Welcome to my side of town in Orange County, NY!
Where I live, we’re in the beautiful countryside surrounded by woods; about 2 hours outside of the city by car/train.
In my 20’s I spent 1 year living in Manhattan, 3 years living in Queens. 5 Years in Suffern, NY (in Rockland County) best known for it’s Sex in the City reference, and now living in Tuxedo Park, NY.
I’ve been meaning to make this blog post for a while now because I get asked this question a lot. Sure, NYC is great, but long term I couldn’t see myself staying in a 4th floor walk up in Astoria. I need my space. Above all, I think the rest of New York State has so many great things to offer. Besides, one of my other favorite things to do is plan tourist guides of things to do in cities. So here we are, can’t wait to tell you about my favorite spots!
Washington’s Headquarters, NY
Now, what is Orange County NY famous for, you might ask? Taking this off the good ol’ OC tourism website … Orange County was established in 1683 as one of the original counties of the Province of New York. The county name is derived from King William III of England who was a Prince of the House of Orange. George Washington established his longest residency during the Revolutionary War in Newburgh. It was here that he founded the Order of the Purple Heart, and in 1850 Washington's Headquarters became the first Registered National Historic Landmark in the United States.
Fun Fact to this, if you go to visit Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh, NY is it right next to a great brewery called, Newburgh Brewing Company. But we’'ll get into that a little later :)
However, I will say another underrated thing I love about Newburgh, NY is there’s an airport called Stewart International Airport. Smaller airports = way better/faster than Newark, JFK, LGA. Just sayin.
Below are my favorite spots and can honestly say I’ve been to 95% of these locations, so I can attest to them.
Events:
Renaissance Faire - Tuxedo, NY
The Ren Faire happens every summer here on a 65-acre faire comprised of permanent structures and has twenty stages and more than 100 shops.
Hiking/Picnics:
Bear Mountain - Bear Mountain, NY
Bear Mountain is such a great spot for everyone. There’s hiking, a path along the lake to walk and picnic/grill. There’s a very small “zoo”, spoiler alert it wasn’t that great and VERY small. It also has an indoor merry go-round and in the winters an ice rink. A very fancy Bear Mountain in to stay the night or I’m sure excellent for weddings.
Harriman State Park - Harriman, NY
Going to be very honest here. I don’t hike, nor to I enjoy a moderately steep hill. This is exactly why I’ll never move to San Francisco. My husband hikes and there’s SO MANY TRAILS. However, I do love a nice long drive through the mountains and 7 lakes. It’s such a great view.
Shopping:
Woodbury Commons - Woodbury, NY
If you live in NYC, Woodbury Commons will be very familiar to anyone that’s walked around Times Square and has seen bus tours for these outlets. Basically they will bus you to Woodbury to go shopping all day and then take you back to the city at night. It’s the closest outdoor shopping outlet around here and always has great deals and even some decent food options from Pret A Manger, Shake Shack, and Melt Shop.
Food & Dining:
Dottie Audrey’s - Tuxedo Park, NY
LISTEN! If you do anything in this area, please promise me you’ll visit Dottie Audrey’s in my town of Tuxedo. As a brunch expert, this spot currently has a 4.8 rating on Google with over 800 reviews. It is no joke my favorite brunch spots in Orange County, NY. Everything is fresh, they bake all their pastries and bread in house, source from local farms, meats, produce, and local coffee roasters. It is so incredible. I mean look at all this food!
Tuxedo Sushi - Tuxedo Park, NY
This sushi spot is so fresh and absolutely love that they have a bento box option.
Pizzarama - Monroe, NY
This is the first pizza place we got when we first moved in. There pizza is so good, staff is friendly, we’ve ordered the burrata/prosciutto pizza which is also very tasty and they had thrown in zeppoli! Below was their salad pizza which is one of my all time favorite types of pizza.
Tosco's Pizzeria - Monroe, NY
Another favorite pizza spot because they have some really unique specialty pies, like the below baked ziti and salad, we’ve also done the Philly cheese steak pizza before.
Love how the have half and half specialty pizzas.
If you know me, you know how much I love donuts. Besides Dunkin, Daylight Donuts is really the only donut shop around. They were good, however they are all cake donuts. Personally, I love a mix of yeast and cake donuts. Additionally, if you want to visit they literally only have daylight hours, usually around 6am - 1pm.
Bellvale Farms Creamery -Warwick, NY
Since 1819, Bellvale Farms has provided fine quality dairy products throughout the Hudson Valley region. Trip Advisor ranks Bellvale Creamery #2 among Top 10 Ice Cream Parlor’s in the United States!
This flavor was honey lavender.
Tapped - Middletown, NY
This gastropub had some really delicious food, beer, and arcade games. The pretzel alone was the size of my head. I had the falafel wrap which tasted so hearty and fresh. My husband had the chicken and waffles which had a good crust, which can be hard to come by, topped with a fluffy waffle. Tapped is also next to a brewery called Equilibrium if you wanted to check out both!
Coffee Shops:
Valkyrie Coffee Roasters - Chester, NY
This cafe and coffee shop in Orange County is truly one of the best.
There coffee is great, but their unique seasonal drinks are even better. You haven’t tried anything better than their Pumpkin Spice Latte made with in house fresh PSL syrup. It’s life changing.
They partner with a lot of local farms and businesses around the area to incorporate fresh local ingredients in their menu options. On the regular, they’ve partnered with Bella Sophia Sugarcrafts to offer some of the best small-batch artisanal pastries. My favorite is the pop-tarts. And they have a section in the cafe offering a bunch of local crafts and artists for sale from jewelry, soaps, candles, and lots of their own cool merch.
