Julie & Jamie
Things To Do
Hike the Hudson Highlands
Hudson Highlands State Park has a number of great hikes with views of the Hudson River and surrounding hills. For a moderate 5 mile hike, park at the Little Stony Point parking area and hike the Bull Hill Loop (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-york/bull-hill-full-loop--2). If you're feeling ambitious, head up the road to Breakneck Ridge. It's a 9 mile hike to the Mount Beacon fire tower and back, but on a clear day you can see New York City from the top. (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-york/breakneck-ridge-trail-to-south-beacon-mountain)
Explore Cold Spring
The town of Cold Spring has a number of great shops lining Main Street. Some of our favorites include the Cold Spring General Store, Pink Olive, and Old Souls (which may well be the most beautiful outdoors store in the world). Hudson Hil's has the best brunch in town if you don't mind waiting a few minutes for a table, while The Depot offers solid pub fare. Barber & Brew has an excellent selection of craft beers hidden in the back of a barber shop. If the weather is nice, be sure to cross under the train tracks and walk all the way down to the dock on the Hudson River. Make a right at the gazebo and head through the gate to a small park with one of the most majestic views on the whole river.
United States Military Academy at West Point
Identified by George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Revolutionary War, West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Since 1802, West Point has been home to the United States Military Academy. Ulysses Grant, Robert E. Lee, George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower, and Buzz Aldrin all walked these grounds and looked out over these same hills. The visitors center is open daily and guided tours are available to the public.
Constitution Marsh Audubon Center
For a shorter stroll outside, the Constitution Marsh Audubon Center offers an easy 1 mile walk down to the Hudson River. Boardwalks take you out into the grasses of the marsh with views of the surrounding hills.
Dia:Beacon
In May 2003, Dia Art Foundation opened Dia:Beacon on the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon, New York, in a former Nabisco box printing factory. The museum presents Dia’s collection of art from the 1960s to the present as well as special exhibitions and public programs.
West Point Foundry Preserve
The murmur of Foundry Brook will accompany your walk through the preserve — a far cry from the din greeting 19th-century visitors to the ironworks that manufactured some of America’s first steam engines, locomotives, pipes for New York City’s water system and cannons that helped win the Civil War. Trails pass remains of foundry buildings and interpretive features that tell the story of the site’s contribution to the Industrial Revolution and the Civil War.
Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site
Visit the nation's first publicly owned historic site and tour the rooms where American history was made. In the critical months that General George Washington spent at Newburgh, he made some of his most important contributions to shaping the American republic. Admission to Washington's Headquarters includes a guided tour of the historic Hasbrouck House, furnished to reflect its use as General Washington's Headquarters from April of 1782 to August of 1783, as well as self-guided access to the museum building, which includes two floors of exhibits.
Storm King Art Center
Storm King Art Center is a 500-acre outdoor museum located in New York’s Hudson Valley, where visitors experience large-scale sculpture and site-specific commissions under open sky. Since 1960, Storm King has been dedicated to stewarding the hills, meadows, and forests of its site and surrounding landscape. Building on the visionary thinking of its founders, Storm King supports artists and some of their most ambitious works.