Short Lower Hudson River Trip - Any Suggestions?

[sgharford]

Planning a 4 day trip on the Lower Hudson with my wife and 5 young kids for Columbus Day weekend. We're leaving from Port Washington, NY on a 43 DC and figure I don't want to go further north the Kingston which is about 100 miles from us by boat. Any suggestions as to marina's to stay at? Looking for easy day trips to get to and from Marina using Uber or preferably walk (no bikes on this trip). We do have a dinghy that zips along pretty well with a good motor. Thinking West Point Museum a good day trip. Any other suggestions?

 

[BobWaz]

In either Newburg or Beacon you can take a ferry over to Bannerman's Island castle. Also in Poughkeepsie the walkway bridge over the Hudson River. In Cold Spring just south of West Point is where they filmed the movie Hello Dolly. In Peekskill there is a castle where they filmed the Wizzard of Oz. If you have never been in the Hudson in this area, you are in for a special treat. The beauty is compared to the rivers of Germany.

 

[Walter P]

Scott,

IMO the Hudson River north of the GW bridge is absolutely beautiful. Take your time and enjoy the
views. Lots of great sights as BobWaz noted in his post as well as lots of history. You should be seeing
some of the trees turning color by mid October....delightful. There are many places to stay as you will
find out. We have made many trips up the river since the late 50's and I never get tired of it. One of
our favorite places to stay is Kingston. They have a nice town with some nice places to eat within
walking from the waterfront. There is also a nice museum in town with lots of nautical displays. Another
thing we like about Kingston is that you can order a car rental or taxi if you don't want to drive and
make a visit to Hyde Park to tour Franklin Delano Roosevelt's estate, then just a short hop from there
to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) for a fantastic dinner at one of several restaurants. (Reservations
are required but worth it). On the way you will pass the new Tappen Zee bridge and West Point. At
West Point you can stop and take a tour of the Military Academy which is steeped in history.

You can probably make your trip even more fun if you buy a Hudson River Guide book and look it
over before you leave so that your trip is better planned. Well worth the price...

Walt

 

[madhatter1]

If you can secure a slip on Rondout Creek on the weekend do it. I have boated to a lot of very cool places and this place while not exotic is pretty damn nice, especially in the fall on a nice day.

 

[Dan Mapes]

Rondout Yacht is a good place to stop, we slipped there for many years. Getting a taxi over to downtown Kgn. for dinner was always problematic (years ago) but they showed up eventually. Perhaps it is better with Uber now. The Maritime museum http://www.hrmm.org/docking.html could be a good solution as well. In either case have reservations in hand.

I cannot remember the last time we passed through Spuyten Duyvil if you are going up the East River. Better scenery (Statue etc) going up the other way IMHO. Just be ready for plenty of ferry traffic if you chose the main river and harbor over the East River. Respect all of the security zones.

I do not believe you can dock at West Point. It could be difficult to come up with convenient dockage around West Point.

What we used to enjoy was docking at Liberty Landing in Jersey City and taking the water taxi over to NYC. However, if that is a chore there is Ellis Island and the Statue.

 

[sgharford]

Thanks Everyone for really great suggestions! My trip just got cut down to 3 days due to new obligation on Friday, but maybe we'll take Tuesday off instead (Columbus Day weekend). I like to spend 1 full day where we stop, so thinking Cornwall Yacht Club, which appears closest marina on the same side of river to West Point. I read in waterway guide they have reciprocal privileges only. I'm a member of local sportsman club in town with similar name to local yacht club, hoping they get the 2 confused when I try to make reservations If they reject me perhaps we’ll cruise all the way up to Kingston. This outing really is more about the trip then destination anyway. With the guarantee of at least smooth seas makes this trip allot more palatable for the family. I see the Roundout Yacht Basin is across creek from city of Kingston city, but looks like plenty of places to tie up dinghy on city side. Really hope I can finagle another day to make this a 4 day trip.

 

[BobWaz]

Have a great time and be sure to report back your experiences! I will warn you not to come to Lake Champlain! We came here 16 years ago and have lived waterfront ever since! And yes, it is that beautiful.

 

[sgharford]

I've been meaning to post these photos. We only made an overnight trip and stayed in Newburgh. The little waterfront marina with about 5 restaurants was quite lovely. However, was warned not to go into town - real bad, gun violence a nightly occurrence. There were tons of debris in the water heading up. The Northeaster had just passed through a day earlier. We bumped logs twice I know of, thankfully did not hit the props as far as could tell. It was a fantastic trip. Once you get north of Haverstraw it really becomes lovely (can't think of a better word). We felt like we were in a model train set. The trains run on both sides of the river, the Metro North on the east side, freight trains on west. Gonna shoot for a longer trip in the Summer. Highly recommend this trip if never done it.

 

[sgharford]

 

[sgharford]

 

[sgharford]

 

[sgharford]

And finally the leftovers from Billy Joe's Ribs in Newburgh after we got back and I sent the wife and kids home so I could 'clean up'

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing. I wish more would post trip photos.

 

[krush]

........I wish more would post trip photos.

Yes, we need more trip pictures. I just had an idea spawned by your comment. We need a trip photo sub-forum. Mods/Admin, can that happen?