Hey folks. The Mrs and I are taking a trip to the Hudson Valley in June to visit some vineyards and go hiking, and hit up whatever breweries we can in the process. Looking for suggestions on which town to make our home base for the 4 or 5 days we will be visiting. Thinking Newburgh or Beacon or maybe New Paltz, but if anyone else has suggestions I’d greatly appreciate it, especially if the town is walkable and has good hiking nearby. Cheers and thanks in advance!
From my experience would say Beacon - great town with solid food and beverage options (Kitchen Sink; Meyer’s Olde Dutch; HVB; Draught Industries; TVR), nice hiking in the immediate vicinity/quick drive, and Dia Beacon is pretty cool if that’s your thing @IGaveYouPower as the (likely) expert
I'd stay in either Beacon or New Paltz and would not consider staying in Newburgh. Beacon and New Paltz have walkable main streets with a lot of shops and restaurants. They're both very artsy, but New Paltz is more of a college town and Beacon has been (derisively) referred to as North Brooklyn. New Paltz is close by to Minnewaska State Park and Beacon is close to Breakneck Ridge like @TongoRad mentioned. I'm biased, but I think the beer scene is better in Beacon than in New Paltz. @hops_for_thought gave a good rundown, but I'll especially shoutout Hudson Valley Brewery, Draught Industries, and Melzingah Taphouse. Obercreek Brewing is also 10-15 minutes north of Beacon and I highly recommend taking the trip over. You can also stop at Industrial Arts on the way. New Paltz has some good spots to hit if you end up there. Bacchus is a favorite of mine, and it's where the guys from HVB started. Schatzi's also has a killer taplist and makes a mean burger and brat although I go to the one in Poughkeepsie. Arrowwood Farm is pretty close by and makes some great beer. They used to have an outpost in NP, but unfortunately it closed down. Clemson Brothers is alright, but nothing amazing. They make a good chicken sandwich.
Hard agree. Every brewery you could wanna hit is less than an hour from Beacon. All the way up to Suarez/Vosburgh area and all the way down to Drowned Lands/EQ is in that radius. And as HFT touched on, lotta dope food options there too. If you can’t find accommodations in Beacon for whatever reason, New Paltz, Nyack or like Rhinebeck should all be on the table.
Thanks everyone! And I assume Beacon is close enough to some vineyards? Appears so based on Google Maps but thought I’d ask.
Not a ton of wineries in the HV really. There’s a cluster between Beacon and Poughkeepsie (but on the other side of the river) but nothing with much national cachet. Some cool spots, though. Benmarl and Quartz Rock are on gorgeous properties, and if you wanna go a little further south is Brotherhood which is the oldest operational winery in the country. Super cool tour there I’d recommend doing.
I appreciate the help. The Mrs wants to hit up some vineyards after hiking so we will def be doing that. Glad there are several options.
Industrial Arts, for sure. I've tried to like HVB so many times it hurts, but I finally decided that sour IPAs aren't my thing. And Dia is amazing, for the Serra installations and much more.
Oh, and Beacon for home base, for sure. Have stayed at several nice AirBnbs there, and the Roundhouse seems to be a well-regarded hotel, have had a great burger and awesome cocktails at its bar.
Just remembered: I’d recommend grabbing a lunch at Beacon Pantry. Really well-made sandwiches that just hit the fucking spot.
