A nice article which brought back a lot of memories. I was born and grew up in Warwick so all the houses and images are familiar. Of course many of the current restaurants and shops were homes of friends and fellow students. Picked lots of apples and peaches and helped plant lots of tomatoes to make some extra cash. Baird's Mill looks great. My father caught lots of trout just below the dam, although the water is probably a lot cleaner than it was 60 years ago. Good to hear that there are plenty of farms left, since most of my friends grew up on small dairy farms. Sugar Loaf still survives as an artists and craftsman community and its good to hear that the candle shop I still there(and the Iron Forge Inn in Bellvale). Still remember seeing the first primitive ski tow on Mt Peter next to the old quonset hut used to shelter the skiiers on top.
Since I don't like to fly and am a native NY'er I love exploring the towns along the Hudson. I usually travel by Amtrak and it is a wonderful way to travel. I recently went to and stayed in Hudson NY. NO need for a car as there are car services and taxis to take you on day trips. Took one such trip to Olanna and toured Frederick Churhc's home where he got inspiration for his paintings. Absolutely breathtaking and worth seeing. New York has so much to offer and most trips are easily accessable too any time of year. My favorite times? Spring and Fall. Well written article as well.
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You drove from Bear Mountain right through history and charm-filled Garrison and Cold Spring, without a mention? A very disjointed article.
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Warwick is indeed an oasis of everything wonderful within striking distance of the best City in the world. Its unique character comes in part from the fact that its 105 square miles remain uncrossed by anything bigger than Rt. 94, a country highway through hamlets and farmland with only one lane in either direction.
But I feel compelled to offer two corrections to the article. The first is historical -- the colonial era Iron Forge Inn was itself not an iron forge. The iron forge was a stone structure a little further down the road that disappeared centuries ago. The second involves the Warwick Valley Winery. While I absolutely agree that one must sample (and buy!) the various ciders offered, do NOT skip the award-winning wine!! I give the wine often as gifts, later to find that the recipients later went out and bought more for themselves.
While you're at it, also do NOT skip the THREE other wineries in Warwick; Applewood, Demarest Hill, and Clearview. You might also enjoy the variety of other fine restaurants, the many antique and specialty shops, the multitude of historic buildings operated by the 100+ year old historical society, the pick-your-own orchards and farms, the beaches and marinas of Greenwood Lake, the near constant offerings of free concerts and festivals in the warmer months, our B&Bs, artist studios, freshly made ice cream from a mountain top vista at the Bellvale Creamery, and even -- are you ready for this? -- a triple screen drive-in movie theater!
But I feel compelled to offer two corrections to the article. The first is historical -- the colonial era Iron Forge Inn was itself not an iron forge. The iron forge was a stone structure a little further down the road that disappeared centuries ago. The second involves the Warwick Valley Winery. While I absolutely agree that one must sample (and buy!) the various ciders offered, do NOT skip the award-winning wine!! I give the wine often as gifts, later to find that the recipients later went out and bought more for themselves.
While you're at it, also do NOT skip the THREE other wineries in Warwick; Applewood, Demarest Hill, and Clearview. You might also enjoy the variety of other fine restaurants, the many antique and specialty shops, the multitude of historic buildings operated by the 100+ year old historical society, the pick-your-own orchards and farms, the beaches and marinas of Greenwood Lake, the near constant offerings of free concerts and festivals in the warmer months, our B&Bs, artist studios, freshly made ice cream from a mountain top vista at the Bellvale Creamery, and even -- are you ready for this? -- a triple screen drive-in movie theater!
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At the beginning of a dead end road which leads into the 35,000 acre Wawayanda state forest is the Grange in the Town of Warwick hamlet of New Milford. Both New Milford and the Village of Warwick have their own historical societies. The later quite active with talks and tours of Baird Tavern (we know Martha Washington slept there). As for skiing, the Grange lies about equidistant from Mt Peter and Mountain Creek down rte 94 in Vernon, NJ.
Visiting Sugar Loaf would not be complete without a visit to The Barnsider, opened years ago by Walter Kannon who brought the artists to Sugar Loaf while selling barnboard from dismantled old barns.
Heading up to Beacon, still on the west side of the Hudson in Cornwall is the Storm King Art Center with sculptures in large open fields best walked in non snowy weather.
Not only apple picking but jazz festivals, Christmas carriage rides, many restaurants with music evenings and thousands of acres donated to the state by landowners to be kept forever pristine.
Thank you for mentioning our little part of the world.
Visiting Sugar Loaf would not be complete without a visit to The Barnsider, opened years ago by Walter Kannon who brought the artists to Sugar Loaf while selling barnboard from dismantled old barns.
