The Hudson Valley: Places to Explore

Annandale-on-Hudson is home to the beautiful Bard College campus and its famous Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. If you travel north to the campus via River Road, which is shaded by trees and lined... Read more

For a touch of urban grit, arty cool, and coffeehouse grunge, head to this small river city in Dutchess County's southwestern corner. Dia:Beacon, an expansive contemporary-art museum in a former Nabisco... Read more

The well-preserved 19th-century village edges one of the most dramatic bends of the Hudson River, and its true showpiece may well be the breath-stealing river-valley views. The village has a handful of... Read more

Sleepy Garrison takes full advantage of its riverside setting with a rambling waterfront park. Pleasure boats dock at the marina, and a gazebo and willow tree-shaded benches are front-row seats to the... Read more

With a huge park, old trees, nice restaurants, and two side-by-side hardware stores, Goshen is the kind of walkable, slow-paced village ideal for an afternoon visit. And though it remembers its past with... Read more

Bear Mountain, which some say resembles the profile of a reclining bear, presides over the four-season Bear Mountain State Park. A beautiful weekend can attract swarms of picnickers, but the commotion... Read more

The tiny hamlet of High Falls is a weekender's delight. Cool shops, old buildings, excellent restaurants, and cozy places to stay nestle beside the ancient locks of the Delaware and Hudson Canal. From... Read more

Rising from decades of decay and decrepitude, Hudson has, over the past few years, finally arrived as a bona fide weekend destination for a growing cadre of hip New Yorkers. The beautifully restored architecture... Read more

Hurley, a National Historic Landmark, was founded by the Dutch in 1661. The area is surrounded by cornfields, which occupy the floodplain of the Esopus Creek, sitting on deep soils that accumulated during... Read more

Hyde Park dates from 1702, when an estate on this land was named for Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, then the provincial governor of New York. Most famous for being the boyhood home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt... Read more

Named after an American Indian chief who sold the town its land, Katonah was a 19th-century farming center that shipped produce and milk to New York City via railroad. When New York City planned to flood... Read more

Henry Hudson disembarked from his ship, Half Moon, and stepped onto the fertile land we now know as Kinderhook in 1609. Shortly afterward, Dutch and Swedish settlers pushed the Lenni Lenape out, expanded... Read more

In 1609 Henry Hudson's ship landed at Kingston Point. Within five years a fur-trading post was established at the mouth of Rondout (from the Dutch word for a small fort) Creek. In 1658 a permanent village—Wiltwyck—was... Read more

For many, this Dutchess County village midway between the Hudson River and Connecticut is just the right blend of town and country. Historic downtown streets lined with shops and restaurants sit amid rolling... Read more

Although it's largely residential, Monroe blends industrial grit and old-fashioned living: it's the birthplace of Velveeta as well as home to Museum Village, a living-history museum. The town offers dining... Read more

A vibrant cultural scene, a magnificent natural setting, and abundant outdoor activities are among the draws of this small college town, home to a State University of New York campus. The school lures... Read more

Toward the close of the Revolutionary War, George Washington kept his headquarters and residence here. Although the riverside city has lost much of its original architecture to urban renewal, Newburgh... Read more

Although only a 35-minute car ride from Manhattan, the Hudson River village of Nyack retains a small-town charm. Elegant mansions and Victorian stunners mix with modest homes as well as delightful shops... Read more

Piermont doesn't hide its gritty, blue-collar history. A century-old flywheel, which supplied power to factories in the village until 1983, is displayed as sculpture in the village's park. Art is what... Read more

Founded in 1687, this small Hudson River city has a population of about 30,000. After the British burned down Kingston in 1777, Poughkeepsie served as the state capital for several years. New York's first... Read more

At heart, Rhinebeck is a historic village with a dose of city sophistication. The influence of earlier times is present in the Victorian, Greek Revival, colonial, and other architectural treasures scattered... Read more

Ever since Governor Andros negotiated a deal with the Esopus tribe in 1677, Saugerties, strategically located between the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River, has lured entrepreneurs, visionaries... Read more

On U.S. 9 midway between Rhinebeck and Hyde Park is Staatsburg, surrounded by soft hills overlooking the Hudson River. The main attraction here is the Staatsburg State Historic Site, of which the old Mills... Read more

On the east bank of the Hudson River, Tarrytown has a bustling downtown with a rich artistic history. In the mid-1600s this Westchester County village was settled by the Dutch, who called it Tarwe, which... Read more

Though very different in purpose—one site is dedicated to military education and the other to celebrating art and nature—West Point and Storm King are among the most interesting of the lower... Read more

Settled by the Dutch in the 17th century, Yonkers takes its name from a word meaning "Djonk Herr's land." The Bronx border is to the south and Manhattan is a short drive away. The farming villages of colonial... Read more