Buying a vacation property

I would like to buy a house upstate NY. I'm looking for a summer/winter property that is on about 10 acres of land close (20-30 miles) to either state game land, ski slopes, water, etc, etc and about 3 hrs from NYC. I found quite few that fit my price range and location but I'm not really sure what to look for.

How easy is to start up the entire house in the winter?
What do they mean by basebord electric heat?
Anything else I should be aware?

Eventually I will probably retire there but as of now it just should be a place of my own.

You need to keep the house warm enough to keep from freezing the pipes when you aren't there so starting up a house in the winter is as simple as raising the thermostat from ~40°F to whatever temp you want.

Baseboard electric heat is exactly what the name implies. It's an electric heating unit permanently installed and wired where the baseboard is. Since power is fairly cheap upstate because it's mostly hydroelectric, electric heating is a good option. You avoid having to arrange fuel oil deliveries in a remote area and the house stays cleaner when you're not burning oil. Electric heating also offers more precise temperature control than the alternatives. And with oil getting more expensive by the day, you'll save money as well.