Although the island of Manhattan is world renowned for its sights, restaurants, and cultural offerings, few venture beyond its limits. However, the Hudson Valley, rich in natural scenery and historical attractions, can easily be explored in a day or two and is just a short drive from the city.
Located over the Whitestone Bridge, the 150-mile valley, which stretches from Yonkers to Albany in lower New York state and is bisected by the Hudson River, is comprised of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area that had been established by the United States Congress in 1996 to recognize, preserve, protect, and interpret the history and nationally significant resources of the valley for the benefit of the nation. Four major north-south routes access the area: the Taconic State Parkway and Route 9 on the east side and Route 9W and I-87, also known as the New York State Thruway, on the west side.
Driving over the Whitestone Bridge during a recent fall visit, which seemed to bridge two diametrically opposed worlds, I felt as if I had been disconnected from the congestion and stress of the city, deposited on Hutchinson River Parkway, the doorstep of rural New York State. and, beyond, the grassy field of Old Rhinebeck Airfield. Navigating Route 9, which curved between shale rocks and multicolored autumn-scorched trees, I paralleled the reflective blue surface of the Hudson River, whose west bank rose toward Bear Mountain in a collage of bursts of colorful trees. Ruby reds, appearing like flames, dominated the palette, while fiery oranges, as if glowing like pumpkins in the sunlight, were almost luminescent. The golds, though more subtle, were rich, while the pale yellows and soft greens seemed to cling to the end of summer. The road eclipsed the topographical and seasonal limits.
One of the first historic landmarks in the Lower Hudson Valley, Irvington was named for Washington Irving, author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, and was the location of his gabled, weathervane-roofed home , sunnyside. Philipsburg Manor, located near Tarrytown, had been an 18th century farm and flour mill.
Dating to the late 1600s and home to New York’s first lieutenant governor, Van Cortlandt Manor had developed into a major tourist attraction with its 18th-century tavern and home cooking and blacksmithing demonstrations. The town of Stoney Point, a strategic Revolutionary War stronghold, lies across the river.
The Storm King Art Center in Mountainville is an outdoor sculpture park featuring contemporary works by Calder, Moore, and Noguchi.
The Bear Mountain Bridge, spanned by Hudson, leading to the Highlands of Hudson, accesses Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks on the west side, while the US Military Academy at West Point, located on the east side, It is the oldest military academy in the country. , identifiable by the stone battlements on its shore.
Newburgh, located across the river in the Mid-Hudson Valley, had been the location of the last east-west Hudson River ferry before the current Newburgh-Beacon Bridge was built in 1963. The historic area, the location of the 1835 Dutch Reformed Church designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, also encompassed Washington’s headquarters, the oldest publicly owned historic house museum, and the site of his residence during the last 16 months of the Revolutionary War. The nearby New Windsor cantonment had been the home of his troops.
Hyde Park, on the east side of the river, was the birthplace of Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt, President of the United States, and features Springwood, Roosevelt’s home; the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum; Val-Kill, Mrs. Roosevelt’s retirement; Top Cottage, the president’s hilltop retreat; and the Vanderbilt Mansion, the 50-room residence of Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt. Across the river, New Paltz, with its historic Huguenot Street lined with stone churches and houses, commemorates the 1690 French emigrant settlement, just minutes from Victorian Mohonk Mountain House, a National Historic Landmark, and Minnewaska State Park. Preserve.
The Old Rhinebeck Airfield, located just east of the historic towns of Rhinebeck and Red Hook, is a living museum of early aviation featuring original aircraft and engines and hosting weekend air shows from mid-June to mid-October .
After walking through the wooden bridge-like entrance on a recent visit, the barn-like 1920s airfield loomed before me.
An original 1909 Bleiriot XI, high-winged and cloth-draped, arched skyward, albeit briefly, from its wide, rolling field of grass, flanking the red, orange, and yellow October trees, reminiscent of the stormy days of 1910 and 1920. creating the illusion that this era of aviation had somehow been preserved and continued to develop within the time vacuum beyond the museum’s gates. The hangars, as if ignorant of the calendar, proudly braved the winds, with names like Albatros Werke, Royal Aircraft Factory Farnborough, AV Roe and Company, Ltd. and Fokker. But it was the multitude of mono, bi, and triplanes that struggled most proudly with the conception of present time.
Fifteen minute flights in a 1929 New Standard D-25 biplane are offered before and after the air shows, three of which I have taken personally during my many visits. Taking on a deafening blast from its propeller and pelted with castor oil spitting from the engine, the D-25 gently lifted its rear wheel off the ground and delivered its cloth-covered double wings to the sky. Bitten by the stinging October wind from the wake, the force of which nearly inhibited breathing, and periodically pricked by the castor oil spewed from the engines, I looked over the wing. The ground, camouflaged by a dense pattern of autumn-transformed orange, yellow, and red trees, was otherwise devoid of contemporary civilization as the biplane passed the silvery surface of the Hudson River.
The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, located just a few miles from Rhinebeck, crosses the Hudson River and accesses the 1,094-square-mile Catskill Forest Reserve, home to three 1,500-foot mountains that provide winter skiing: Belleayre, Hunter, and Ski Windham.
So beautiful had the Hudson Valley been that it had spawned a 19th-century painting movement called the Hudson River School of Landscape Painters, which had been sparked by Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, whose Persian-style property, Olana, is located on the west from the river. side. Painting directly from nature, these artists, among others, had created a visual medium that expressed optimism, vitality, and personal theology through color, light, and perspective.
Dotted with vineyards, the valley provides tourists with the opportunity to sample many local New York State wines.
Albany, with its sculpture-like modern architecture, is located in the Upper Hudson Valley and is characterized by the French granite Chateau state capitol building. The state capital since 1797 and the second incorporated city in America, it continues to operate under its 1686 charter and has continuously served as a transportation hub since the days of the Indian trail.
The Hudson Valley can alternatively be enjoyed from Amtrak’s 381-mile day-long route from New York to Montreal designated the “Adirondack” and considered one of its four most scenic US train rides.
Next time you visit Manhattan, take the “short” way over the Whitestone Bridge – it may take you a “long” way…