Heading up to Beacon, still on the west side of the Hudson in Cornwall is the Storm King Art Center with sculptures in large open fields best walked in non snowy weather.
Not only apple picking but jazz festivals, Christmas carriage rides, many restaurants with music evenings and thousands of acres donated to the state by landowners to be kept forever pristine.
Thank you for mentioning our little part of the world.
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First, Remy - thanks...
A heartfelt shout-out to you and the NYT travel section for boosting Hudson Valley tourism...
As the region's industrial base shrinks, the Hudson Valley - just as NYC has - will see tourism emerge as one of its key industries...
I don't see shallowness - I see enthusiasm...
And whether or not you actually walked Main Street in Beacon is secondary to me...
I know every (used) bookseller, artisan, restaurateur, baker, and icecreamologer on the path will thank you for your kind words...
Most weekends, I try to get to NYC and do a 10-15 mile walkabout each day...I was born there, spent my early years there, and will never get tired of streetscapes as basic as looking up and down any of the western avenues, as they disappear almost into the horizon...Endless streams of cars - half of them yellow...
But when I can't make it down (or on weekdays), Main Street in Beacon, the riverfront in Poughkeepsie, or the Walkway Over the Hudson suit me fine...
As Beacon's Main Street bends north as it goes east, it slopes down gently to an intersection which has one of only three middle-of-the-street traffic lights still operating in the US...
Walk the abandoned railbed - rails and track still in place - or cross the bridge over the falls...
Enjoy the food and desert at any of several places...It's walking distance from the train - and the ride from Grand Central is less than two hours...
Just like a hundred other upstate NY places?
That's the whole point...
A heartfelt shout-out to you and the NYT travel section for boosting Hudson Valley tourism...
As the region's industrial base shrinks, the Hudson Valley - just as NYC has - will see tourism emerge as one of its key industries...
I don't see shallowness - I see enthusiasm...
And whether or not you actually walked Main Street in Beacon is secondary to me...
I know every (used) bookseller, artisan, restaurateur, baker, and icecreamologer on the path will thank you for your kind words...
Most weekends, I try to get to NYC and do a 10-15 mile walkabout each day...I was born there, spent my early years there, and will never get tired of streetscapes as basic as looking up and down any of the western avenues, as they disappear almost into the horizon...Endless streams of cars - half of them yellow...
But when I can't make it down (or on weekdays), Main Street in Beacon, the riverfront in Poughkeepsie, or the Walkway Over the Hudson suit me fine...
As Beacon's Main Street bends north as it goes east, it slopes down gently to an intersection which has one of only three middle-of-the-street traffic lights still operating in the US...
Walk the abandoned railbed - rails and track still in place - or cross the bridge over the falls...
Enjoy the food and desert at any of several places...It's walking distance from the train - and the ride from Grand Central is less than two hours...
Just like a hundred other upstate NY places?
That's the whole point...
1
"But someone had put a sign above the bar: Hipsters Use Backdoor. And in the air was something a little too raw and gruff for Williamsburg."
Gosh.
As someone who grew up in Cold Spring, lived in Albany for a while, has cycled both sides of the Hudson from NYC to well noth of Albany a number of times, and now has lived in Williamsburg for 20 years...
1) Beacon "raw and gruff"? Really? Perhaps a century ago.
2) I would argue that the very act of putting up a sign telling hipsters to go home is an ironic hipster act itself.
Gosh.
As someone who grew up in Cold Spring, lived in Albany for a while, has cycled both sides of the Hudson from NYC to well noth of Albany a number of times, and now has lived in Williamsburg for 20 years...
1) Beacon "raw and gruff"? Really? Perhaps a century ago.
2) I would argue that the very act of putting up a sign telling hipsters to go home is an ironic hipster act itself.
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I've had those Brussels sprouts at the Hop - they are indeed amazing!
1
I live a mille from the shore of the Hudson River, in Rensselaer, just across from Albany. As a native, I find this article shallow. It might have been a good idea to find a reporter whose home isn't in western Canada, three thousand miles from the Hudson Valley. He misses the most salient aspects of this part of America by a wide mark, notably our splendid vineyards and white wines, and our wonderful art heritage, the "Hudson River School," and our dramatic French, English and Dutch history. Agreed, this is a travel article, but we have more in the Hudson Valley than steak and soup and a park. Visitors should be apprised of our cultural heritage.
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Did you not notice in the first paragraph a reference to Warwick having formerly been the reporter's hometown. You might have acknowledged that.
Why acknowledge something when ignoring the obvious is so much easier? Maybe writing their own article will please them more?
Please, New York City residents, stay away form the Hudson Valley. We do not need any more gentrification.
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Beacon, "Packed with Bookstores." There hasn't been a bookstore in Beacon for 10 years. The author never was here and obviously pulled a full Brian Williams.
