After discovering the tools to explore cities outside of New York, I began to feel like an expert in the art of exploration, fearlessly venturing into new places brimming with adventures.
Now, it was time to visit the city farthest from New York City that the Hudson line of the Metro-North Railroad allowed me to reach: Poughkeepsie.
This city is located two hours away from New York City by train. I always recommend sitting on the left side of the train, as this side offers stunning views of the Hudson River—simply spectacular.
I arrived in Poughkeepsie on a chilly morning under clear skies, brimming with excitement to explore its charming streets and iconic bridges. This city is renowned for being home to the ‘Walkway Over The Hudson,’ a museum-like bridge, offering breathtaking vistas of the Hudson River and its picturesque environs. The scenery comes alive with vibrant hues during the autumn, lush greenery dominates the landscape in the summer and spring, while winter drapes it in a white blanket; it’s a visual delight in every season of the year. On my inaugural visit, I strolled across the aforementioned bridge, as well as the ‘Mid-Hudson Bridge,’ both of which provide unparalleled panoramic views of the city and its surroundings. I also seized the opportunity to explore the ‘Locust Grove Estate,’ an oasis of nature with minimal foot traffic, providing a serene and tranquil experience. I’ll soon be sharing the route to reach it from the station; although it’s a lengthy journey, the rewards are absolutely worth it. During my initial visit, I had yet to discover the ‘Franny Reese State Park,’ an omission I rectified on my subsequent visit. Despite being a relatively short hike, it offers incredibly gratifying natural surroundings for those seeking an escape from the city.
Poughkeepsie holds a special place in my heart as it was the first destination for my Hiking Meetup group, which has since garnered widespread acclaim. I extend a warm invitation for you to join our hiking meetups and events here.
- From Grand Central Station you must buy the train ticket to Poughkeepsie.
- The price of the round trip train ticket for adults is US$51.50 dollars in peak and US$38.50 dollars in off-peak.
- The duration of the trip, one way or return, is two hours, so it is better to go early to enjoy the city as much as possible. • For more details on prices, schedules and other details, I recommend reading “How to Look for New Hikes in New York?“, where you will find all the tools I use before visiting each place.
What to do in Poughkeepsie?
You must take in mind is that I always look for outdoor activities and I will talk about them in all my articles.
- 360º Degrees of Discovery: Also known as the “Greater Walkway Experience”, it is a 4.5 mile (7.2Km) walk that allows scenic views of the Hudson River and its surroundings in a unique way. This experience has three main attractions; 1. Mid-Hudson Bridge, 2. Walkover the Hudson and 3. Poughkeepsie Waterfront. It is the closest attraction to the train station. The route map can be found here. You can find the route that I followed including the state park here.
- Franny Reese State Park: It is one of the smallest state parks I have visited, its total route is approximately 2 miles (3.2Km), to enter it you must be attentive since after having crossed the “Mid-Hudson Bridge” Coming from Poughkeepsie, the entrance is in the right side and will take you under the bridge. This is a fairly easy state park to get around.
- Locust Grove Estate: It is the furthest attraction from the train station, remember that I do all my adventures without a car, therefore, I have to walk to the attractions. The walk is 2 miles (3.2Km) from the train station to the entrance of this attraction, during the time that I visited this place for the first and only time I did not use AllTrails so at the moment I do not have the route that I walked, but soon I will go again and provide you with such information. Anyways, you can find the map of the farm here.
Definitely there are more interesting places to visit in Poughkeesie like the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Cunneen-Hacket Arts Center, Bardavon Opera House, Barrett Art Center, Clinton House State Historic Site and more. but as I mentioned at the beginning of the article and I always say, all the attractions that I will talk about in my blog will be related to outdoor activities.
I hope all this information is useful and you can enjoy an unforgettable day visiting Poughkeepsie.