/pers. 
• 🌍 Potsdam Public Museum, 2 Park St. (Civic Center), ☎ [phone]. Local and civil war history, archives. 

Do

• 🌍 Potsdam Town and Country Club, 6194 State Highway 56, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Golf course with restaurant ([phone]), pro shop. 9 holes $15-17, 18 holes $25-32, cart +$9-15. 
• There is a riverside state park in Colton for swimming, fishing and hiking.

Buy

• Potsdam Farmers' Market, south of the Main Street parking lot. 9AM-2PM Wed and Sat, mid-May - Oct. Local produce and meats, baked goods, wine, maple syrup, flowers, crafts. Winter market 1-3PM Sat at VFW Post, 95 Market St. 

Eat

• 1844 House, 6885 US Hwy 11, ☎ [phone]. Tue-Sat 4:30pm-9pm. American bistro, local produce, regional cuisine. 
• Becky's Place, Pratt Commons, SUNY Potsdam. 7:30am-7pm weekdays, closes 3pm Fri.. Salads, pizza, baked pastas, paninis, soups and takeout items. Grill, adjacent Tim Horton's café. 
• Cactus Grill and Cantina, 11 Raymond St., ☎ [phone]. Mexican. 

Drink

• 🌍 McDuff's Tavern, 59 Market St, ☎ [phone]. 11AM-11:30PM daily, noon-11:30 Sun. Tavern in restored 1860s brick building, full menu and selection of cocktails, beers, and wines. Pool, darts, flat screen TVs. Second bar with dance floor and DJ downstairs. 

Sleep

Hotels and motels

• Clarkson Inn, One Main St., ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Check-in: 3pm, check-out: 11am. Boutique hotel near university campuses, 40 rooms, demands credit card on check-in to charge a long list of incidental items including fee for continental breakfast. Bar/lounge, room service, wi-fi, small meeting/banquet facility, refrigerator/microwave in room, free local calls. $140/night. 
• Smalling Motel South, 7518 US Highway 11, ☎ [phone]. 16-room family-owned motel, non-smoking, wi-fi, refrigerators, continental breakfast included. $70-80/night. 

Bed and breakfast

• Brambles Inn, 48 Elm St., ☎ [phone]. Check-in: 3pm, check-out: noon. Historic 1842 Greek revival house, three rooms with private bath, wi-fi, full breakfast. $120-135/night. 

Go next

• Canton (New York) — Clarkson and SUNY Potsdam have counterparts (and rivals) in Canton: St. Lawrence University and SUNY Canton
• Adirondack State Park
• Cornwall-Massena
• Prescott-Ogdensburg

Routes through Potsdam

Champlain ← Malone ←

N  S

→ Canton → Watertown