48 Hours in Hudson, NY

In March of 2021, I took a trip with my boyfriend for our 8 year anniversary. If we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic, we probably would have planned a larger trip but given the state of the world (vaccines weren’t available to everyone yet) we decided to stay local.

A friend of ours had told us about a cute little town that was very “Hipstery” as she described it and said it’s close (about 2 hours outside of NYC) and theres tons of cute shops! And honestly, that was good enough for me. Anything was better than staying at home!

Hudson has a few cute options for places to stay but we opted for a hotel called The Wick. It’s part of the Marriott hotels, which is really irrelevant other than the fact that you may be able to snag a few nights with some credit card points which is what we did! The rooms are pretty standard and they have a hotel bar that unfortunately wasn’t open because of Covid but they served breakfast every morning and it was pretty tasty! The one con I have is that because it seems like an older building that was renovated into a hotel, the floors are creek. Which was not fun to hear people walking around at 3 am.

When we first arrived, we went straight to Warren Street. It’s the main street of the town and full of so many cute small businesses. You will find a ton of antique furniture stores here in particular. They are a bit pricey but even so, its still fun to look!

There was one place in particular that we wanted to stop by called the Spotty Dog, Books and Ale, but of course with our luck it was closed due to a flood! Well apparently when it is open, there if a full blown bar you can hang out at! Books and beer is truly my boyfriend's dream.

One place we did get the chance to check out was Poured Candle Bar. A cute little shop were you get to create your own candle or perfume! Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE candles so I was super excited to get the chance to make my own. They weren’t busy when we stopped in so we were able to just sit down and get started but during a busier season like the summer or fall, I would recommend making a reservation!

Afterwards, we headed to a local brewery, Hudson Brewing Co, because really no trip is complete without some craft beer. We had a delightful time sipping our flights of been and making friends with the staff!

Once we were done we headed back into the center of town to grab a bite before we called it quits for the night. The Maker Hotel, was the cutest little place in the center of Warren St. If I could have my pick of anywhere to stay it would be here. The rooms are designed beautifully. But even if you’re only stopping by for a drink its worth the trip because the whole building is really gorgeous!

The next day, we actually went skiing at Windham Mountain which is about 30 minutes from Hudson. This was only my second time skiing ever and it was MUCH harder than I remember. To be clear, I never once fell but the trip down just seemed SO far and SO steep. I’m afraid of heights so I was terrified. The last time I took a class before which I think helped a lot to gain confidence in what I was doing. Next time I try hitting the slopes I will definitely be taking a class, haha.

Once we were done for the day we went back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner. We went to the Rivertown Lodge on a whim, not really expecting much as it was a weeknight in the middle of winter but we were so pleasantly surprised. The ambience of the hotel was so cozy and cute. We didn’t even get a seat in the main restaurant, they actually sat us in the lobby and we really enjoyed it. Also, the food was AMAZING. I still think about the decadent cheese plate we had for dessert, yes dessert you heard that right.

The next day we headed out of town but made a stop at the Olana State Historic Site. It’s basically the mansion of a well known painter that you can now tour and has beautiful views of the Hudson Valley. The building itself was closed because of Covid, but it’s still worth the trip because A) it’s free and B) the grounds are beautiful.

All and all, we truly enjoyed our short time here. We’d like to take another trip up to Hudson during the warmer months so that we go on a boat ride on the Hudson, which was highly recommended by Google!

The Hudson Valley is so beautiful, if you’ve never even I highly recommend. Lucky for those of us located near NYC you can definitely make it into a day trip as well! The fall I’m sure is extra special too :)

Happy traveling!