Best Park

1. Washington Park

2. The Crossings

3. Thatcher Park

This was barely a competition: Washington Park strolled away with most of the votes. Perhaps it’s all the festivals and activities held in the park, or maybe most of our voters were sitting in the park while they cast their votes.

Best Playground

1. Washington Park

2. The Crossings

3. Central Park

The playground at Washington Park squeaked out a two vote win against the Crossings. While Central Park came in at third, it had nowhere near as many votes as the top two—sounds like someone needs a new slide.

Best Day Trip

1. Lake George

2. Saratoga Springs

3. New York City

First New York loses the Olympics, now it loses Best Day Trip. Mayor Bloomberg better start planning his Lake George vacation.

Best Bike Ride

1. Corning Preserve

2. Saratoga State Park

3. Colonie Town Park

Corning Preserve annihilated the competition, and that’s no easy task for a bike trail.

Best Running Trail

1. Corning Preserve

2. Washington Park

3. Saratoga State Park

The preserve whupped the other comers here, as well, though the voters didn’t specify if they were running toward or running from.

Best Hiking/Nature Trail

1. Thacher Park

2. Five Rivers

3 Pine Bush Preserve

If you just need a place to get away from the hubbub, Thacher Park serves very well. But if you just want to look at some trees, without getting too far away from the hubbub, know that thanks to the towers atop the escarpment, the cell-phone reception in Thatcher is perfect. Can you hear us hiking? Good.

Best Rock Climbing

1. A.I.R.

2. Electric City Rock Gym

3. Thacher Park

Since the No. 1 and 2 spots here are indoor, we’re a little concerned about the condition of the Capital Region rocks. Should we have someone look into this?

Best Gym

1. Gold’s Gym

2. East Greenbush YMCA

3. Planet Fitness

Oooh, yah, Hulkamaniacal Golds Gym is the place to be. So, to all the runners-up: Take your vitamins, pump your quads, say your prayers and you’ll get a shot at Golds’ title next year.

Best Massage Therapist

1. Nick Pavoldi

2. John at Serenity Spa

3. Albany Massage Therapy

Eight of the 17 of you who voted for this category favored Nick Pavoldi. Four out of the five of us here are jealous of the 17 readers who are getting massages.

Best Yoga/Pilates

1. Albany Kripalu Center

2. Gold’s Gym

3. Yoga Loft

Interestingly, there were also exactly 17 of you voting in this category. So while we’re still jealous of all the massaging you’re getting, we realize that you’re probably a lot more deserving of it than we.

Best Golf Course

1. Saratoga National

2. Albany Municipal

3. Burden Lake

Announcer (in a whispered, almost conspiratorial, tone): Saratoga National was the clear favorite here.

Best Miniature Golf

1. Hoffman’s Playland

2. Oasis

3. Pirate’s Cove

The putting at Hoffman’s stands out above the rest. We haven’t played a good game since we got our hands stuck in the clown’s mouth trying to get a free game. Damn you, golf clown, damn you.

Best Skiing/ Snowboarding

1. Jiminy Peak

2. Gore

3. Hunter

Though Jiminy Peak took first handily, we think every ski resort should be so bold as to have a name like Gore.

Best Ice Skating

1. Empire Plaza

2. Swinburne

3. KnickerbOcker Arena

Apparently, ponds make Capital Region skaters nervous—sissies.

Best Bowling Alley

1. Playdium

2. Latham Bowl

3. Sunset Bowling Lanes

We’re assuming that the Playdium’s adjoining Laundromat helped it take the lead here; we’re also assuming that bowlers are usually pretty sweaty.

Best Pool Hall

1. Diamond 8

2. Golden Cue

3. Trick Shot Billiards

With the recent surge of poker’s popularity, it can only be a matter of time before pool gets its due. If cigar-smoking, hairy-chested dudes can be replaced by college kids, then chain-smoking, mustachioed bikers can to. If you’re looking to get in early in the new/old fad, check out Diamond 8.

