CORNWALL

Shockingly good Italian food behind an unassuming neon-fronted strip mall facade. We’ve never had a bad meal here. Gluten-free pasta available.

CORNWALL

Local family pizza joint that gives any pizzeria in NYC a run for its money. Has the walls that Cracker Barrel wishes it had. And they do a great gluten-free pie! Say hi to the dog for us.

CORNWALL

Started as a deli & market, now a full-fledged restaurant & bar. Come for the sandwiches, named after local peaks – we love the Rattlesnake Hill and the Gertrude’s Nose. They have gluten-free bread!

NEWBURGH

Confession: We’ve never been to this spot on the Newburgh waterfront, but we’ve ordered their tacos plenty of times. Good carnitas & shrimp, and some wilder entries like Korean BBQ shortrib & Asian tuna.

NEWBURGH/WOODBURY

Another solid pizza & pasta joint with plenty of gluten-free options. They do a nice caprese.

WOODBURY

Our favorite diner for a weekend brunch, a post-hike meal, or a delicious takeout dinner. Huge classic diner menu, and everything is good, from the omelettes to the French toast to the burgers to the quesadillas to the tots.

TUXEDO PARK

Best brunch spot in the Hudson Valley. Friendly staff, magnificent baked goods, exceptional menu top-to-bottom. Get a brunch entrée for now and a cookie, brownie, or pastry for later. Popular, so expect a wait for seating.

HARRIMAN

Local ice cream shop with a nice selection of flavors. Sometimes we need to go here because Cati needs an ice cream or she’ll absolutely die.

COLD SPRING

Upscale but low-key Tuscan restaurant. Go here when you’re feelin’ fancy and in the mood for some nice food & wine.

COLD SPRING

It used to be a train depot, now it’s a restaurant! This is extremely For David. Another good post-hike spot. Fair warning: there will be a passing train.

COLD SPRING

Another great brunch spot, with a kind of rambling, split-level dining room. Get the pomosa or elderflower to drink and the gravlax eggs Benedict or shirred eggs to eat.

BEACON

Compact ice cream shop with friendly service & great selection. Get a cup or cone and stroll down Beacon’s main drag.

BEACON

Cool spot, great tacos. Eat inside with the skeletons or outside in the garden.

BEACON

Yes, this is a Doctor Who themed restaurant. Yes, the door is a blue police box door. Yes, there is a Dalek and a Weeping Angel and an Ood. Yes, amazingly, the food is good.

BEACON

Balkan-style crepes! Get an egg-filled crepe for breakfast, a savory crepe for lunch, and a sweet crepe for desert. And while you’re at it, make that crepe gluten-free.

Namesake of the art park, right on the Hudson River! Good all-morning/all-afternoon hike. Two peaks with great views of the river & surrounding valley. Mostly a slow climb with a few brief steep sections.

Our favorite short hike, just over a mile loop. Extremely varied terrain, with some steep bouldering and a few ropes up & down, but nothing particularly difficult. Great views around the side and at the peak, where there’s a community-built war memorial.

Private forest reserve dedicated to ecological research and education, with miles of publicly-accessible trails (including one wheelchair-accessible spur from the 9W parking lot!) Beautiful terrain, with peaks, ponds, waterfalls, and wooded gorges.

A beautiful long mountain, with trails ascending along the slope and looping through the woods & fields at the base. NJ Transit runs along the side of the mountain and across the valley on the longest elevated rail viaduct in the USA.

Bear Mountain! A mountain full of bears! JK, this state park has an inn, picnic grounds, zoo, paved trails around the lake, and, yes, Bear Mountain. You can take the easy route with carved steps up the front of the mountain, the rugged route up the back, or drive to the tower at the top.

A huge state park and kind of a mixed bag. There are great hikes long and short – long full-day excursions along parts of the Appalachian Trail, a hike up to an old fire tower – and some poorly-marked or too-heavily-trafficked trails. Be picky & read the trail reviews.

A short-ish all-morning/all-afternoon hike. First half of the trail is crazy steep, then it levels out to end at an amazing panoramic view of the Hudson River. Be sure to stop at the pile of discarded walking sticks at the bottom.

State park with some not-too-difficult trails and impressive views on the Cold Spring side of the Hudson. Right by the river, there’s a small spur with caves and beaches (Little Stony Point), and the ruins of the Cornish Estate (see below).

CORNWALL

Stop at this family farm to shop the general store, local produce, homemade fudge, jams, & baked goods, then grab lunch outside with the chickens.

CORNWALL

Cornwall Coffee’s sister store, a general store with a fun selection of housewares, food, gardening tools, and homemade gelato.

CORNWALL

Cornwall Coffee’s other sister store, featuring high-end casual menswear, accessories, and a whole bunch of dang axes.

NEWBURGH

Two locations – a pair of huge warehouses filled with booth after booth of vintage clothing, antiques, collectibles, furniture, etc. You think it’s going to be kinda small & chintzy and it’s actually enormous & amazing.

NEWBURGH

Charming little gift shop with cards, stationary, candles, coffees & teas, chocolates. Lots of stuff from makers in the area and the owners are extremely pleasant to chat with.

WOODBURY

A big giant outlet mall. Not the most interesting place to shop, but it felt like it’d be weird if we didn’t include it? You’ll probably find a great deal on something from a major brand.

NEWBURGH

Grocery store with lots of local, international, & specialty foods. We discovered it recently and are delighted by it. Also has an in-house pizzeria, candy counter, and garden center.

HARRIMAN

Cool little bookstore & cafe with coffee, tea, & Caribbean bites. Buy a book and chill with a snack!

COLD SPRING

An olive oil & vinegar shop & tasting room. The owner is a delight and helped us pick out all our family holiday gifts one year. Huge variety of oils & vinegars from all over the world.

COLD SPRING

Home of Georgie the bookstore cat. Friendly staff, great selection of fiction, cookbooks, & kids books, and did we mention there’s a bookstore cat?

COLD SPRING

Home goods, seasonal wares, and food downstairs, clothing upstairs. Kind of a fancy take on a Main Street general store, but we’ll allow it.

COLD SPRING

Funky stationary & gifts. For artsy & snarky Millennials and Cool Moms

COLD SPRING

Okay, this place is wild. You go in, choose a bunch of scented oils off the wall, and then mix them together to make your own custom scented candle. We made a tomato-spearmint-sandalwood candle – smells like a fresh summer kitchen!

COLD SPRING

The fancy camping store. High-quality hiking, camping, and outdoor gear & apparel. Go here if you need an indestructible water bottle or a cool knife.

BEACON

Locally-owned high-end kitchen wares. Get yourself a really good spatula or some reusable beeswax wrap.

BEACON

Upscale CBD & hemp products store. The staff is chill, the products are chill, you will be chill.

BEACON

Another olive oil & vinegar tap room? Yes, absolutely. Great infused oils & vinegars to taste. The owner & her daughter can always recommend something good. Bring back your bottle to refill next time!

BEACON

Record store with new and used LPs, cassettes, CDs. Awesome selection of vintage records, browse the eclectic stacks for some absolute gems.

BEACON

Shop for refillable, reusable, and bulk cleaning, kitchen, & bath supplies. We walked in the literal 2nd day it was open and the owner could not have been nicer.

BEACON

Awesome spot for New York wines, with their own custom wines from NY State grapes. Eponymous owner Paul is a chill & knowledgeable dude who can recommend you a funky, off-beat, & delicious wine.