Ciders & Breweries / Distillery / Wineries:
Buckle up, we have a lot of ground to cover here.
1.) Angry Orchard - Walden, NY
Many might recognize Angry Orchard sold in most stores; well known as America’s cider. It is pretty delicious and they have a cider tour, tastings, a treehouse tour which has a tasting room built by Animal Planet’s Pete Nelson that includes a tasting and outdoor walking tour.
2.) Bad Seed Cider - Highland, NY
Known for a drying cider. Ciders are made from 100% fresh pressed Hudson Valley apples, primarily grown by their sixth generation family farm in Highland, NY. They are the first American company to put a truly dry, 0g sugar cider into a can. Check out their taproom in Highland, NY.
3.) Pennings - Warwick, NY
Pennings is such a great cider, I love them so much. They have both a cider side with food and shopping and then they have a farmer’s market side where you can buy produce and tons of plants! On this summer day, we had ciders and a burrata pizza, so good!
4.) Orchard Hill Cider Mill - New Hampton, NY
Orchard Hill Cider Mill has a barn style drinking saloon where they serve their hard ciders (they are known for a dry cider) . Additionally they make a sell their own pommeau, which is a first of its kind to be made in the USA, Orchard Hill Ten66 Reserve is inspired by the typical Norman, French aperitif. It is named for the year of the Norman invasion of England (1066).
They also have a small tasting room and shop to buy their ciders and pommeau. Right next door to the mill is a small farmers country store called Soon’s which has lots of local produce, baked goods, and even apple cider slushies.
5.) Long Lot - Chester, NY
This cozy brewery in Chester, NY is amongst family owned dairy farmland where they also grow most of their hops. When we went on a weekend there was live music and a food school bus parked outside serving burgers, sandwiches, and fries.
6.) Clearview Vineyard - Warwick, NY
Clearview has a special place in my heart because one of my old coworker’s sisters owns the place. When talking with her and her husband instead of retiring started a winery. I mean…. yes! The wine is truly so delicious as well as their cheese plate. In the summer you can also find wild raspberries growing, at least I thought that was pretty cool.
7.) Newburgh Brewing Company - Newburgh, NY
Like I mentioned earlier Newburgh Brewing Company has a taproom, food, and old school board games. It’s right next to Washington’s Headquarters for a little history.
8.) Tin Barn Brewing - Sugar Loaf, NY
This spot has one of the few female brewers in the Hudson Valley atTin Barn Brewing, Lauren Van Pamelen.
They have a rotating lineup of cans and beers, an outdoor space (with fire pits for the colder days). They serve thin-crust pizzas, while The Helm food truck serves pulled pork, cornbread, and mac ’n’ cheese on weekends.
Farms:
Blooming Hill Organic Farm - Monroe, NY
By far one of my favorite spots. They have both a restaurant side that has pizzas, brunch, and cocktails. For brunch we ordered the eggs migas and baked pancakes. Everything was so delicious and was obsessed with all the details, very Instagram worthy spot.
On the other side is a market to shop fresh produce, herbs, sauces, and flowers. What I also love about this farm is their CSA. Unlike most CSA’s you can buy either a $250 or $500 share and they give you 10% on top of that and you can use all this as credit to buy what you want and that money never expires so you can use it year after year.
Produce and Market Side
Brunch/Restaurant & Dining Side
Apple Picking:
Maskers Orchard - Warwick, NY
Admission/Parking is free, it’s about $30 per bag of apples you pick. They also have a petting zoo, hayride, and country store. This place is great for a weekend fall activity.
Pro Tip - Apple picking season runs from beginning of September - end of October.
Art & Entertainment:
Warwick Drive-In - Warwick, NY
I haven’t been to this drive in….yet. But think in general a drive in concept is so cool. The last time I was at a drive-in I saw Josie and the Pussycats. I’m so old!
Storm King Art Center - New Windsor, NY
Storm King Art Center is a 500-acre outdoor museum located in New York’s Hudson Valley, where visitors experience large-scale sculpture and site-specific commissions under open sky. It’s pretty neat, I just wouldn’t suggesting going in August like I did, it was hot and a lot of walking.
Out-There / Random Things:
Crystal Connection - Wurtsboro, NY
This crystal shop is just slightly outside my county in Sullivan county. One of the largest Crystal & Mineral destinations on the Northeast. Housed in an 1890s Methodist Church, creating within a sacred space & crystal haven to Feel, Heal & Connect with yourself and others of like minds. Tucked away in Wurtsboro NY as a hidden gem, waiting to be explored.
Bannerman Castle - Beacon, NY
Another one, technically, not in Orange County, this is actually Dutchess County but was still too cool not to add. Pollepel Island is a 6.5 acres island in the Hudson River in New York. The principal feature on the island is Bannerman's Castle, an abandoned military surplus warehouse.
Tuthilltown Spirits Distillery - Gardiner, NY
In Ulster County is one of my favorite distilleries, Tuthilltown. If you’re a liquor person you might have seen they are best known for their Hudson Baby Bourbon. I love doing a tasting here. They have a great store, love both their whisky and vodka, they also serve cocktails and usually a very fat cat running around.
Hope you loved my guide and top spots of Orange County, NY and beyond! Of course check out Orange County Tourism for more updates and things to do. My area and all of the Hudson Valley is so gorgeous and hope you’ll visit soon! ;)
