Gotta get out of this place

June 23, 2007 3:10 PM

Help me plan a weekend getaway in upstate New York and save my sanity.

We're looking for a weekend getaway in upstate New York, but there are a few requirements. We live in Brooklyn. We don't own a car and don't want to rent a car, so it will have to be someplace accessible by train (Metro North or Amtrak). We'd like someplace with beautiful views in the mountains or on a lake, or even better, both. We don't care about shopping or planned activities. We just want to relax and read and take long walks, if we're feeling really ambitious. Again, we won't have transportation when we're there, so we either need to find a resort with a decent restaurant or someplace within walking distance of restaurants (it would be even better if they were actually GOOD restaurants!) As far as cost, we're looking for something no higher than $150 a night.

Thanks in advance for your help.

posted by Evangeline to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

When (time, day of week) were you planning on leaving and returning? You can get pretty deep into the Adirondacks via Amtrak, but it can take a while...
posted by Opposite George at 3:27 PM on June 23, 2007

Sorry - should have specified. Probably leaving on a Friday morning, and coming back on the following Monday afternoon. This would be sometime in early July, or if I can my shit together, maybe this coming Friday.
posted by Evangeline at 3:33 PM on June 23, 2007

Don't know much about lodging/cost/location and I'm sure somebody's going to come along with something better but here are a couple of ideas to get you started.

Look here. Metro-North runs 2 Friday/Sunday bus/train combos to/from Great Barrington, MA each weekend in the summer. Lots of hiking in the area and downtown is cute. Loding can be tough in the summer when Tanglewood is going on, and it probably isn't cheap regardless. You could probably work out some kind of shuttle service with a B&B proprietor. This obviously doesn't work if you want to take all day Friday and part of Monday.

Amtrak's Adirondack has connecting bus service into Lake Placid -- way up there in real mountains with lots of services in town (and possibly the ORDA or ADK have shuttle services -- worth looking into.) Or, closer to home is Saratoga Springs, right on the Amtrak. Again, services in town, and I think a decent transportation system (Capital region buses, maybe?) in the summer but look into that. National historic park/spa there. Probably lots of lodging options. Can't tell you prices for either town but they're not going to be inexpensive.
posted by Opposite George at 3:55 PM on June 23, 2007

It's about $50 above your limit, but Inn at the Falls is a nice spot not very far from the Metro North station at Poughkeepsie, I'm sure they could help arrange transportation.

If you'd like to get further away and take the Amtrak Adirondack that Opposite George suggests, you can take it to Plattsburgh and arrange for a cab to the Point Au Roche Lodge in neighboring Beekmantown. I highly recommend this one out of the two. The Point Au Roche preserve is literally across the street and good for hiking.
posted by dr_dank at 5:15 PM on June 23, 2007

The Shortline bus is another option. I see they have some planned weekend packages, and I'm sure you could probably figure out something for yourself too if you saw a city you liked.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 5:48 PM on June 23, 2007

Stop looking; it's Rhinebeck. Amtrak right there. Amazing little village with antique shops, 5 Ave-like ( BKlyn Lower Slope 5 Ave that is) boutiques, very good independent bookstore with well curated titles, art house film theater. The Duchess County Fair grounds have good shows for Juried Crafts, antiques etc. There is an airport where you can take biplane rides. Good restaurants, and several Inns, one is knock your socks off expensive but also that amazing. And it's like an hour and a half up the river. Damn.

Google it, mapquest it, Amtrack schedule it, you couldn't dream up a better place that had to be up near Amtrak.
posted by Kensational at 6:16 PM on June 23, 2007

I forgot. Bard College is a few miles (quick taxi) up the road from Rhinebeck with a theater/hall (Fisher Center) designed by Frank Gehry which has plays and symphonic performances as well. In the fall when the leaves turn it hurts how pretty this place is.
posted by Kensational at 6:21 PM on June 23, 2007

Just got back from dinner with my Brooklyn-resident brother. He said, "They should check out Rhinebeck." So sounds like two votes for that.
posted by Opposite George at 7:29 PM on June 23, 2007

n^th-ing Rhinebeck. I live South and across the river in New Paltz, and Rhinebeck is hip and bohemian and there's plenty to do there.
posted by exlotuseater at 12:43 AM on June 24, 2007

Another vote for Rhinebeck. Great little town. If you want something a little more large scale, it would be Saratoga Springs. Saratoga has an Amtrak right in the downtown part of the village and has Saratoga Lake right down the road. Two towns I would live in, in a heartbeat. Enjoy.
posted by wile e at 4:45 AM on June 24, 2007

Thanks so much for the suggestions so far. I've been investigating Rhinebeck as a possibility, and it looks great.

One consideration is that while antique shopping and local color is a nice bonus, my real concern is finding someplace fairly secluded, actually in the mountains or on a lake. I want to wake up to beautiful view. Maybe what I should be looking for is someplace more like a resort than a B&B.
posted by Evangeline at 10:46 AM on June 24, 2007

You want secluded near Amtrak? OK, after you put the crack pipe down check out Phoenicia, NY. (I kid.) Not on Amtrak, it's on the Pine Hill or Adirondack Trailways line out of the Port Authority. It has a very pretty hundred yard main drag with a B&B, a down home bar, a down home pizza place, a nice table cloth Italian restaurant, old time general store, a new art gallery, antique shop, ice cream parlor, a nice steak house and an AWESOME breakfast place (Sue's.) You can camp out if you like at the Black Bear Campground (tell George that Ken with the crazy dog sent ya), it is on the Esopus creek which is about 50 to 100 feet wide and 1 to 6 feet deep (when it didn't rain) and it's a beautiful view. I dont imagine you fish, but the Esopus at that point is famous for it's flyor regular fishing. I've even seen a bald eagle scoping some prey. Black bears have been seen but they are really a lot more scared of us and keep their distance. And you can tube the Esopus as well, rent a huge inner tube with a board in the center for support and dangle your feet in the water and just glide down the creek for a mile or so and a cute little train brings you back to town. And the Catskill Forest Preserve is near with trails up the giggy.
posted by Kensational at 9:04 PM on June 24, 2007

I did mention that I'd be willing to take Metro North as well as Amtrak. I don't know if that increases the chances of finding a more secluded area. I have never travelled upstate, and the research I've been doing hasn't been terribly helpful - several choices, but few reviews of B&Bs, etc. Plus my brain is kind of fried from all the crack.

I'm a champion fly fisher, by the way.
posted by Evangeline at 7:43 AM on June 25, 2007

Seriously? Neat. Check out

flyfishingconnection.com/esopus.html

Phoenicia is where Stony Clove creek and the Esopus meet.

and

escapemaker.com search Phoenicia

Phoenicia is a very small, very pretty little place. There is a B&B but I dont remember the name (probably something stupid like Phoenicia B&B) and a motel within walking distance of the creek and like I said the campground is right on the creek (and remember "creek" is not descriptive, it's very wide and when it rains it can run deep in places.) And in the evening you can clean up and have a nice relaxing civilized dinner. That's all the pimping I do for Phoenicia, my mother lives there - we dont need your crack-ass around anyway! Good luck in your search. Any ?, my profile has my email I think.
posted by Kensational at 1:08 PM on June 25, 2007