From a real Catskills diner to a riverfront buffet, a working farm and a fried chicken waffle sandwich that requires both hands, these are 10 Hudson Valley brunches worth planning a Sunday around.

After April’s freeze damaged Hudson Valley orchards and vineyards, federal disaster status opened emergency loans, not automatic grants.

Hudson’s new zero-proof bottle shop believes skipping alcohol should not mean settling for the saddest drink at the table.

One lucky winner will receive the ultimate Westchester getaway, valued at more than $1,700, including a two-night stay at Sonesta White Plains Downtown, four tickets to Caramoor with a private Rosen House tour, four tickets to the Pleasantville Music Festival to see Ok Go, Old 97's, The Fixx, Yola, and more live, dinner for two at Freebird Kitchen & Bar, and dinner for two at Hudson Grille.

There are easier foods to build a guide around. Pizza has categories. Tacos have categories. Coffee shops have categories. Burgers are chaos. Some are smashed paper-thin with crispy edges. Some are thick enough to require a strategy before the first bite. Some come loaded with ingredients that barely fit between the bun. Others rely on nothing more than great beef, melted cheese, and confidence.

America turns 250 this year, and Port Jervis is throwing one hell of a birthday party. Fireworks. Live music. George Washington and Ben Franklin walking the grounds. A giant car show. Chainsaw carving by a world champion. Carnival rides. Lobster rolls. Slow-smoked barbecue. A birthday cake cut with a saber.

We've been covering this region long enough to know what a perfect Hudson Valley weekend actually looks like. This one was built for two.

The Hudson Valley has no shortage of places to get a cup of coffee. What it has, if you know where to look, is a handful of shops doing something worth going out of your way for. Not just good espresso, but places with a point of view, a reason they exist, and a room that makes you want to stay longer than you planned.

May 1 through 3, one of the best craft fairs in the Northeast takes over the grounds of Lyndhurst Mansion, and we built an entire weekend around it, a historic estate hotel, a waterfront dinner on the Hudson, a bottle of small-batch bourbon made here in the Hudson Valley, and a night out in Dobbs Ferry that does not know when to quit. We are giving the whole thing away to one winner. But whether you enter or not, this is the weekend blueprint worth bookmarking.

New York does this better than almost anywhere. Real farms, real soil, real seasons, and a network of growers and makers who take it seriously. You see it in the produce, picked at the right time and not a day early. You taste it in the bread, built from flour that actually means something. You feel it in the meat, raised with intention, processed with care, and brought to market by the same people who stand behind it.

This isn’t a town built for a quick stop. It’s a place you ease into. You grab a coffee, wander a little longer than planned, find yourself in a gallery you didn’t expect, and suddenly the day has shape. By the time you leave, you’re already thinking about what you missed.

HVH’s 12 Stays of Christmas is back, and this is the one everyone waits for all year. Twelve wildly different dream stays, one massive giveaway, and a lineup built to make you start planning trips before you even finish reading. From waterfall views and design forward hideaways to mountain lodges, historic boutique gems, and full reset retreats, this list is pure upstate escapism, wrapped in holiday chaos, and ready to be claimed.

Two stamps down, appetite wide open. At Harvest on Hudson and Half Moon, dinner isn’t merely plated — it’s charted, stamped, and story-driven. Your Passport becomes the thread that ties each journey together: every evening earns a mark, every dish becomes a memory, and every return visit unlocks a new layer of the adventure.

tles in, and Upstate New York is packing it with everything worth leaving the house for. Think Broadway-level theatre in Schenectady, bluegrass legends in Albany, soup fundraisers that feed entire communities, wine trails trimmed in garland, and cozy lodge markets where cider steams in one hand and a handmade gift sits in the other. From pumpkin-launching festivals in the Adirondacks to Portuguese wine dinners on the Hudson, this month doesn’t ease in — it arrives with music,

Everyone thinks the best pizza stops at the city limits—but take a drive upstate and you’ll find something wild happening in the ovens. Albany, Montgomery, Poughkeepsie, Eastchester—each town hides a pie that locals swear by and foodies chase down. From caramelized Detroit-style corners to Grandma pies passed down through generations, these aren’t just slices, they’re stories. This isn’t another “best pizza” roundup—it’s a roadmap to the pies rewriting New York’s story one bi

October doesn’t tiptoe into New York — it barrels in with a calendar so stacked, you’ll wonder how to fit it all in. This is the month when haunted houses stretch longer, festivals blaze brighter, concerts hit harder, and every corner of the Hudson Valley and beyond feels electric with fall energy. It’s not just the peak of spooky season — it’s the peak of everything.

Every fall, when the harvest moon rises high and the nights start to cool, millions gather around the world to honor one of Asia’s oldest...

There are festivals—and then there are the ones that capture the very soul of a season. The Capital Apple & Wine Festival is exactly that: crisp early autumn air filled with the scent of cider donuts, glasses clinking with New York’s finest pours, and the hum of live music spilling across the Columbia County fairgrounds. If you’ve been searching for the perfect way to celebrate fall, consider this your invitation.

When the crisp edge of September starts flirting with the golden warmth of late summer, there’s only one place you should be: swirling a glass of something spectacular at the Sip, Savor, Repeat: Why the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival Is the Ultimate September Indulgence!

July Events That Are Bringing the Heat From backyard BBQs to hot air balloon launches, July in New York is an all-out celebration. Whether you're looking to dance under the stars, sip your way through wine trails, or catch epic fireworks, we've rounded up the absolute must-do events across the state that’ll have you saying, "Hold my beer, I’ve got plans."