Region is filled with sites and sensations

By Jennifer McGraw Karchmer
Poughkeepsie Journal

Since the early 1600s when Englishman Henry Hudson was searching for a quick passage to China and came upon the river that now carries his name, the valley has captivated writers, painters and artists. Especially in the fall, the Hudson Valley’s robust colors draw visitors from around the world who drive country roads to view the changing leaves.

Much of the uniqueness of the Hudson Valley is in the historic mansions that overlook the river.

Montgomery Place in Annandale, Dutchess County, the 434-acre estate purchased in 1805 by Janet Livingston Montgomery, is perched on a bluff overlooking the river and the Catskill Mountains. The Rockefeller estate known as Kykuit (pronounced ky-cut) in Tarrytown, Westchester County, was home to four generations of the family. The gardens include Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s extraordinary collection of 20th-century sculpture.

‘‘The best thing about the (historical) sites in the Hudson Valley is they were really lived in. They were the homes for the people who lived here, the stories of the people like Franklin and Eleanor (Roosevelt). We’re darn lucky,’’ said Margery Short, owner of Aristocrat Tours, which is based in the City of Poughkeepsie. Short started her valley tour bus service more than 20 years ago.

Famous food headquarters

Whether visiting from Connecticut, the Midwest or Europe, you’ve probably heard of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Dutchess County.

Visitors can enjoy U.S. cuisine at the American Bounty restaurant, French recipes are prepared in the Escoffier Restaurant, the Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici located in the Colavita Center serves Italian dishes and St. Andrew’s Cafe has an Asian-inspired menu. If you’d like to grab a casual lunch or just coffee, try the Apple Pie Bakery Cafe in Roth Hall.

During a guided tour, you can watch students cooking meals while they earn degrees in culinary arts. The Culinary campus, situated on the banks of the Hudson, offers fantastic views of the river.

Not far north on Route 9 is one of the most notable destinations in the Hudson Valley — the Franklin D. Roosevelt Estate in Hyde Park. Visitors can enjoy a guided tour of FDR’s home, stroll through the museum and the grounds, gardens, and trails of the 300-acre site.

Historic leadership

Visitors can learn about Roosevelt’s contribution to history as the nation’s only four-term president. Inaugurated as president in 1933, Roosevelt led the U.S. through the Depression and World War II before his death in 1945. A $13 million visitor’s center is scheduled to open on the FDR site by the end of 2003. The center will become a hub for Hudson Valley tourism, offering information on things to do in the entire region.

Aviation buffs should catch an antique airplane show at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Red Hook, Dutchess County.

And artists and invention enthusiasts alike will enjoy Locust Grove, the Samuel Morse Historic Site on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, which showcases Morse’s work as inventor of the telegraph and his life as an accomplished painter in the 19th century.

With New York as the fourth-largest wine producing state in the country, Hudson Valley wineries are getting plenty of attention these days. Follow the four-winery Dutchess Wine Trail over scenic small town roads and the Shawangunk Wine Trail which takes you to nine wineries through Ulster and Orange counties.

Looking for a day hike or a place to take your mountain bike? You’ll enjoy Ulster County’s Mohonk Preserve, which protects more than 6,400 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge. Nicknamed ‘‘The Gunks,’’ it’s also known as a world-class climbing venue, home to strenuous climbs on steep rock called quartzite conglomerate.

For skiing and snowboarding in the Catskills, try Windham Mountain or Hunter Mountain, both in Greene County, or Belleayre Mountain in Highmount, Ulster County.

To check out gorgeous Hudson Valley scenery from the river, take a guided cruise. The “Rip Van Winkle” departs from Rondout Landing on Broadway in the Historic Rondout District in Kingston, Ulster County. The two-hour narrated cruise, run by Hudson River Cruises, passes several lighthouses and magnificent riverfront mansions.

Back on land, don’t miss Opus 40 in Saugerties, Ulster County, a unique sculpture which took Harvey Fite 37 years to build using rubble cleared from a quarry.

Cadets draw crowds

With more than three million visitors each year, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Orange County, is one of the top tourist attractions in the state. The river views, the military museum, the architecture throughout the grounds and glimpses into academy life, draw thousands each month.

Boscobel, a neoclassical mansion built in 1804, hosts the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival each summer at its location in Garrison, Putnam County.

In Rockland County, visitors enjoy 61 acres of hiking and fishing at Nyack Beach State Park. Day trippers can check out Piermont Historic Village for its galleries and restaurants.

For a feast for the eyes, see the 160-acre Kendall Sculpture Garden at the PepsiCo World Headquarters at Purchase, Westchester County. Forty sculptures are scattered throughout the shrubs, trees and gardens.

Antiques seekers should take a ride to Cold Spring, Putnam County, or Beacon, Dutchess County, or head north to Hudson, Columbia County, where there are more than 60 antiques shops and galleries in an eight-block area.

The Hudson Valley isn’t just a daytime destination. Visitors can enjoy fine dining in the evening and quaint accommodations at one of the many bed and breakfast inns.

‘‘They come from around the world because of our closeness to Bard (College). They come for various reasons, for the foliage, for the mansions, the antiques,’’ said Elizabeth Pagano, owner of the 161-year-old Red Hook Inn, in Red Hook, Dutchess County.

Other day trips from the Hudson Valley take you to Lime Rock Park in Litchfield Hills, Conn., which hosts professional and amateur road racing, car shows and auto festivals. Also, at Housatonic Meadows State Park in Sharon, Conn., you can go hiking on Pine Knob Loop Trail, which joins the Appalachian Trail.

Great Barrington, Mass., is also a stone’s throw from eastern Dutchess County. Go to a music festival at Tanglewood, in Lenox, Mass., the Boston Symphony’s summer home. Also in the Berkshires, you can visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., and Chesterwood, a 122-acre estate where sculptor Daniel Chester French fashioned the statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

Whether it’s a day trip along the Hudson River, a visit to an historic estate or apple picking during the fall harvest, the Hudson Valley is a great year-round tourist destination.