The Hudson Valley is defined as the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities, from New York City north to Albany and Troy. The area is divided into three regions: lower, mid and upper Hudson Valley. The lower Hudson area is made up of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, Mid-Hudson refers to Dutchess, Columbia, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties, and upper Hudson refers to Greene, Rensselaer and Albany counties.
Old towns and communities along the Hudson range from Piermont and Nyack on the west bank in Rockland County to Irvington, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow on the east bank in Westchester County, followed by Cornwall, Newburgh, Cold Spring and Garrison and then Beacon, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, Catskill, Saugerties and Hudson to the north. Each of these communities has their own personality and local culture.
The incredible beauty of the scenery inspired the legendary Hudson River landscape painters of the 19th century: Thomas Cole, Frederick Church, Asher Durand and many others whose work became known as the Hudson River School. Today it is home to a new generation of artists and writers, musicians and film makers and entrepreneurs from all ways of life. From the days of the early explorers to present day preservationists, the Hudson Valley has played an important part in American history.
United States Presidents Franklin Roosevelt lived in Hyde Park and Martin Van Buren in Kinderhook. Abraham Lincoln was a famous visitor to Garrison in the south. The valley also is home to world class institutions including the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, the Albany Institute of History & Art, the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in Peekskill, ArtsWestchester in White Plains and Dia Art Museum in Beacon, just to name a few. The U.S.Military Academy at West Point, the Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, the Rockefeller Estate in Sleepy Hollow, Philipsburg Manor and Washington Irving’s Sunnyside also are attractive destinations.
Music is everywhere in the Hudson Valley. The Woodstock Playhouse hosted the final concert in a series of performances known as the “sound outs,” considered by many as the precursor to the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. Woodstock also is home to the annual Woodstock Film Festival. The Summerscape Music festival held in the concert hall designed by Frank Geary at Bard College is very special, as is the Caramoor Music festival in Westchester.
The Culinary Institute of America, established in a former monastery in Hyde Park, trains well-known chefs who populate the area with their fine restaurants offering delicious cuisine. They also take full advantage of the farm-to-table, locally grown produce. Vineyards abound as well. In fact, the area is the oldest wine-producing area in the country.
The Hudson Valley offers thousands of acres of preserved land, miles of hiking trails, skiing, boating, swimming, golf, hunting and fishing and famous gardens to visit. Innisfree Garden in Millbrook has been described as one of the 10 best in the world and Wave Hill horticultural garden and cultural center is in the Bronx overlooking the river. The marina at Haverstraw is the largest on the Hudson. Hook Mountain State Park has about 10 miles of trails along the Hudson and is only a 40-minute drive from New York City and the Shawangunk Mountains in New Paltz offer rugged mountain climbing.
Today the Hudson Valley has garnered the world’s attention, with more international visitors coming each year, especially in the fall to see the beauty of nature. The area’s real estate offers a wide variety of options from classic farmhouses and cottages to country estates and waterfront homes or land for investment. Mansions from bygone eras line the bluffs on the river banks looking out to the Catskill Mountains and sunset views. Some are open for public view.
