My boyfriend and I are planning to get away from NYC for a weekend, and I was thinking of going to Cold Spring in the Hudson Valley. Neither of us drives, and I'm wondering if it's still a good place to go without a car. Any advice is appreciated.

Mary, there's a train station right in town, some dining options, and many antique stores to browse in. I can think of only 2 places to stay though. One is on Main Street, I think it's called the Hudson House and the other is a motel on Route 9 called Country Side. Rhinebeck, New York is another good choice without a car, although without one you'll miss out on some of the surrounding sights such as the historial mansions.

Actually, there are 2 obvious places to stay in town--Hudson House is one, Pig Hill Inn right in the middle of town is another. Problem is , both places are smallish and Cold Spring is very popular so you may be out of luck for weekends to come.

If you don't have access to a car, Cold Spring is the most common Hudson Valley place to go to just because it is so easy to do by train, As mentioned, the train station is right in the middle of town so there are no taxi connections needed like you might need in places like Rhinebeck further up the river (Rhinebeck is bigger than Cold Spring but the train stops in Rhinecliff and you'll need to get to and from the station)
Also in town is a small historic foundry museum. If you don't mind a long walk (couple miles) I think you can walk to Boscobel,one of the historic houses of the Hudson Valley,just south of town in Garrison (or again , call for a cab). There's not a HUGE amount of stuff to see in Cold Spring itself, but if you're just talking about 2 days,it's your first trip there, and you're happy hanging around the riverfront(beautiful view of the mountains across the river from a small park with a gezebo), stores, and restaurants,it's a good choice.

Mary, Cold Spring is nice and you can definitely get there without a car, as Merilee says, but I don't know if there's enough there to keep you interested for a whole weekend without going anyplace else. The main street is very cute, some nice shops, but it's very small. You could do it all in a leisurely manner in one afternoon. There's a new diner-style restaurant there I really like called East Side Kitchen, very yummy and cheap too.

Mary, if you like hiking there are great trails with fantastic vews over Hudson. At least one of them starts in town and a cople others are very short walking distance away. It is a charming place with gorgeous scenery.

Cold Spring is great - I grew up near there, and I still take a few daytrips there each year. It's an adorable town in a gorgeous setting...you look down Main street and there's the Hudson, with huge mountains beyond it.

I've noticed a few B&Bs there...no chain hotels (actually no chain stores of any kind!), however, it is very easy to just do a daytrip there...it's only a little over an hour from Grand Central. There may not be enough to keep you occupied for a full weekend up there if you aren't driving around. Main Street has all the little antique and craft shops, it's beautiful to sit by the water, but there's not much else to do...unless you love hiking. A few trailheads start on Route 9D about 1/2 mile north of Main Street. I've taken some...they are steep but offer breathtaking views. GORP.com has more info on these trails.