Where to Stay:

My personal favorites: Hudson Merchant House, The Hudson Milliner, Wm Farmer & Sons, The Inn at Hudson, Hudson B&B
Also good: The Croff House, Mount Morino Manner, The Barlow Hotel

Where to Eat:

– Fish & Game (for an ambitious, local tasting menu and modern(ish) country lodge feel)
– Swoon Kitchenbar (for hyper local, seasonal New American)
– Ca’Mea (for very Italian food)
– The Crimson Sparrow (for an upscale, but not stuffy, tasting menu)
– Grazin’ Diner (for grass-fed burgers and milkshakes from Grazin’ Acres Farm)
– Bonfiglio & Bread (for unfussy, stellar local food, homemade bread, pizza, high quality takeout)
– Truck Pizza (for wood fired pizza, from a truck. Classic flavors, as well as some just left of center.)
– Food Studio Hudson (for mixed Asian cuisine featuring local ingredients.)
– The Half Moon (for a Bushwick bar in Hudson. Pool table, patio, and live music.)
– Swallow Espresso & Coffee (for nerdy-good coffee + wifi)
– Moto Coffee Machine (for excellent coffee, vintage motorcycles, and waffles.)
– LICK (ice cream flavors like Fig & Sweet Cream, Lavender, Prune Armagnac, Thai Coconut Peanut)

Where to Shop:

– Olde Hudson (for fancy-pants grocery items)
– Antique (window) shopping along Warren Street
– The Spotty Dog (it’s a bookstore AND a bar!)
– Hudson Farmers’ Market (Saturdays 9am-1pm)
– Talbott & Arding Cheese and Provisions (for local goodness. This last trip, I left with three local cheeses, housemade buttermilk-herb dressing, Kinderhook eggs, and ramp butter.)
– Valley Variety (for cool home and kitchen wares)
– Made in Ghent (for their farm store in Ghent, NY–bread, meats, picnic provisions)

Things to Do:

We always drive 20 minutes north to visit Kinderhook Farm; home of lovely farmers, a charming farmstay, and a farm shop full of high quality eggs and meat, where my self control usually flies out the window.

Hiking nearby-ish:
– Bear Mountain
– Kaaterskill Wild Forest. Check out the trail map here. We hiked to North Point, which affords gorgeous views of the valley in sunny weather. We picnic-ed at the top. You can also swim (or boat or camp) at both North and South Lakes. Also, as you drive through the park along 23A, you will see clusters of cars parked along the side of the road. People hike down to the river to swim.
– This is also a great resource.

* I will mention as a kind of disclaimer: I’m not an expert on the region. We love the area around Hudson; these are my personal favorite spots. I’d love to hear your opinions about my finds (or better yet, what I haven’t found yet!) in the comments.