The Hudson River Valley—rich in history, art and architecture, farms and towns - brings many people to its environs—to visit, but also to live. Insiders' Guide® to the Hudson River Valley is your comprehensive source and guide to the magnificent area of New York State north of New York City. The author's knowledge of the area gives you access to tips and facts essential to your experience. The publication of the first edition of this guide coincides with the 2009 Quadcentennial Celebration marking the voyages of the Hudson River and Lake Champlain.
"This authoritative guide will show you how to navigate your way through the Hudson River Valley's extraordinary array of cultural treasures and outdoor pleasures."--Back cover.
Traveling down the Hudson River, named by Native Americans the river that flows both ways, you discover people, places, and events that made American history. The cultural, historic, and scenic resources of the Hudson Valley are so numerous, so varied, and so compelling that it's no wonder Congress recognized the Hudson River Valley as a National Heritage Area in 1996. The National Park Service called the region the "landscape that defined America" and characterized the valley as "an exceptionally scenic landscape that has provided the setting and inspiration for new currents of American thought, art, and history." Its political importance was demonstrated early in our history when the river played a critical role in the Revolutionary War. The many streams and waterfalls of the tributaries of the Hudson River powered early sawmills and gristmills. The river and its landscapes inspired the Hudson River school of painters. Sublime and picturesque paintings by Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, and Asher Durand depicted this unique American landscape for the world to witness. Industrialists and commercial leaders like William and John D. Rockefeller, Frederick Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan, and Ogden Mills built their great estates along the Hudson River. The second edition includes completely updated user-friendly design and vibrant photography; heritage site pages that include brief descriptions, contact information, and accessibility site characteristics; and National Park Service Passport Stamp locations with new cancellation stamp pages for your collection. Heritage sites in this guidebook are associated with areas of interest and categorized as must see, best bet, or special interest to make it easy to explore the stories of the Hudson River Valley. Heritage sites are also organized by geography and proximity to make it easy to find heritage sites nearby.
A newly updated and revised edition of the classic and definitive guide to the best of the Hudson River Valley. For the last 20 years this has been the most trusted guide to exploring the Hudson River Valley's myriad attractions and providing everything the visitor?and resident?needs to know to enjoy this newly designated National Heritage Area that has been called ?America's Rhine.? Visit presidential homes ? great estates built by founding fathers and 19th-century tycoons ? a remarkable assortment of art museums with Old Master paintings and contemporary masterpieces ? the battlements of West Point and the site of the most important struggle of the Revolution ? the homes, studios and painting sites of Hudson River School artistsperforming arts centers ? the oldest and most famous horse-racing track in the country ? wineries ? lighthouses ? arboretums ? hot-air ballooning, river tubing, and bird watching for bald eagles ? historic districts ? antiquarian bookstores, antiques
This is the first comprehensive guide to the Hudson since the works of Ernest Ingersoll were published in the early 1900s. It arrives to fulfill the need for a new detailed, point-by-point guide to the river from its intersection with the Atlantic to its source in the Adirondacks. Five possible routes for the traveler are given: directly up the main steamboat channel, road routes on the east and west shores, and rail routes along the east and west shores. The road routes follow the riverbanks as closely as possible and also provide excursions to the many points of historical interest and contemporary development in the river valley. Maps provide detailed guides for excursions. For both armchair and actual travelers, Arthur Adams has condensed his considerable knowledge of the natural river, navigation, regional history, and the architecture along the river in this book. Many excerpts from American authors provide perspectives on the valley from other eras, and Adams combines descriptions of well-known events in American history, such as Benedict Arnold's meeting with Major Andre, with the stories of ordinary people and origins of place names that deepen one's feeling for the river. Contemporary economic development is also noted, and the fluctuating economic fortunes of river towns and always changing patterns of residence and employment are noted. From the Abyssal Plain to Doodletown and Chevaux-de-Frise, past Anthony's Nose, Burdens Iron Works, and the Saratoga Battle Field to the Hudson's source at Lake Tear of the Clouds, this Guidebook provides practical information and enjoyable perspectives. Take it along!
