Dutchess County Homes
Distinctly Dutchess!
Start your Hudson Valley getaway in Dutchess County! Dutchess County, bordering the magnificent Hudson River, is located just 75 miles north of New York City and is easily accessible by train, bus, car or helicopter. We’re 800 square miles of natural scenic beauty, historic and cultural landmarks, and outdoor recreation. Stroll the Walkway Over the Hudson. Tour and taste along the Dutchess Wine Trail. Explore the homes of FDR and Vanderbilt. Explore estate gardens and hike their trails. Taste new creations at The Culinary Institute of America. Fill the pantry at farm markets. Enjoy the shopping without the dropping. Cruise the Hudson River. Discover art from masters, traditional and modern. Come find out what makes us distinctly Dutchess!
Family vacation? Romantic getaway? Fun with friends? Dutchess is ideal for day trips or longer getaways. It’s so easy and quick to get here, by car, train, bus, boat and air. Finish the day at the office and have dinner in Dutchess the same night! Whatever brings you to upstate New York, you’ll find countless things to do in Dutchess! Not only can you step back in time, you can choose which time: Colonial and Quaker days, the Gilded Age, or the 20th century. Explore five historic Great Estates, including Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Home, and the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, with two floors of updated, interactive exhibits. Our museums tell unique stories, including the history of WWI and barnstorming era airplanes. Tour Dia: Beacon, and stay for Beacon’s Second Saturday, a city-wide celebration of the arts. Vassar’s Loeb Art Center invites you to stroll its galleries free of charge. Shop for treasures in village antique shops or specialty shops. Plenty of family fun awaits at SplashDown Beach and the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum. Get closer to nature at Sprout Creek Farm and the Trevor Zoo. The gift of nature is never far away. Our scenic beauty is perfect for nature lovers; formal gardens and nature sanctuaries are ready to explore. They represent the range of our relationship with nature, from the order of an ornamental garden to the naturalness of a forest preserve. Observe native birds and wildlife while hiking, including 30 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Explore woods, fields and ponds at six multiple use areas. Ramble or cycle three Rail Trails, including the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park, the world’s longest pedestrian bridge! Learn skeet shooting or fly fishing at Orvis Sandanona. Commune with nature on the links at 16 championship courses. Drive our scenic byways. Find out what makes us Distinctly Dutchess.
Dutchess County Towns
Rural & Refined
Spend a Saturday strolling around Rhinebeck and it’s easy to get lost in history, culture, and food. In this enchanting four-corners town, explore popular sites like the 18th century Beekman Arms Inn, Upstate Films, restaurants and cafes like The Local and Bread Alone Bakery, and shopping rendezvous like Oblong Books & Music and Oliver Kita Chocolates. Not even a mile from the village center, the Dutchess County Fairgrounds always has something happening, from weekend festivals to the annual Dutchess County Fair.
Rhinebeck is also home to the Omega Institute, the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome and its 100-year-old planes, and Ferncliff Forest, which provides stunning mountain and valley views from its fire tower. A short drive north from Rhinebeck is the Town of Red Hook, whose villages and hamlets provide something for everyone. The Village of Red Hook is quieter but includes excellent dining options.
Annandale-on-Hudson is home to Bard College, a leading liberal arts institution, and the Frank Gehry-designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. You’ll feel at home in the Village of Tivoli, which hosts the annual Street Painting Festival and several delicious restaurants. Venture out to the tranquil marshland of Tivoli Bays, at the Hudson River, for hiking, kayaking, and exploring.
Also by the river, the historic community of Rhinecliff offers gorgeous views of the Hudson. East of Rhinebeck, Pine Plains is home to Stissing Lake, a great place to swim, and Stissing Mountain, a perfect hiking spot. Also visit Thompson Pond, a 15,000-year-old glacial kettle pond and national natural landmark.
Beacon is the largest city in this area, a thriving arts center anchored by Dia:Beacon, a prominent contemporary art museum housed in a former box factory on the Hudson River. Since the museum’s opening, artists and creatives have settled in the city, opening small businesses, galleries, and restaurants and raising families that frequent the city’s many parks and nearby hiking trails.
You can find people hanging out on Main Street and at the Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park, home to annual events like the Strawberry Festival and the Hudson River Craft Beer Festival. Just up Route 9D, Wappingers Falls, named for the Eastern Algonquian
tribe that originally settled in the area, is lined with colorful storefronts of unique local businesses and fresh new restaurants. Folks gather at Mesier Park for live concerts and the annual holiday tree lighting. The historic Mesier Homestead, circa 1776, stands in the middle of the park.
Dutch settlers came to the village of Fishkill in 1714, and in 1776 it was the New York State capital. Fishkill’s walkable Main Street includes restaurants and taverns, while the Town of Fishkill is home to Splashdown Beach, Dutchess County’s family fun water park.
Recreation
Family Fun
The kids will never be bored in Dutchess County. Jump in at one of the coolest water parks in America, let imagination loose at an innovative children’s museum, and find ample opportunities to get active and wild in friendly, safe environments. Whether it’s a school holiday or three months in the summer to fill, you’ll find a place the kids will love right here in Dutchess County.
When the weather heats up, there’s no better place to cool down than Splashdown Beach. “America’s biggest little water park” in Fishkill has more than a dozen wet and wild attractions perfect for a summer trip the kids won’t forget. Go big while sparing with the Megalodon, which swings your raft up a high wall, then down into a narrow chute. Splashdown also features the six-story Arctic Mammoth, the Arctic Plunge Racer, and the Humunga Half-Pipe, plus little-kids-only Shipwreck Lagoon, the Coconut Pool, and Rock
Beach. Chow down on a Nathan’s Famous hot dog onsite and enjoy a wide variety of food choices. Splashdown is open Memorial Day
weekend through Labor Day weekend.
There are plenty of awesome indoor activities for kids in Dutchess. Start with the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum, which is close to the Poughkeepsie train station and perfect for younger kids. One minute they can test their engineering skills, and the next they
can be hopping into the fire truck to save the day. The museum has five exhibits including the new Science Center, which encourages
critical thinking and problem solving through a KEVA plank studio and flight lab. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and
select Mondays and holidays.
Jump, tumble, and twirl at Bounce!, a trampoline sports venue in Poughkeepsie. While bouncing on trampolines, kids can play slam-dunk basketball and dodgeball, or test out their aerial skills at the foam pit. Toddlers can leap and play at Bounce! Jr. and during weekly Toddler Time. On Friday nights, Jump N Glow turns Bounce! into a glow-in-the-dark playground.
Are the kids begging to go way up? Just across the street from Bounce!, the Gravity Vault in Poughkeepsie offers indoor rock
climbing experiences with 65 top-rope stations and separate bouldering areas. Trained staff members ensure kids are safe as they scale colorful rock walls. Classes are available, and the Gravity Vault also has a lounge and locker rooms.
Looking for a fun competition the whole family can enjoy? Don’t forget the bowling alleys, which feature activities for the whole family. Spins Bowl in Poughkeepsie has 26 lanes, an arcade, laser tag, bar, and lounge areas, while its counterpart in Wappingers Falls has 20 lanes, an arcade, soft gaming lounge, and the Alley Kat, a restaurant and bar dishing out wood-fired pizza.
