A day trip or weekend away in the Hudson Valley is the perfect antidote to the frenetic energy of New York City. Dotted with farms and orchards, state parks, historic country towns and old money mansions left behind from the Gilded Age, it’s only a short train trip to find sweet relief from the city that never sleeps. On a warm weekend in September, when we lived in New York City, David and I took a day trip to the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Cold Spring.

The Hudson Valley stretches all the way from the outskirts of the city through Upstate New York to Albany, the state capital. David and I were eager to explore outside the city, and to make things a bit simpler we decided to go with the lowest hanging fruit – the towns of Beacon and Cold Spring, which are easily accessible on the Metro North Hudson train line in around 2 hours from New York.

Train from NYC to Hudson Valley

Train travel is not very popular in Australia, but I think it’s going to be my preferred mode of transport around the US. The traffic getting out of New York City is insane, hire cars are expensive and moving through airports is slow. The train trip from Grand Central Station to the towns was relaxing and scenic. The train hugs the Hudson River, gliding past gentle landscapes that inspired by the Hudson River School painters, the fortress-like West Point military academy and towns like Peekskill, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.

Beacon

Our first stop was Beacon, a former industrial town that is now known for it’s modern art gallery, Dia: Beacon. Neither of us were in the mood for much of an “activity”, instead we felt like just wandering around and taking in the relaxed atmosphere of small town America.

Beacon’s Main Street really is just like something out of the movies, and it reminded me so much of the “North Eastern USA Small Town” back lots that I saw at Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles last year. It’s exactly like something out of Gilmore Girls, Riverdale or Pretty Little Liars.

It’s a ten minute walk from the train station to Main Street, and by the time we arrived, we already felt more relaxed than we did that morning leaving the city.

We started with a coffee in the leafy courtyard at Bank Square Coffee House, which was notably cheaper than in the city. This cosy café had a steady queue of customers and was full of overstuffed sofas and local artwork.

We hadn’t had breakfast, and decided to look for somewhere we could have an early lunch. The menu at Kitchen Sink looked delicious, with lots of veggie-heavy dishes, but unfortunately it was closed. We wandered through Hudson Valley Food Hall, which has recently opened, but only a few of the stalls were open and most of them were meat-heavy offerings. It’s a super cute food hall though, and I’m sure that once all of it’s tenants are open for business, and The Roosevelt Bar out the back has it’s liquor license, it will be one of the best places to drop in for a bite in town. I loved the mural in the back courtyard!

I love trying small town bakeries, so I absolutely had to try something from Glazed Over Doughnuts on Main Street. David didn’t take much convincing! It’s a specialty doughnut shop, which was doing a roaring trade. At the counter, you fill out a form to build your dream doughnut, or you can try the flavour of the day. We opted for one of each! We built a doughnut with lemon glaze, grape jelly drizzle and marshmallow topping, and the doughnut of the day had maple drizzle with cheerio topping. Super sweet, but the hot doughnut itself was perfect – not too dry or bready like they can sometimes be.

No longer in need of lunch, we walked to the end of Main Street and back, poking our heads into some of the shops along the way. A farmers market was a hive of activity. A busker played Yankee Doodle on an old violin, leaving his collection tin unguarded while he did a jig around the market. You’d never leave even a few dollars unattended in New York City, but in Beacon everyone could afford to leave their guard down.

We stopped in for a drink at a Mexican bar, before catching the train ten minutes south to Cold Spring.

Cold Spring

Hemmed in by Breakneck Ridge, Mt Taurus and Storm King Mountain, Cold Spring has stayed small, unlike some of the other towns nearby which have succumbed to urban sprawl. It’s an incredibly picturesque town, with lots of historic buildings and plenty of charming small town vibes. It’s been popular with artists and writers for decades, and it was in Cold Spring that Don McLean was living when he wrote American Pie.

We put our name down for a table at Le Bouchon, a popular French restaurant on the main street, and browsed at Split Rock Books while we waited. If I hadn’t just purchased far too many books this month, I definitely would have picked up something for the train ride back.

Lunch at Le Bouchon was so lovely, I highly recommend stopping in for a meal here (ideally, book ahead) if you’re ever in Cold Spring. I went for simple onion and mushroom tarts, since I wasn’t too hungry after the doughnuts, but it came with a generous serving of salad and fries. David’s croque madame looked delicious! The dining room is painted red, and feel very convivial with tightly packed tables and antique decorations all over the walls. The service here was very warm and professional – they clearly take a lot of pride in their work.

After lunch, we crossed underneath the train tracks to reach the small section of town alongside the river. Locally-owned ice cream shop Moo Moo Creamery came highly recommended, so we joined the queue snaking out the door, down the porch and along the street. It was worth the wait!

We took our ice creams across the street, to a public square on the edge of the river where we sat and watched the sun go down over the mountains. It was such a relaxing way to end the day, before hopping on the train back to New York City.

I loved our first trip to the Hudson Valley! Later that year, we returned for apple picking in Peekskill & the next summer, we spent a weekend in Hudson.

Have you been to Beacon & Cold Spring, or anywhere else in Upstate New York? Where are your favourite small towns to visit?