A Classic Hudson + Catskills Road Trip
Presented by Scout Motors
Scout Motors explores a vintage landscape, seeking the places others pass by.
It’s great to meet a kindred spirit out on the road. As Scout Motors revives one of our most classic rides for a new era, they’re calling travelers to rediscover the backroads and backcountry: the America others pass by. With the country’s shared history in the spotlight this year, we teamed up with Scout to explore New York State’s storied Hudson Valley and Catskills in two unique itineraries.
FARM-FORWARD HUDSON
Cruise up Highway 9G on the river’s eastern shore to a progressively minded slice of Arcadia. Here, you'll Discover the Valley’s Valhalla for u-picking and market shopping, amid forward-thinking restaurants and small farms in an area with deep agrarian roots.
Kick off with locally grown black currant liqueurs at C. Cassis tasting room in Rhinebeck, then on to circa-1798 Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook, which brings holistic growing practices to pick-your-own cherries, blueberries, and apples.
In Germantown, find pasture-raised goat and raw honey at Darlin’ Doe. Hang out in the cocktail garden at women-owned Cooper’s Daughter Spirits at Olde York Farm in Claverack, which makes black-walnut bourbon, lilac liqueur and ramp vodka from harvested and foraged ingredients.
Crossroads towns are de facto magnets. No wonder Millerton sprang up where three rail lines once met amid richly rolling farmland. And no wonder now, 175 years later, the preserved 19th-century townscape calls again—this time, though, with a slow-simmer scene anchored by Oblong Books and the independent Moviehouse theater.
There’s a percolating shopping ecosystem too: for flaneurs, there are antique and vintage spoils at Hunter Bee and Millerton Antiques Center; Erika Rector’s ceramics at her Bes Millerton; home goods at Demitasse and The Dutchess Trading Company; and top tins at flagship Harney & Sons Fine Teas. While the train whistles have faded into history’s mists, one line has metamorphosed into the 26-mile Harlem Valley Rail Trail. The restored 1911 Millerton train station now happens to house a real estate office, for crossroads dreamers.
SHOP STOP: Westerlind—outdoor-loving, Nordic-forward fashion upstairs; bistro downstairs
POPULATION: 880
COFFEE: Irving Farm New York
BEST DAY OF THE YEAR: Millerton Earth Day, April
Mountain Hotel Hopping
An area with a leisure legacy, the Catskills’ new generation of resorts, hotels and inns brings around a second golden age. In 1872, The New York Times reported that in the Catskills “there is a delicious sense of remoteness; a feeling of the completeness of nature’s most bountiful gifts of expression. … [Tourists] will find here no modern hotel luxuries; no bells to ring; no waiters to conciliate; no baths to take unless they might fancy a plunge into the rushing foaming mountain stream that is calling all day from the twilight gorge.”
Today, the Catskills have had a hospitality resurgence through properties that combine rustic appeal with those once-lacking modern luxuries. But there’s no need to haul a suitcase from spot to spot to take advantage of every stayover stunner (unless that’s your bag). Each one is dinner-reservation or bar-stop worthy.
DEER MOUNTAIN INN
Tannersville
Brimming with turn-of-the-century yet evergreen character. Seems equally plausible that Meryl Streep or Mark Twain might be sitting in the crazy-cozy, fi replace-lit lounge upstairs. Bring a bottle of wine and a blanket up to the top of the mountain.
SPRUCETON INN
West Kill
Artist residency and inn that bills itself as a bed-and-bar. A Room One (whiskey, maple syrup and lemon) warms up a chilly Friday or Saturday evening. Ace merch from co-owner, illustrator Steven Weinberg.
SCRIBNER’S LODGE
Hunter
A once motor court, now luxe lodge with Scando-minimalist shades. The barrel-shaped sauna is the only bigviews competition for the restaurant, Prospect, which makes good use of the on-site garden (illustrated maps to its plots available).
CALLICOON HILLS
Callicoon Center
A hip homage to the heyday of the area’s midcentury resorts. Fishing and hiking opportunities at every turn, but you might be lured into the king-sized azure pool first.
HASBROUCK HOUSE
Stone Ridge
Dutch Colonial stone house from the 1700s with a wisteria-cloaked garden suite (just in case, it’s room 15). Bistro and bar Butterfield turns the area’s bounty into art-level edible sculpture.
THE NORTH BRANCH INN
North Branch
Convivial community tables in the tavern and backyard. Adirondack chairs for leaned-back stargazing around the firepit.
Picture the perfect Upstate snow globe: a streetscape of 19th-century gems perched on the river’s deepest cut and surrounded by the Hudson Highlands. That’s Cold Spring in there.
Built from riches of a Civil War-era foundry and thereafter genteelly occupied by artists, writers and their patronage, Cold Spring’s present density of independent and artistically minded businesses may be the best in the region: yes, antique browsing up and down Main Street, but also Melanie Leonard’s millinery at Wynono & Company, new and vintage style finds at Poor George, paper wonders at Supplies for Creative Living, friendly literary curation at Split Rock Books, and unfailingly practical inventory for the particular at Cold Spring General Store. Fortify with cheese-forward sandwiches at Cold Spring Cheese Shop.
DIVE STOP: Doug’s Pretty Good Pub—English-muffin burgers at a saloony bar. Claims “bongos, used cars, live bait.”
POPULATION: 1,993
COFFEE: Paulette Cold Spring
BEST DAY OF THE YEAR: Putnam County Wine & Food Fest, August
Your Road Trip Ride
For the nation’s 250th anniversary, Scout Motors cracked open the history books. In 1976, the U.S. Ski Team needed vehicles ready for rugged terrain. International Harvester™ met the assignment by producing seventeen Scout II™ SUVs in white, with sweeping red and blue lines across the length of the body. With patriotism booming for America’s Bicentennial, a similar package, deemed the Spirit of ’76, was offered for production Scout® vehicles for 1976. Those Scout rigs became icons, carrying the spirit of American competition and celebration in one unmistakable package.
Fifty years later, Scout Motors marks another all-American summer with the new Spirit of ’26 Traveler™ SUV, a modern interpretation of the bicentennial trucks. The red, white, and blue colors nod to America’s 250th anniversary. The graphic layout pulls from iconic Rallye™ packages and vintage Scout vehicle design language. And the Traveler SUV platform gives the whole thing a new shape to live on.
The original Spirit of ’76 celebrated a milestone in American history. The Spirit of ’26 celebrates the next one. Different era, same idea: build things that wear in, not out.
Hit the Road
The Scout® Traveler™ and Scout® Terra™ will be available as extended range electric vehicles (EREV) with the optional Harvester™ range extender—for those trips a bit farther from home. With the available range extender, a small gas engine will provide additional power to the electric battery, offering a targeted, estimated range of more than 500 miles1 between refueling and recharging.
Power your next adventure. Reserve your spot in line at scoutmotors.com.
Disclaimers: Concept vehicle shown with optional features. Production model may vary.
1 Manufacturer's projected estimate based on internal targets on a full charge of battery and full tank of gasoline; EPA estimates will be provided when available. Range and battery power vary with temperature, driving habits, charging, and battery condition, and actual results will vary.
Read more like this
