Winterfest Chestnut Ridge Park

Tel: (603) 587-2981. www.nevadacounty.org. Open Mon.-Fri. 11am-7pm, Sat.-Sun. 11am to 5pm. $36 adults, $14 ages 21 and over.

The closest thing to heaven New England has to offer is New England's largest, most consistently imaginative children's holiday play area. You can enter the Play Doo Chestnut Ridge Park midway through the day and, regardless of the nature of your holiday, you'll be rewarded with a prime viewing spot for the full rainbow display. During the Fourth weekend in October (the longest holiday in the park), there are also holiday-themed shows and parade opportunities that would have been the envy of any other park. Most of all, there is _you_ to be thankful for as well as _us_.

Museums and Gardens

Manistee Museum, 423 US 30N

Tel: (800) 272-5180. www.manisteemuseum.org. From April 15 to October 31, 10am-6pm daily, $10 adults, $7 ages 9-18. Closed Mondays.

Riverwalk Park, 1002 US 38N, Manistee. From May 26 to Sept. 29, daily park entry $6 adults, children 2 and under $3. Park can also be accessed outside on US 29. Free admission.

Two miles south of Trowbridge at US 38, the small riverfront park sits on a small bend and features the restored 1877 Manistee Dam and the Manistee River, now with trails and a boat landing. A popular destination in summer is the quiet no man's land of the shallow water where kayakers have had to paddle out into the rip tide to keep from drowning. The river is often murky during the spring and early summer flood flows, so carry your own gear in wetsuit or even bring your kayak instead to explore this quieter, largely unmaintained area.

Measuring 140 acres, Manistee Park is among the largest of the hundreds of public parks around the state. Constructed over the course of more than 30 years by Manistee State College, the park is in the eastern part of the city in both Lake Erie-side and Nissequogue River-side parcels.