Rhinebeck

A view of downtown Rhinebeck

Rhinebeck is a township in Dutchess County, New York. The township encompasses the village of Rhinebeck as well as the hamlet of Rhinecliff. The downtown area of Rhinebeck is not tiny, but it is small enough to walk around within an hour or so, and well worth it, as it is full of beautiful, lovingly decorated houses. It also has a beautifully preserved, functioning Roosevelt-era post office (built from 1939-1940) with murals that depict the history of the area and other interesting documentation.

The Maples, one of many buildings in Rhinebeck that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places in the United States

Get in

By plane

• Stewart International Airport, 1180 First St, New Windsor, +1 845 564-2100.
• Albany International Airport, 737 Albany-Shaker Rd, Albany.

By train

Amtrak runs daily services between New York City's Penn Station and several cities: Adirondack to Montreal, Empire Service to Buffalo via Rochester, Ethan Allen Express to Rutland, Lake Shore Limited to Chicago and the Maple Leaf to Toronto. All trains run once daily, except Empire Service which has up to ten departures per day. Trains call at 1 Rhinecliff station, which is on 455 Rhinecliff Rd, which is about 2 miles from downtown Rhinebeck.

By car

US Route 9 is the main north-south road in the area. The major east-west route is called Market St. in downtown Rhinebeck. It is East Market St./State Route 308 east of Route 9 (Mill St./Montgomery St.) and West Market St./State Route 85 west of Route 9. West Market St. becomes Rhinecliff Rd. and enables access to the Amtrak station in Rhinecliff.

Get around

Downtown Rhinebeck is easily walkable for people with an average level of fitness, but if you need to get to or from the Rhinecliff train station, you will need a car or taxi or at least a bicycle, unless you want to walk 2 miles on roads without sidewalks.

See

Wilderstein sits on a hilltop overlooking the Hudson River.

• Wilderstein, 330 Morton Rd, ☏ +1 845 876-4818. Stunning Queen Anne-style mansion set on park-like grounds designed by Calvert Vaux. Open May though October, Th-Su noon-4PM (last tour at 3:30PM). Call for special holiday events: Halloween Party, Victorian holiday tours, Yuletide high tea. The mansion is several miles outside town. 
• Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, 9 Norton Road, ☏ +1 845 752-3200. A "living" aviation museum (airworthy vintage aircraft) covering the 1903 through 1939 era of vintage aviation (including aviation engines and operable period ground vehicles), May through October, 10AM-5PM. Airshows, June through October, weekends at 2PM. For $75, take a biplane ride over the Hudson River; Sa-Su, June through October. (updated Jan 2018)

Do

• Upstate Films, 6415 Montgomery St, toll-free: +1-866-345-6688. A non-profit member-supported arts organization, primarily serving as an independent cinema. Their Arts In Education program "uses nonfiction film as an integral part of a critical thinking approach to history and literature at the high school level," according to their Web site. 

Eat

The Beekman Arms Inn, where George Washington stayed, is the oldest continuously-operated inn in New York State if not the United States as a whole

• Artigiani Del Gelato, 41 E. Market St.. Excellent, creative gelato. If they have the wasabi flavor when you go, get a sample — seriously. Even if you think you wouldn't like it. The lemon cookie flavor is wonderfully lemony, and the lemon-basil flavor is refreshing. $5 for 3 scoops in a waffle cone.. 
• China Rose, 100 Shatzell Ave, ☏ +1 845 876-7442. Chinese fusion with views of the Hudson River. W-M 5PM-10PM, closed Tu. Entrées $11-$25. Adjacent to the Rhinecliff Amtrak station. 
• Gigi Trattoria, 6422 Montgomery St., ☏ +1 845 876-1007, info@gigihudsonvalley.com. Sunday through Thursday from 11:30am to 9pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 11:30am until 10pm. Sunday brunch begins at 10am. You can have an expensive meal at this restaurant, but you don't have to. The "skizza"s are great: The crust is crunchy through-and-through without being cracker-like, and they use fresh, high-quality ingredients. Two people with normal appetites can easily split a soup or salad (they offer "half bowls" of soup that are a full bowl to almost anyone else) and two pizzas and be full and satisfied. Good service, too. Gluten-free pizza is also available. Lunch: Antipasti: $9-15, salads: $8-12; "Skizza" (flatbread pizza, 10-inch): $13-15, panini/soups: $6-14, pasta: $11-16, contorni (sides): $8-15, burger: $14. Secondi ("main courses") are mostly not listed on their online lunch menu but cluster in the $20s for lunch. The dinner menu is similar, but without panini and with more secondi. It is more expensive, with secondi in the high $20s, $30s and beyond. 

Drink

View across the Hudson from near Rhinecliff, with some of the Catskills visible in the background

Sleep

Splurge

• 1 Beekman Arms and Delamater Inn, 6387 Mill St, ☏ +1 845 876-7077. Beekman Arms may be America's oldest continually operating inn, established in 1766. The Delamater Inn, designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, is in the American Carpenter Gothic style. (updated Aug 2017)
• 2 Olde Rhinebeck Inn, 340 Wurtemburg Rd, ☏ +1 845 871-1745. $195-$275. (updated Aug 2017)

Go next

• Kingston, on the other side of the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, has a much larger and in some cases considerably different selection of historic buildings than Rhinebeck.
• In addition to visiting other places in the Hudson Valley, consider going to the Catskills for some good hiking.

Routes through Rhinebeck

Albany (Rensselaer) ← Hudson ←	N  S	→ Poughkeepsie → New York City
Albany ← Red Hook ←	N  S	→ Hyde Park → New York City