Fall in Cold Spring: a charming village in Upstate NY

I had already mentioned another day here on the blog that one of my goals for this fall/winter season was to explore small towns in Upstate NY. One of the places I was crazy to visit was Cold Spring. Since last year, I’ve wanted to go there. Now that we’ve gotten used to the Metro-North system – the train line connecting many regions from upstate NY to Manhattan, we’ll probably try to visit many nearby cities!

It’s Fall, and unfortunately the landscape in shades of orange, yellow and red is already saying goodbye. So, last Sunday, we wanted to enjoy this visual while there’s still time. So we went to spend the day in Cold Spring.

Cold Spring is located in the Hudson Valley, an area with several small towns on the Hudson River. Any city that you visit in this area will provide you an amazing view: the train passes from the side of the river and it is indescribable how beautiful it is the Fall landscape. We even passed by Bear Mountain, a place that I’ve written about here on the blog. Speaking of Cold Spring, it is a village where live about 2 thousand people and the charm is due to the countryside atmosphere and the architecture of the houses and shops. The little town has a main avenue where you find several restaurants and a few small shops – I have seen many with vintage items.

Once you arrive at the train station, you will already see the signs indicating the direction of the village. It’s super close. As we left Manhattan around noon, the first thing we did was to find a place to have lunch. We checked out some recommendations on Foursquare and chose the Riverview Restaurant (45 Fair St), which, as the name suggests, overlooks the river. The menu has burgers, pasta, fish, pizzas and the prices are great. I chose a parmigiana eggplant, with tomato sauce, ricotta and parmesan, which cost $14. Thiago picked a pizza, which also cost that average and still left to take away. The place is very charming and we enjoyed the food and the service.

After lunch, we followed River Rd, the highway that passes in front of the restaurant, because the Fall landscape caught our attention. We had any plans for Cold Spring, because we left Manhattan late and in the shortest days, we would not have much time. The idea was to relax and enjoy a bit of the city. We walked along the highway and stopped to take several photos. There are some super cute little houses and the vegetation, as you can see, was amazing. I swear that it looked like I saw a painting.

One of the highlights of Cold Spring is due to the location, near Hudson Highlands State Park, which attracts a lot of people because of its trails. When the train arrived at the station, dozens of people got off and several of them were properly ready for trails, with sneakers and backpacks. Right at the entrance to the village, there is an information center – including restrooms – where you can pick up maps. From what I’ve researched, the most famous trail is Undercliff / Brook / Cornish and you can check information here.

Cold Spring is also not far from the famous Day: Beacon, a museum of contemporary art with fixed collection and also some temporary exhibitions. Its location is also privileged, by the river. You can check more details of the museum here. Also in the Cold Spring area is located the Boscobel House, an American palace overlooking the Hudson River, built in the early 19th century by States Dyckman. I’ve been checking some photos and I found the place incredible. There is more information here.

To end our day, we went to the River Front, a platform by the river and overlooking mountains. My tip is to check this place when arriving in Cold Spring, because as the sunset is early, when we went to see it, the sun was already hidden behind the mountain. The view is beautiful and there are some benches to sit on. Before we left, we stopped at Rincon Argentino (21 Main St), a super cute Argentinean coffee with a cozy atmosphere. In the menu, besides ice cream, there are empanadas and alfajor, typical from Argentinean cuisine. The owners are very friendly.

And this way ended our day in Cold Spring! I only feel sad that this Fall vegetation lasts so little – it could last until December! If you want to see more details about Cold Spring, just click here and check information on restaurants, shops and hotels in the town.

How to get there? By Metro-North trains. Trains depart from Grand Central and also from 125th St, Harlem. You can buy your ticket on the machines and you choose Round trip, destination Cold Spring. Prices may vary on peak and off peak hours. In our case, it was a Sunday and we spent $28 per person, round trip. Check the screens for information about the train to know the track of your train. Keep your ticket. The train takes 1 hour and 15 minutes to get there.