Things to do / Travel Guide
The Catskills and the Hudson Valley region is perfect for a vacation of hiking, biking, and touring the historic and architectural attractions. If you're coming from New York City the region is also a great place to visit for a day trip, perhaps on a free weekend or holiday, even up to the Catskills. A car is definitely a plus, as there are lots of small towns with one or two locations, but they're spread out; however, a car is not a necessity so long as you want to concentrate on one destination, as there are several public transportation companies with routes to and from these towns.
By Car in the Hudson Valley
North-south, along the Hudson River, you have several options based on whether you're driving on the east side of the river or the west side. While both sides are picturesque, the eastern side the more-so, owing to the many small and historic towns lining the banks and farther inland. Just keep in mind that some of the larger highways, especially closer to New York City, can be hit by rush hour. Plan accordingly.
If on the eastern side of the river, you can take the Taconic State Parkway, farther inland, which is famous for its fall foliage viewing opportunities and for just being carved out of nature. Towns on the Taconic include Yorktown, East Fishkill, and Milan.
Hugging the Hudson on the east side is U.S. Highway 9. Cities and towns the highway runs through include Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, Croton-on-Hudson, Fishkill, Wappinger, Poughkeepsie, and Rhinebeck. At Rhinebeck, the road has an offshoot, State Road 9G; which continues closer to the Hudson. It passes through by Bard College, Tivoli, Germantown, and Hudson.
On the western side of the Hudson, you also have choices as to which road to take in the north-south direction. If you want a speedy interstate to get straight to the Catskills, take I-87, the New York State Thruway, which crosses into the region from Manhattan via the Tappan Zee Bridge. At this point it journeys through such residential areas as Clarkstown and Ramapo, before traversing the western sides of Harriman State Park and West Point. Cities in I-87's path include New Windsor, Newburgh, New Paltz, and Kingston. If you want a more scenic drive along the Hudson, you can elect to take State Road 9W.
It's good to know about the Hudson River bridges in the region, from South to North:
- South of Tarrytown, the Tappan Zee Bridge crosses the Hudson at the river's widest point. The bridge is on I-87.
- At Bear Mountain you can take the Bear Mountain Bridge to north of Peeksill, connecting State Road 9D and State Road 9W on the east and west side of the river, respecively.
- The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge connects those two cities, on I-84 and State Road 52.
- The Mid-Hudson Bridge crosses on State Road 55, at Poughkeepsie.
- The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge cross on State Road 199, and connects those two cities.
By Car in the Catskills
In the Catskills, State Road 17, known historically, and by locals as the Quickway, begins in Bear Mountain State Park, crosses I-87, hits Wallkill and Monticello, and runs close to Liberty, before skirting the southwest side of Catskill Park. Generous medians and multiple lanes make this a pleasant drive from the Hudson Highlands into the foothills of the Catskills. This road, predated much of the Interstate System has been an Interstate “wanna-be” (I86) for over a decade.
If your destination is the Mohonk Mountain House and Preserve, the best route is to take Mountain Rest Road from New Paltz. If you crave the cliffs of the Shawangunks, take State Road 17 to U.S. Highway 209.
To get to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame through Albany, take I-87 to Albany, and I-88 to State Road 28, which leads to Cooperstown. Otherwise, take State Road 145 to I-88. If Howe Caverns is your destination, it's in the immediate area of the junction of State Road 145 and I-88.
If you've taken I-87 or U.S. Highway 9W north along the Hudson River, the most commonly taken route into the Catskills is State Road 28. This road starts at Kingston and makes its way out to the Catskills at Fleischmanns and Margaretville. It then meets up with State Road 30, where it skirts the Pepacton Reservoir, and meets State Road 17 at Hancock.
The following are approximate distances and driving times from Poughkeepsie to other popularly-visited places within the Catskills and Hudson Valley region:
- Tarrytown: 45 miles, 1 hour 20 minutes
- West Point: 30 miles, just over 1 hour
- Kingston: 20 miles, 35 minutes
- Hudson: 40 miles, 1 hour 10 minutes
- Catskill: 50 miles, just over 1 hour
- Woodstock: 35 miles, almost 1 hour
- Saugerties: 40 miles, 50 minutes
- Cooperstown: 140 miles, 3 hours 15 minutes
By Bus
Peter Pan and Greyhound both travel the region, the latter more extensively than the former. However, two other lines cover the region to an greater extent:
- The Adirondack-Pine Hill Trailways runs its lines from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, to Albany. Along the way it has stops at a number of cities and towns on the western side of the Hudson River. Of benefit to the Catskills traveler, the line runs along State Road 28 and State Road 23A, stopping in all the small towns. Most of the smaller cities are visited by one or two buses a day.
- Short Line Bus also departs from Port Authority, but its routes are less extensive than those of Adirondack-Pine Hill Trailways.
By Train
Amtrak provides service to Croton-on-Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Rhinecliff-Kingston, and the city of Hudson. Reaching these cities are the Lake Shore Limited, Empire Service, Adirondack, and Ethan Allen Express lines, and from Croton-on-Hudson to Hudson the train ride takes a bit more than an hour. No trains cross the Catskills. There are commuter trains departing into the region from New York City just about every hour of the day.
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