Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Endeavors
(
877-486-5769;
www.alpineendeavors.com
)
for climbing instruction and
equipment.
tain Rest Rd; r $320-2500; )
looks like it's straight out of a fairy tale: a rustic
castle perched magnificently over a dark lake. It's an all-inclusive resort where guests
can gorge on elaborate five-course meals, stroll through gardens, hike miles of trails, ca-
noe, swim etc. A luxury spa center is there to work out the kinks. Nonovernight guests
can visit the grounds (adult/child per day $25/20, less on weekdays) - well worth the
price of admission.
On the eastern side of the Hudson is Poughkeepsie (puh-kip-see), the largest town on
the east bank. It's famous for Vassar, a private liberal-arts college that until 1969 only ad-
mitted women. Worth a stroll for its breathtaking views is the
Walkway Over the Hud-
bridge, and since 2009 the world's longest pedestrian bridge and the state's newest park.
Just north of here is Hyde Park, long associated with the Roosevelts, a prominent fam-
ily since the 19th century. The estate of 1520 acres, formerly a working farm, includes
the newly renovated and expanded
Franklin D Roosevelt Library & Museum
(
845-229-8114;
www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu
; 511 Albany Post Rd/Rte 9, Hyde Park; admission museum
$7, museum & house $14; 9am-5pm)
, which details important achievements in FDR's
presidency; a visit usually includes a guided tour of FDR's lifelong home where he de-
livered his fireside chats. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's peaceful cottage,
Val-Kill
(
845-229-9115;
www.nps.gov/elro
; Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park; admission $8; 9am-5pm daily May-
Oct, Thu-Mon Nov-Apr)
, was her retreat from Hyde Park, FDR's mother and FDR himself.
vama
; Rte 9, Hyde Park; adult/child $8/free; 9am-5pm)
, a Gilded Age spectacle of lavish
beaux-arts design; nearly all of the original furnishings imported from European castles
and villas remain in this country house - the smallest of any of the Vanderbilt mansions!
Hyde Park's famous
Culinary Institute of America
( 845-471-6608;
www.ciarestaurants.com
;
Hyde Park; most restaurants 11:30am-1pm & 6-8pm)
trains future
chefs and can satisfy absolutely anyone's gastronomic cravings; the
Apple Pie Café
(mains $10; 7:30am-5pm)
, one of the five student-staffed eateries, looks out onto a tran-
quil courtyard and serves up gourmet sandwiches as well as specialty pastries. Tuck in
wood Pl, Poughkeepsie; r $130-190)
, a six-room B&B - including a Roosevelt Room, of
course - right in the middle of Hyde Park's big estates.
Further north is
Rhinebeck
, with a charming main street, inns, farms and wineries.
Three miles to the north, the
Aerodrome Museum
(
845-752-3200;