Best Bar

1. Lark Tavern

2. Lionheart

3. Bombers

Not as many votes for this category as we would have expected. The fact that Lark Tavern won by a substantial margin makes us tip our hats to the bar that remembered to do their voting before they started the drinking.

Best Hook-Up Bar

1. Jillian’s

2. Lionheart

3. Mad River

Oomp, tsss, oomp, tsss, oomp, tss, oomp, tss. I see you working that thang. Oh, who are we kidding? We’re not too good at this, but if we were we’d be at Jillian’s.

Best Gay Bar

1. Oh Bar

2. Waterworks Pub

3. Phoenix

Oh Bar squeezed out Waterworks this year by only five votes. Judging by the view from Metroland’s fire escape, those five votes may have come exclusively from good times had on the Oh Bar’s patio.

Best Wine Bar

1. Antica Enoteca

2. Ginger Man

3. Cabernet Café

Nothin’ like gettin’ blotto in a grotto. OK, Antica Enoteca is really a lot more sedate and appealing than we just made it sound. But, look, we made a rhyme.

Best Happy Hour Bar

1. Bombers

2. Lionheart

3. Big House

Readers like their happy-hour beers with a side of nachos, a bulging burrito and liberal dash of karaoke.

Best Strip Club

1. DiCarlo’s

2. NiteMoves

3. Shenanigans

You dirty, dirty boys, and/or girls. We got more votes than expected for this category and most of them went to DiCarlo’s—making us wonder if we should go to DiCarlo’s.

Best Bartender

1. Vic, Arlington House

2. Tess, Lark Tavern

3. Bill Dean, Mahar’s

This is kind of like picking your favorite child, isn’t it? God bless the bartenders, each and every one.

Best Server

1. Melissa, Arlington House

2. Brianna, Bombers

3. Michelle, Lark Tavern

We once received a Freudian explanation of our persistent waitress fixation, and it was all about seated eye-level and maternal nuturting . . . or, rather, an early lack thereof. Um, are we giving you too much information?

Best Public Official

1. Jerry Jennings

2. El iot Spitzer

3. David Soares

The annual winner of the Orange Man award pulls out best public official with four times as many votes as governor-presumptive Spitzer. Yes, folks his name is on everything under construction in Albany—you didn’t have to put it on the poll as well.

Best Citizen Advocate

1. Alice Green

2. Elliot Spitzer

3. David Soares

Mayoral Candidate Alice Green beat up New York’s resident superheroes Elliot Spitzer and David Soares to take this award. Green took the award; Mayor Jennings should take note.

Best Animal Advocate

1. Steve Caporizzo

2. Mohawk Hudson Humane Society

3. Whiskers

Oh, Steve, how you taunt us all with those fluffy woofers and felines, with their longing stares. Their images haunt us all. Yes, Caporizzo is likely the man to blame next time you hear, “Mom, can we get a dog?”

Best Local Charity

1. Ronald Mcdonald House

2. Make-a-Wish

3. Salvation Army

There’s no way that we’re making fun of these folks.

Best Swimming Pool

1. Victoria Pool

2. Colonie Town Park

3. Lincoln Park

Until there’s enough money in our change jar to spring for that much-needed Brazilian, we’re going to defer to your expertise on this one. Seriously, do these floaties make my ass look fat?

Best Swimming Hole

1. Grafton State Park

2. Sacandaga Lake

3. Poestenkill Gorge

Is it just us, or is there something kind of foreboding about the words “swimming hole”? We know it should sound all nostalgic and folksy, but to us it sounds all hockey mask and bloodshed. We’re thinking about canceling our cable TV; it’s making us skittish.

Best Campground

1. Rodger’s Rock ( 38)

2. Moreau Lake (23)

3. Thompson Lake (11)

Campground? Are you kidding? After what we just said about swimming holes? Crystal Lake, anyone?