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205.4 miles:
6 hours,
27 minutes
A favorite trip for Manhattanites eager to swap traffic noise and asphalt for birdsong and tree-lined byways, this Hudson River Valley tour is as much of an escape route as it is a scenic drive. Wealthy elites of a century ago knew it and built palatial estates here. The area’s beauty even inspired a movement in landscape painting. No doubt it will inspire you, too.
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1
Manhattan to Kingston
107.3 miles:
3 hours,
33 minutes
As Manhattan recedes in your rearview mirror, you’ll find yourself hemmed in by trees as the route alternately approaches and veers away from the Hudson River. You’ll pass through towns with quaint historic districts, along the broad expanse of the Hudson’s Tappan Zee and into the Hudson Highlands, forested hills bracketing the river that are especially beautiful in fall.
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2
Kingston to Manhattan
98.1 miles:
2 hours,
54 minutes
Dense forests and majestic hills keep you company as the route returns you to Manhattan from Kingston, New York’s first state capital, not far from the Catskills. Historic sites en route include George Washington’s headquarters and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point—the latter nestled between two mountainous state parks bounded by the Hudson.
