Hudson Valley Day Trip
 

I've done _some_ homework, reading previous threads etc..and would appreciate some more info.<BR><BR>We want to do a one day, mid-week trip into the Hudson Valley, the end of May. <BR><BR>We will rent a car, any recommendations for NY rental companies, and want to take a leisurely trip, returning late the same night. <BR><BR>We are interested in Kykuit, Rhinebeck, and Hyde We would probably pick up the car near our hotel on the Upper West Side. Approximately how long would the drive to our first stop be?<BR><BR>We want to see as much as we can, without it being 'if it's Tuesday, it must be the Hudson Valley.'<BR><BR>A compact, agenda would be greatly appreciated. We want time to wander and relax too.<BR><BR>Thanks in advance.<BR><BR>

oooops - typo, should have been Hyde Park.

For NYC to Kykuit, allow at least an hour. Actual travel time without major traffic is less, but you also don't drive directly to Kykuit. You are taken there on a bus from the ticket center at another nearby attraction , Philipsburg Manor. You may want to have advance reservations--they're essential on weekends, but even mid-week could be busy (garden clubs, etc often book these kinds of things). I think the tour of Kykuit itself was about one and a half hour, plus being driven back to get your car.<BR>About another hour plus to Hyde Park, another half hour-40 minutes to Rhinebeck, but weekdays could add more traffic delays as there are many corporate business parks in Hudson valley (IBM plants, etc)<BR><BR>Going to all 3 places in one day wouldn't qualify as leisurely no matter what. What are you actually hoping to do and see? Kykuit is a longer tour than at most other historic houses, so you may have to pick and choose. Do you want to stay closet to that area and see other wuaint towns for shopping and eating? Do you want to see more houses in one day, maybe 2 or 3 much shorter tours?

It takes less than an hour to get to Phillipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, where you start the tour of Kykuit. The Kykuit house tour takes two hours. <BR>From there it's about an 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours to Hyde Park, where you should visit both FDR's home and museum and the Vanderbilt Mansion.<BR>And that will be a very full--but enjoyable--day!

I would skip Kykuit and drive straight to Rhinebeck and Hyde Park. There are more than enough mansions to tour, parks to walk in and picnic in. You can picnic,for free, on the grounds of the Vanderbilt Mansion. Got to the Aerodrome, have dinner at the Petit Bistro in Rhinebeck and come home after.

It seems all the NYC area car rentals are sky high, so I'd suggest taking the MetroNorth train upstate a bit. Enterprise (&quot;We pick you up!&quot;) has locations all over, and usually charge less then the biggies (Hertz, Avis, etc.) do during the week. Only problem is that most Enterprise close at 6pm, so you'd have or return the car by then. Would you consider an overnight trip, returning the car the next day? It would be no more for the car if returned w/in 24 hours, and hotels up around Hyde Park are usually less expensive weekdays.<BR><BR>Another company - &quot;Rent-a-wreck&quot; really are not wrecks, just not so new - I think they have a website.

I strongly disagree with Lola. I think that Kykuit is the most interesting of all the mansions and restorations in the Hudson Valley and should be at the top of your list. <BR>Also, if you don't want to drive as far as Hyde Park, there's West Point, Cold Spring and a lot of other sites that are closer than Hyde Park and Rhinebeck.<BR>Check out these two websites:<BR>http://www.hudsonvalley.org<BR>http://www.hvnet.com

That's OK, Howard, I like you anyway:)<BR><BR>I just have a fondness for the Hyde Park/Rhinebeck area, and think there is more of a variety of places to go.<BR><BR>Happy to disagree with one of my favorite posters! Lola

Well, thank you, Lola!<BR>I agree that there's a lot to see and do in the Hyde Park/Rhinebeck area, which is why we go there a lot.<BR>But, Kykuit's my favorite!<BR>Either way, Nina66 can't go wrong!

Thanks. You have told me what I wanted to hear. Now I will have to do more homework and decide how much we can do comfortably in one day. I'll check out the web sites. <BR><BR>We could do an overnighter, but at this point in time, I am trying to do a day trip.<BR><BR>I haven't contacted any rental car companies yet, but I know that in France we have returned numerous cars after hours, and put the keys in a drop box. I'm hoping that we can also do that in NYC. <BR><BR><BR><BR>

Janie, in response to your questions - we like almost everything. We love the bigger historic home, and the smaller ones, and gardens, and quaint towns and good restaurants, etc... I love to shop, my husband would rather have a root canal, but is a good sport about it - up to a point.<BR><BR>It is very hard for me to pinpoint exactly what we want to see, I'm some help aren't I?<BR><BR>We have no desire to see or do everything in one day. There will be other trips. Kykuit sounds very appealing, so maybe we could just focus on that area or things/towns and hour of so away. <BR><BR>

Visit Eleanor Roosevelt's &quot;other home&quot; the name of which escapes me(and absolutely should be done in conjunction with Hyde Park).. it gives one insight into their marriage.And, when in Rhinebeck..oh to have lunch or dinner at the Coach House..and of course the Beekman Arms.

