Hudson (New York)

Hudson is a city in Columbia County, New York.

Understand
Hudson is an important city in the Hudson Valley that is known for its art galleries, antique shops, and boutiques, and also for blocks upon blocks of beautiful historic buildings. These center on Warren St. but are also present in large numbers on the parallel Columbia St. and some side streets. Hudson is worth at least a detour if not more.

By plane

 * Stewart International Airport, 1180 First St, New Windsor,.
 * Albany International Airport, 737 Albany-Shaker Rd, Albany.

By train

 * Operator:
 * Routes stopping in Hudson:
 * Adirondack operating daily between Montreal and New York City including stops along the way in Saint-Lambert, Rouses Point, Plattsburgh, Westport, Ticonderoga, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers.
 * Ethan Allen Express operating daily between Burlington and New York City including in Middlebury, Rutland, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers.
 * Empire Service operating twice day between Niagara Falls (New York) and New York City including stops in Buffalo, Buffalo (Depew), Rochester, Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers. Additional daily trips operate between Albany (Rensselaer) and New York City.
 * Maple Leaf operating daily between Toronto and New York City, in partnership with VIA Rail Canada. Stops between Toronto and Niagara Falls (New York) include in Oakville, Burlington, Grimsby, St. Catharines, and Niagara Falls (Ontario). Stops between Niagara Falls (New York) and New York City are the same as those made by the Empire Service. Border crossing processing takes place in Niagara Falls, where passengers must detrain with their baggage. Train crew members are staffed by VIA Rail within Canada, and by Amtrak within the United States.

By car
US Route 9 is the main road for access to Hudson. State Routes 9G and 23B, which constitute Columbia St. and S. 3rd St. within city limits, are major streets in the center of town. Columbia St. actually forms one end of 7th St. Park, which is the city green. Watch out for traffic along these streets, as they are also truck routes.

A bit south of Hudson, the Rip Van Winkle Bridge traverses the Hudson River and enables access to and from the town of Catskill, on the west side of the river, and the Catskills, further afield.

Get around
The center of town is walkable. To get further, you will need a vehicle.

Do
Walk the length of Warren Street, from the river to the park, admiring the beautifully preserved turn-of-the-20th-century architecture.

Satisfy your aesthetic eye at the many galleries.

Watch the boats sail up and down the Hudson River from the riverside park.

Buy
Hudson has a huge number of art galleries and antique stores for a town of its size as well as fashion, fabric, and other craft studios.



Budget

 * Organic Market Breakfast and lunch.

Drink

 * Taproom (located in the St. Charles Hotel). 10 beers on tap. Happy hour specials. 25 cent wings & 2 dollar pints on Wednesdays.
 * Taproom (located in the St. Charles Hotel). 10 beers on tap. Happy hour specials. 25 cent wings & 2 dollar pints on Wednesdays.

Go next

 * Rhinebeck, a charming town with pretty historic buildings though perhaps less spectacular than the stretch along Warren St., is about 35-40 minutes to the south via Route 9G
 * Kingston, the state's first capital, has three historic zones and would take more than a day to fully explore. 35- to 50-minute drive to the south and on the other side of the river from Hudson and Rhinebeck.
 * The Catskills are to the east, across the Rip Van Winkle Bridge
 * Albany, the state capital, is about a 45- to 60-minute drive north
 * Troy, about 45-60 minutes to the north, has an impressive ensemble of 19th- and early 20th-century urban buildings; as it was more built-up in its heyday than Hudson, the style of the buildings is considerably different and worth seeing by contrast
 * The Berkshires of Massachusetts are about a 40- to 60-minute drive to the east