New York Hudson Valley - What to do

So I will be in Kingston, NY for the next 4 months for work. Have been here for about 2 weeks and have just be randomly exploring on the weekends. I conveniently stumbled upon Lime Rock yesterday in some adventures without actually intending to look for it (in all honesty I thought it was in VA, not CT, so you can imagine my reaction when I stumbled across it). Plan to go there next weekend for the NARRC Run-offs.

Might check out the Black River Stages NASA Rally up in Harrisville in October for a longer weekend camping trip.

Any other cool motorsports to check out while I'm out here? I will be back home for the Historics over Labor day so I will unfortunately miss that.

Other cool non-motorsport related activities? Breweries, historic sites, parks to check out?

Motorcycle Museum in Newburg, NY. 85,000 sq.ft on three floors.

West Point is just down the road if you like history or football.

There are plenty of wineries and microbrews in the area.

SCCA Poughkeepsie, click the calendar.

There are some interesting mansions and the Roosevelt home and museum on the east side.

West Point is difficult to visit anymore, security. Passport or photo ID at least.

SCCAPoughkeepsie is very active. some interesting rally crosses.

Bannerman's Castle on Pollepel Island. Was a military surplus warehouse / arsenal for decades.

A few of the river towns are undergoing revivals at the moment, which means lots of good restaurants, but also lots of annoying hipsters and other assorted douchebags coming up from the city on the weekends. Cold Spring, Beacon, and Hudson are the most revived at this point, as are sections of Kingston (which you've probably already figured out) and Newburgh (waterfront only; much of the rest is still quite sketchy).

There are some great driving roads, and lots of opportunities for biking and hiking. This is the season for farmstands, if you're so inclined.

As far as specific destinations, another to consider is Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, which has a great collection and does weekend air shows.

This week the Dutchess County Fair is going on in Rhinebeck right across the river.

Of the places 02pilot mentioned I like Kingston and Hudson most, Newburgh is indeed still sketchy. Here in Poughkeepsie there's also been a bit going on but not as much although the Walkway over the Hudson Is a nice walk with some great views. You're not far from Accord Speedway which runs dirt cars every Friday night and Orange County Speedway and Lebanon Valley Speedway run Saturdays and are not unreasonable drives. Keep in mind Accord is probably the dustiest place on so if you go try and park a bit away from the track and keep you windows closed.

If you get really bored I'm about 45 minutes away and there's always yardwork you could do around the compound.

This is a cool place if you like aviation. Looks like it's very close to you.

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome

Forgot about Rhinebeck!!

Me too. well worth a visit. The show is fun.

Last time I was up at Rhinebeck a Tiger Moth had engine trouble and overshot the approach. The pilot dumped it into the treeline to avoid crossing the road and hitting the power lines across the street.

My brother lives near Copake, between the town of Hudson and the Massachusetts border, and we try to do a Brothers Road Trip each year and check out some cool spots either out there or here on the West Coast. This thread has some good suggestions so far...the closeness of Lime Rock is a big one, for sure!

If you get a long weekend or want to go slightly further afield, there are some great areas for exploring and doing guy stuff in the area. Among the top for me are the Finger Lakes region, Cooperstown, and Saratoga Springs.

We did a nice little trip west from his place (just past Ithaca) to take in Watkins Glen, some awesome waterfalls and lakes, the Corning Glass Museum in Corning, and the Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport (packed with history, aviation and motorcycle stuff!)

One year we did a nice long weekend in Cooperstown, also a bit west, complete with the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Farmer's Museum, Fenimore Museum, Omegang Brewery Tour, and some water-powered Cidery (maybe Fly Creek?) There are lots of small museums and historic sites in the area (for a small town) if you are into history.

Saratoga Springs (a bit North) is a fun area to poke around if you are a history buff, particularly if you like the colonial/revolutionary war period. We went there and took in the Saratoga battlefield, the Schuyler House, and a there is even a decent little Automotive Museum there. There is also some horse racing stuff, but we didn't go to any of it. There used to be both a company making Lotus Seven-esque replicas, and an awesome American-made high-end racing bicycle manufacturer in the area, but sadly those have both closed.

I've never been, but I hear rumors of ice racing in the winter if you stick around that long!