An apple-season day in Orange County's Warwick Valley: pick your own at Masker Orchards, lunch in Warwick village, the flat onion country of the Black Dirt region, the craft shops of Sugar Loaf, ice cream with a view at Bellvale Farms Creamery on top of Bellvale Mountain, and sunset at Greenwood Lake on the way home.
Time
10–11 hour day
Driving
About 3½ hours of driving in total
Best time
Mid-September to late October
Updated
$4 USD
One-time purchase. You own your guide forever and can return for the latest update any time.
Juliancolton · Public domain (released by the author). September 2009 photograph of a Hudson Valley orchard in Marlboro, Ulster County, not Warwick; resized and displayed with crop.
Suggested times, not bookings
Your day at a glance
8:00 amLeave Midtown Manhattan
9:30 amMasker Orchards
11:15 amWarwick village
1:00 pmThe Black Dirt region and Warwick Valley Winery
2:45 pmSugar Loaf crafts village
4:00 pmBellvale Farms Creamery and Mount Peter
5:20 pmGreenwood Lake
6:00 pmReturn to Midtown Manhattan
Highlights
Worth the trip
Pick-your-own apples at a Warwick orchard in its 113th season
Ice cream on Bellvale Mountain with the whole Warwick Valley below
The black-soil onion fields of Pine Island and the shops of Sugar Loaf
What’s in the guide
Detailed stop guidance, rules, practical pitfalls, a route map, Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps links and weather alternatives. Read it online any time, or keep it offline in the Greg’s Guides app for iPhone and iPad. See an example guide →
Plan for the conditions
Expected seasonal weather
In October the Warwick area usually sees highs in the low 60s °F and lows around 40 °F, with about 4 inches of rain over the month. Mornings can start with frost or valley fog, afternoons are often sunny and mild, and the top of Bellvale Mountain is cooler and windier. Sunset is about 6:15 pm in mid-October and before 6 pm by Halloween. These are seasonal expectations, not a forecast for your travel date; check the NWS forecast the evening before and the morning of your trip.
Admission and parking are separate. Check current conditions before departure.
A driving day from Manhattan up the Hudson Highlands: the riverside lawn at Boscobel, Main Street and the waterfront in Cold Spring, an easy loop and cliff overlook at Little Stony Point, the big daylit galleries of Dia Beacon, and an early dinner on Beacon's Main Street.
10–11 hour day·About 3.5 hours of driving in total
Best: Mid-September to early November
$4 USD
History & heritage
Midtown Manhattan → Home of FDR → FDR Library → Culinary Institute of America → Vanderbilt Mansion → Val-Kill → Walkway Over the Hudson
A long day up the Hudson from Midtown: Franklin Roosevelt's Springwood home and presidential library, lunch cooked by students at the Culinary Institute of America, the Gilded Age Vanderbilt Mansion above the river, Eleanor Roosevelt's Val-Kill and a late-afternoon walk across the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie.
12–13 hour day·About 4.5 hours of driving in total
Best: Late September to October
$4 USD
History & heritage
Midtown Manhattan → Lyndhurst → Tarrytown → Philipsburg Manor → Old Dutch Church & Sleepy Hollow Cemetery → Rockefeller State Park Preserve
A driving day from Midtown up the Hudson to the Rivertowns: the Gothic Revival mansion at Lyndhurst, lunch on Tarrytown's Main Street, the working mill and manor house at Philipsburg Manor, Washington Irving's grave and the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, and a late-afternoon walk around Swan Lake in the Rockefeller preserve.
9–10 hour day·About 2–2.5 hours of driving in total
Best: All year; best late September to early November
$4 USD
Farms, wine & waterfront
New York City → Orient Beach → Greenport → North Fork winery → Sound Avenue farm stand
A long driving day from Manhattan to the far end of Long Island's North Fork: a quiet bay beach and maritime forest at Orient Beach State Park, lunch and the antique carousel on the harbor in Greenport, one unhurried winery tasting on Route 25, and pies from a Sound Avenue farm stand on the way home.
12-hour day·About 5–6 hours of driving in total
Best: Mid-September through October
$4 USD
Scenic drive & Hudson Highlands
Midtown → State Line Lookout → Perkins Memorial Tower → Hessian Lake → Trailside Zoo → West Point → Lake Tiorati
A fall-color driving day up the Palisades Interstate Parkway from Manhattan: the cliff-top view at State Line Lookout, the summit road and stone tower on Bear Mountain, a walk around Hessian Lake, the Trailside Museums & Zoo beside the Bear Mountain Bridge, the West Point Visitors Center and a quiet lake in Harriman State Park on the way home.
9–10 hour day·About 3 hours of driving in total
Best: Mid- to late October
$4 USD
Holiday lights
Midtown Manhattan · Library → Grand Central → Bryant Park → Rockefeller Center → Fifth Avenue windows → Radio City or Dyker Heights
A Midtown holiday day on foot, timed around the crowds: the library's reading room at opening, Grand Central's Holiday Fair, Bryant Park's Winter Village, the Rockefeller Center tree and rink at dusk, the Saks light show and the Fifth Avenue windows up to Bergdorf Goodman. Finish with the Rockettes at Radio City, or take the subway to the Dyker Heights lights in Brooklyn.
10–12 hour day into evening·No car: on foot in Midtown, with an optional subway ride to Brooklyn