The Ultimate Hudson Valley Road Trip: Trails, Wineries & Outdoor Adventures Around New Paltz

Planning a Hudson Valley road trip? Build it around New Paltz, where trails, wineries, and Farmers Choice all sit within a short drive of each other.

Tucked into the foothills of the Shawangunk Ridge, about 90 minutes north of New York City, this college town punches way above its weight when it comes to scenery. You've got quartz cliffs rising straight out of the forest, sky-lake views, and a wine trail that winds through orchard country, all within a 20-minute drive of Main Street.

Come up for a single day or turn it into a full weekend loop through Ulster County; New Paltz sits at the crossroads either way. This is one of those places where you can hike a ridgeline in the morning and be sipping a glass of estate-grown Cab Franc by sunset.

Here's a one-day loop, a way to split it over two days, and a rundown of the 10 trails, wineries, and outdoor stops both routes are built from.

What is a good one-day Hudson Valley road trip from New Paltz?

A good one-day Hudson Valley road trip from New Paltz starts at Thruway Exit 18, spends the morning up on the ridge at Minnewaska State Park Preserve, and comes back down through Gardiner and the orchards on Route 208 to finish in the village. The whole loop is about 75 minutes of driving, so most of the day goes to the stops themselves.

1. Minnewaska State Park Preserve, 9AM. About 25 minutes from Exit 18 to the Upper Parking Area by Lake Minnewaska. The park preserve opens at 9AM, and the 2-mile loop around the lake takes about an hour. Lake Minnewaska's lots can close when they fill on good-weather days, which is why this stop comes first.
2. Awosting Falls Trail, 11AM. About 5 minutes back down the park road to the Lower Parking Area, a short walk from the falls.
3. Whitecliff Vineyard, 12:30PM. About 20 minutes to 331 McKinstry Road in Gardiner. The Gardiner tasting room is open 12PM to 5:30PM, and until 7PM on Saturdays. If anyone is tasting, settle on a designated driver for the rest of the day before you pull in.
4. Dressel Farms, 2PM. About 15 minutes to 271 Route 208 in New Paltz, for u-pick apples and pumpkins in season.
5. Water Street Market, 3:30PM. About 5 minutes to 10 Main Street, for coffee, the shops, and an early dinner.

From Water Street Market, Farmers Choice New Paltz is about 5 minutes east at 1 Old Route 299, back where the loop started at Exit 18. The store is open 8AM to 10PM daily for adults 21 and over, so you can pick up an online order on your way to the Thruway and keep it sealed until you are home.

How do you split it into two days?

Spend the night in New Paltz and every stop in this guide fits. Day 1 covers the Mohonk side of the ridge and the Wallkill River. Day 2 starts early at Bonticou Crag, then runs the Minnewaska and Gardiner half of the one-day loop.

Day 1: Mohonk Preserve and the Wallkill River

1. Mohonk Preserve Skytop Loop, 8AM. About 15 minutes from Exit 18 to the Duck Pond Trailhead at 29 Pine Road. The 6-mile loop takes up most of the morning.
2. Kayaking the Wallkill River, noon. About 10 minutes to New Paltz Kayaking in Sojourner Truth Park on Plains Road. Book your time online before the trip.
3. Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, 2PM. No drive. Sojourner Truth Park is the Wallkill Valley Land Trust's New Paltz parking area for the rail trail, so leave the car where it is and walk as far as your legs allow.
4. Jenkins-Lueken Orchards, 3:30PM. About 10 minutes to 69 Yankee Folly Road.
5. Robibero Family Vineyards, 4:30PM. About 5 minutes to 714 Albany Post Road, where the tasting room stays open until 6PM and the wood-fired pizza covers an early dinner. If anyone is tasting, line up a designated driver for the ride back to your room.

Day 2: Bonticou Crag, Minnewaska, and Gardiner

1. Bonticou Crag Trail, sunrise. About 15 minutes from Main Street to the Spring Farm Trailhead at 50 Upper 27 Knolls Road in High Falls. Preserve lands open at sunrise, and the Spring Farm lot fills early on peak weekends.
2. Minnewaska State Park Preserve, 9:30AM. About 30 minutes to the Upper Parking Area.
3. Awosting Falls Trail, 11AM. About 5 minutes to the Lower Parking Area.
4. Whitecliff Vineyard, 12:30PM. About 20 minutes to Gardiner, with the same designated driver rule as Day 1.
5. Water Street Market, 2PM. About 20 minutes back to Main Street for a late lunch.

Farmers Choice New Paltz is about 5 minutes from Water Street Market and the last stop before the Thruway home. All drive times here are OpenStreetMap and OSRM routing estimates, rounded to 5-minute steps, so leave extra time for weekend traffic and full parking lots.

Mohonk Preserve

No Hudson Valley road trip is complete without at least one loop through Mohonk Preserve. The classic is the Skytop Loop from the Preserve's Duck Pond Trailhead, a 6-mile hike with a substantial amount of elevation gain. It climbs from Duck Pond onto neighboring Mohonk Mountain House lands, with the option to connect to the Labyrinth rock scramble, and leads up to Sky Top Tower, where six states can be seen from the observation deck on a clear day. The Preserve charges a day use fee to anyone who is not a member, and passes are sold at the Visitor Center and at staffed trailhead booths.