In addition to the FDR Home, Valkill and the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde park, you might want to stop by the Mills Mansion on the from HP to Rhinebeck. Also, if you have the time, 30-40 minutes north of Rhinebeck is Olana, the home of a Hudson River school painter (his name escapes me), which has some of the best vistas of the Hudson Valley.

As my husband just said, &quot;that's a lot of good information&quot;. <BR><BR>By the way PamSF - are you prepared for the heavy rains due here in S.F. - or anyone else coming here the end of this week.

<BR>Larry,<BR>His name was Frederick Church. Olana is so wonderful! We go there in the fall and the view from the house to the river is amazing!<BR>All of these suggestions are great. Makes me feel like going back myself! We stay at the Beekman Arms, eat at Le Petit Bistro also:) and the Coach House is good for lunch .<BR>We are big on antiquing so we like the weekends when their are fairs or flea markets and apple picking.<BR>Have a great time Nina:)

Putting everything in proper perspective, Nina, your basic decision will be about which area of the Hudson Valley you want ot focus on. All of the suggestions given are good ones....but it would take you several days to see them all.<BR>If you select Kykuit, you can easily visit the Lyndhurst, the Jay Gould estate in Irvington that was used in the filming of Dark Shadows, the Gothic soap opera.<BR>Also keep in mind that there are two separate two-hour tours of Kykuit--one of the mansion, which includes the wonderful art collection of Nelson Rockefeller, and the other of the beautiful gardens. The garden tour is only given once a day (at around 3:30, I believe) and you would be going at the best time of the year for viewing the gardens. So, you could take the house tour in the morning, have lunch, visit the Gould estate and then return for the garden tour at Kykuit.<BR>If you opt for the Hyde Park/Rhinebeck area there are more than enough things to keep you occupied for a very full day.

Valkil is the name of Eleanor Roosevelt's home..thank you! One of the things I remember most was the dining room table set with Franciscan &quot;Appleware&quot; and dime store drinking glasses. She served everyone from Gandhi to the neighborhood folks on the same dishes! (How very Eleanor Roosevelt). The area is beautiful..have a great time. And yes I am getting ready for the rains..rushing to shield somehow pots of orchids and daffodils from the deluge!

I would recommend an overnite..and suggest looking at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck.

When we've been traveling north of NYC and wanted to avoid (1) hefty car rental prices (2) boring, crazy thruway driving close to the city, we've taken Metro North to New Hamburg (stop before Poughkeepsie). There's a Thrifty car rental in the town of Fishkill, a short ride from there. You can arrange with them to get you from the train station. We returned the car after hours--just parked it in the lot and dropped the keys in the slot--then called a cab for our return trip to NYC.

the train ride to Rhinebeck is not bad..takes about 1 1/2 hours from Grand Central(I think)..you pass by Sing Sing..maybe then pick up car and see the valley sights.

Nina, I think you'd have the best time if you split your Hudson Valley trip into 2 or 3 parts. Kykuit was very worthwhile, as is Lyndhurst (was also used as a stand in for &quot;Wildwind&quot; on &quot;All My Children&quot;, more recently than the Dark Shadows use!) Lyndhurst is pretty close and can easily be done on the same day. You could also visit the Union Church of Pocantico Hills which has famous stained glass windows by Chagall and Matisse and do some shopping, strolling, eating in nearby Tarrytown or Irvington. All of these places are close to each other and no more than about 30 miles out of the city so you won't face a long ride home at the end of the day!<BR><BR>I love the Rhinebeck area, but I've always thought it was a little too far (but not totally impossible) for a day trip. You'd really want to be able to drive straight up there and spend the time in Rhinebeck, Red Hook, Annandale etc , places with many historic houses and the requisite good food and shopping.<BR>I think it would be a shame to have to do both areas (and many more beautiful ones like Cold Spring for antique shopping and nearby Garrison for the Boscobel Mansion--still close enough to combine with Kykuit area) in one day, unless of course it's your only trip to the area and don't expect to be back. If you can, pick one or the other and you'll still have a great trip!

Thanks Nina. I thought is was either Frank or Frederick but I was just too lazy to look it up. Bard College is nearby.<BR><BR>There's a National Car Rental in Wappingers that's close to New Hamburg than Fishkill. If you're driving north from Manhattan, stay off the Thruway (unless you're in a hurry to get to Albany) and stay on the right side of the Hudson (the east side): Henry Hudson Parkway to the Sawmill to the Taconic Parkway is a lovely drive north, especially in the fall.<BR><BR>Amtrak stops at Rhinecliff, minutes from Rhinebeck. On MetroNorth, Cold Spring is a nice stop for antiquing and lunch and Beacon is starting to develop an antiquing section on eastern Main Street (take a cab from the train station). Poughkeepsie is, well, Poughkeepsie. But Hyde Park has the Culinary Institute of America! And we have lots of great restaurants scattered around the area.<BR><BR>Thanks for visiting!

Decisions, decisions, decisions .. now comes the hard part. If we don't do an over-nighter at The Beekman Inn, then we will decide on either the Hyde Park/Rhinebeck areas or Kykuit area, but definitely not both in the same day. <BR><BR>Thanks so much for all the help.<BR><BR>I promise (you are all witnesses) to post a trip report in June.<BR><BR><BR>