Fall Day Trip to Cold Springs, New York

Updated October 2020

The DL: Cold Springs, New York – This quintessential northern town caters to all things hiking, shopping, and eating. This walkable town is flooded with locals and Manhattan day-trippers and will be sure to give you all the fall feels.

Don’t expect: Besides hiking, don’t plan to go outside of the main downtown area there isn’t much to do in walking distance. There are not really any taxis/ubers used so plan to walk everywhere. The train station and what you will be doing is mostly outdoors so weather is a major factor when planning a trip here.

How to get to Cold Springs from Manhattan:

Take the metro north at Grand Central Station and it takes you straight to Cold Springs in about an hour. If you go on the weekend it’s off-peak which means its about $30 round trip. When you get on the train the water will be on the west (left) when leaving Manhattan, so keep that in mind when picking your seat. Your train ride will run across the hudson river and the fall foilaige is aamzing.

Other ways to get here from Manhattan – you can also drive, or take the sea streak which runs a direct fall foliage cruise but it’s about 2-3 times the price of the train.

When you get off the train, take a right on Marker Street and you can take this all the way in and will end up by the water (5-minute walk) or when the road splits take Lunn Terrace (8-minute walk) and you will end up in the middle of downtown. We took Lunn terrace on the way in and Marker street on the way back.

Where to Hike:

Hiking – Hudson Highlands State Park

• Mild Hike: Little Stoney Park Pike – you can walk from the main street to the trail entrance
• Full-on Hike: Breakneck Ridge (can also take the next stop on the train after Cold Springs if you plan to just hike) 

Where to Shop:

• Any of the antique shops on Main Street
• Cold Spring General Store
• Cold Spring Apothecary
• Pink Olive
• Old Souls

Where to Eat:

• Breakfast/Brunch:
  • Hudson Hil’s
  • Cold Spring Coffee House
  • The Pantry

• Lunch/Dinner:
  • River View 
  • Hudson House River Inn
  • Hudson Hil’s
  • Le Bouchon 
  • Cold Spring Depot – Patio Area right by the train
    
• Dessert:
  • Moo Moos – icecream 
    • Tip – there is a park across the street – dockside park where you can grab a bench and enjoy the views
  • Ricon Argentino – gelato

This is one of my favorite day trip destinations from NYC especially in the fall, it feels like the town is right out of a movie!

Looking for summer day trip option from NYC instead? Check out this article.