Minnewaska State Park Preserve

About 15 to 20 minutes from downtown New Paltz, Minnewaska is the sky-lake counterpart to Mohonk. The park preserve has 35 miles of wide, well-graded carriage roads and 50 miles of footpaths, which makes it approachable for hikers of any experience level. The loop around Lake Minnewaska itself is the classic move, flat, scenic, and lined with overlooks where the white cliffs drop straight into blue-green water. Bring a swimsuit in the warmer months, since the sky-lake swim sits at the top of our Hudson Valley summer bucket list, and plan on a day fee if you are not a member. An early start pays off on summer and fall weekends.

Bonticou Crag Trail

For a shorter but scrappier outing, Bonticou Crag in Mohonk Preserve delivers big views for a relatively modest time investment. The trail starts from the Preserve's Spring Farm Trailhead and climbs through open fields and hardwood forest before an optional scramble up a stark white crag overlooking the Wallkill Valley. From the top you get a clean sightline across the Gunks, the Catskills, and the farmland below. In late spring, the mountain laurel blooming alongside the trail is a beautiful bonus.

Wallkill Valley Rail Trail

If you want something flatter, longer, and easier to share with the whole crew, the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail is the move. This converted rail line runs more than 22 miles from Gardiner through New Paltz and Rosendale to the Kingston city line, crossing the Rosendale Trestle, a 940-foot bridge over Rondout Creek, and passing farmland, orchards, and river views along the way. The unpaved stone surface is mostly flat and works well for a quiet morning walk, a bike ride, or a family outing, and the trail is free and open dawn to dusk year round, with several access points from town.

Awosting Falls Trail

Also within Minnewaska, the Awosting Falls Trail is a shorter, gentler hike that leads to one of the prettiest waterfalls in the region, a striking cascade when the water is running in spring. This easy out-and-back suits most fitness levels, making it a good option if you're traveling with kids or just want a quick, scenic stop between bigger hikes.

Robibero Family Vineyards

Right in New Paltz, Robibero Family Vineyards has become a go-to stop for anyone road-tripping through the area. The tasting room sits on a wide lawn with the Shawangunk Ridge as a backdrop, it is open seven days a week from 11AM to 6PM, and there's usually live music on weekends alongside wood-fired pizza. It's a family-owned operation, and the fire pits and mountain views make it worth the stop even if wine isn't the main draw for your group. Summer brings festival weekends too, including the Robibero Winery Sangria Festival.

Whitecliff Vineyard

Just a short drive into neighboring Gardiner, Whitecliff Vineyard has spent more than 30 years building a reputation as one of the Hudson Valley's most award-winning wineries, with vines going in on the property since 1979. The tasting room looks out over rows of estate vines with the Shawangunk cliffs rising behind them, and Cabernet Franc is among the more than 20 grape varieties planted there. It's a lower-key stop than some of the bigger event-driven wineries, which makes it a nice choice for a relaxed afternoon.

Kayaking the Wallkill River

The Wallkill River runs right through town, and it's one of the most underrated ways to see New Paltz from a completely different angle. New Paltz Kayaking rents kayaks and canoes from Sojourner Truth Park on Plains Road, with online booking, for paddles on the calm, slow-moving water bordered by farmland and wooded banks. Trips start and end at the same launch rather than with a pickup downriver, since the current is easy enough to paddle in either direction. It's a solid option on a hot afternoon and an easy add-on to a hiking-heavy itinerary.

Where can you pick apples and pumpkins near New Paltz?

New Paltz sits in the middle of prime Hudson Valley orchard country, and stops like Dressel Farms on Route 208 and Jenkins-Lueken Orchards on Yankee Folly Road are a road-trip staple, especially heading into late summer and fall. Both offer u-pick apples and pumpkins in season and sell cider alongside the fruit, which makes them one of the better ways to bring home something tangible from the trip, like a bag of fresh apples or a jug of local cider.

Water Street Market

For a change of pace from trails and vineyards, Water Street Market is a walkable outdoor shopping and dining courtyard at 10 Main Street. Built around a collection of local boutiques, galleries, and restaurants set in a stone-and-timber courtyard, it's a great spot to stretch your legs, grab a coffee, and browse between outdoor stops.

Why make New Paltz your basecamp?

With cliffs, sky lakes, vineyards, and a rail trail all within a short drive of each other, New Paltz is an efficient basecamp for a Hudson Valley trip. Farmers Choice New Paltz sits right on the route at 1 Old Route 299, an easy stop when you're heading out toward Mohonk and Minnewaska or looping back through town after a day on the trails. Our Farm Hands are on site daily from 8AM to 10PM with local recommendations for the rest of your route.

Order Now from the New Paltz menu and pick it up on your way back through, with a valid photo ID showing you are 21 or older. Keep everything sealed while you drive and save it for home. New York does not allow consuming cannabis in a vehicle, so the package stays closed until you are home. The parks on this route ban smoking too: Mohonk Preserve prohibits alcohol, drugs, and smoking of any kind on its property, and Minnewaska State Park Preserve allows no smoking, no vaping, and no cannabis anywhere in the park. Our guide to New York cannabis laws covers where consumption is and is not allowed.