The Hudson Valley is steeped in history, natural beauty and diverse culture. This region in northern New York State includes vineyards and orchards, a sustainable-food champion (the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture) and large-scale art at the Dia:Beacon museum in a former factory.
This area is a magnet for visitors who come to explore the region’s pristine nature, taste its wines and craft beverages, eat at inventive restaurants and attend renowned performing arts events. It’s also home to a lively small town scene, with boozy bars and artisanal boutiques tucked away in historic buildings.
But the region’s legacy isn’t just about thriving economies and the arts; it also includes the tragic story of slavery and racism that shaped American history. Listen in to hear how the Hudson River valley became a battleground for empires and influenced writers from James Fenimore Cooper to Thomas Cole.
Discover the secluded charm of this upstate region with a visit to the Hudson River Highlands, a wilderness that was once feared as treacherous and inhospitable. Early maps and sailing journals described wild animals, poisonous snakes and mountains that were too high to climb. But as publishing and travel developed in the 19th century, images and stories of the sublime scenery along the Hudson became renowned throughout the western world.
The lower Hudson region stretches from Westchester County to Albany, the state capital. Its farms, orchards and vineyards supply the region’s many gourmet restaurants, and its towns are filled with antique shops, galleries and museums devoted to regional art. The area’s rich landscapes, including the Palisades and the Hudson Highlands, also serve as backdrop for hiking trails and outdoor activities.
The middle Hudson region stretches from Dutchess to Ulster and Sullivan counties. Its agricultural riches make it a major wine and food destination, with the likes of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and the Storm King Art Center sculpture park drawing visitors from across the country.
In the upper Hudson region, from Columbia to Greene and Rensselaer counties, is where most of the region’s historic houses are located. The mansions of this region’s land grant patentees and wealthy businessmen have an elegance and grandeur that is unmatched anywhere in the United States, while the humble farmhouses and working-class dwellings dispersed among its rural communities give the Hudson Valley a cultural landscape that is uniquely American.
At the end of the last Ice Age, a massive glacier was moving south through the Hudson Valley. It would eventually grind to a halt in Long Island, but that 4000-foot-thick glacier left an indelible mark on the landscape that lingers today. Listen to hear how scientists are learning from the glacier about the past and its influence on the region’s geology, climate and culture.