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You missed out when you didn't visit West Point a few minutes up the road from Bear Mountain. It's got beautiful historic buildings and an amazing view of the Hudson River from Trophy Point.
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We highly recommend enjoying a meal at the Fusion Cafe in the Village of Monroe. It's got an imaginative and high quality menu, nightly specials that invite you to try something new, a great staff who guide your wine choices, and a calm clean decor. It's a gem of the Hudson Valley. My husband & I have lived in Manhattan & Chicago so we've been to some good places. Fusion has intelligent people behind their menu, their wine list, and their bar. I'd trust anything coming out of that kitchen.
As a former resident of Warwick, Cascade Rd., I enjoyed the revisit. It really hasn't changed much, revolutionary towns are permanent. However I'm glad to live in sunny Florida during their winters.
I wouldn't recommend doing both Warwick area and Beacon area in one weekend. Pick one or the other. You will be almost at the George Washington Bridge in about the same time it takes to get from Warwick to Beacon. Also, check out Rushing Duck brewery and/or Eddie's Roadhouse (Warwick area) or Newburgh brewery (Beacon) if you like beer.
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Warwick is a wonderful safe place to visit with a bus to NYC. Love the Victorian town and the cows and farmland close to town that is protected. Have the AT
trail at the top of 17A where you can go north to Maine or South to Georgia.
Mt. Peter Ski Area is the best kept secret. Bellvale Farms has a homemade ice cream place where in the Spring and Summer thru hikers on the AT
from the south make a point to stop. Warwick Winery can get crowded on weekends. Friday is great day to visit! Love their Black Dirt Red and the food is very good and reasonable. Also their hopped cider is great! Don't forget
Greenwood Lake in the summer which is the largest lake in Orange County!
trail at the top of 17A where you can go north to Maine or South to Georgia.
Mt. Peter Ski Area is the best kept secret. Bellvale Farms has a homemade ice cream place where in the Spring and Summer thru hikers on the AT
from the south make a point to stop. Warwick Winery can get crowded on weekends. Friday is great day to visit! Love their Black Dirt Red and the food is very good and reasonable. Also their hopped cider is great! Don't forget
Greenwood Lake in the summer which is the largest lake in Orange County!
3
Too bad you missed the Seligman Center for Art when you were visiting Sugarloaf, the home of an important surrealist painter and the home of the Orange County Citizens Foundation. Kurt Seligman is interesting for his story as a person, his role in the art world, and the way significant people end up in out-of-the-mainstream places such as Orange County. The Seligman homestead is an example of the way a personal history illuminates and reflects the best characteristics offered by Orange County.
The European artist juxtaposed his international surrealist art with the calm, prosaic, peacefulness of a rural agricultural area.
The European artist juxtaposed his international surrealist art with the calm, prosaic, peacefulness of a rural agricultural area.
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As a 25 year resident of the hudson valley (Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Duchess counties), you did a very good job of cherrypicking the handfull of trendy spots amid the strip malls, housing developments, and big box stores that make up 90% of the lower hudson valley.
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What do you like about living there? Can any residents gve insight and alternative suggestions for visitors?
3
Great article. Just wish the writer had come a couple miles down Route 17A into neighboring Greenwood Lake. A 9-mile stretch of spectacular frozen lake is surely something to experience. Along with lakefront restaurants and inns Greenwood Lake is a true secret that needs to be shared.
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Ah yes, the Hudson Valley. as has been said: 'we live in vacation land.'
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Dia:Beacon is way over-hyped.
It is very popular because of good marketing and because it is "in".
If you want to see truly creative contemporary art go a little more east of the Hudson River and visit the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT.
It is very popular because of good marketing and because it is "in".
If you want to see truly creative contemporary art go a little more east of the Hudson River and visit the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT.
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Well it's not either/or, you know.
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Dia was "in" in the late 70s. Not so much now.
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I would say they are apples and oranges. The Aldrich is tiny, with 25,000 square feet according to its website. It deaccessioned its permanent collection years ago. Dia has "nearly 300,000," per its website, and a permanent collection, including works by key Minimalists.
A shame that Ms Sacalza does not mention the possibility of at least walking by the j. V. Forestal Elementary School in Beacon to pay homage to the local boy who became America's first Secretary of Defense before his tragic death.
4
And I thought Warwick's main (only) attraction was apple picking. Guess it's time I visited my brother who lives there to rediscover this west bank gem.
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That's what we, Warwickian's, want you to believe. It's nice being able to walk into a restaurant without an advanced reservation. The food is great, the air is clean, the apples are crisp and the people are welcoming. So yeah, Apple picking is it. (Wink, wink)
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