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My wife and I are planning to take a day trip to the Catskills in the near future to view fall foliage. We have a few questions.
1. What weekend would generally have the best fall foliage? We're likely considering either Oct. 6 or 13?
2. What is the most scenic route (not looking for the fastest or most direct route) to get from New York City to the Catskills area? I assume we should avoid the Thruway. Would you recommend the Saw Mill River Parkway or the Sprain Brook Parkway, or some other route? From either of those, we can connect to the Taconic Parkway, and then take one of the bridges over the Hudson River. Is that what you would recommend, or is there another route you would recommend?
3. What scenic drives would you recommend in the Catskills area? One route we really enjoyed was Route 23A through the Hunter Mountain area. In addition to that route, we'd like to try some other routes that you recommend.
Thank you for your help.
(Yes, I already posted in the general New York forum. But since Question #2 starts in New York City, I figured I'd post it here too.)
I suggest you go this coming weekend. I live farther north and west and our trees are turning already -- the horribly hot summer stressed the trees; a few nights of 40 degrees temps is making leaves fall; we have not even hit freezing.
Why not drive up to wine country -- like to Keuka Lake? Fabulous scenery, good wine, nice places to stay. Look up Keuka Wine Trail.
The Taconic is a beautiful highway. Much more scenic that I87. You can cross the river at Catskill to get to 23A. If you're up there, you must go to Olana (Olana: the Persian style home of Hudson River artist Frederic Edwin Church). It the former estate of Frederic Church on a hill overlooking the river. The views are spectacular. I've only been in the summer, but I'm sure it's even better in the autumn.
The Weather Channel posts maps of foliage in the autumn (there are other sites, too): New York Fall Foliage - Maps, Colors and Photos - weather.com . Looking at their current map, depending on where you're going in the Catskills, it looks like the next two weeks is the time to go.
I suggest you go this coming weekend. I live farther north and west and our trees are turning already -- the horribly hot summer stressed the trees; a few nights of 40 degrees temps is making leaves fall; we have not even hit freezing.
Why not drive up to wine country -- like to Keuka Lake? Fabulous scenery, good wine, nice places to stay. Look up Keuka Wine Trail.
That's probably a nice route, but it's further away than I had planned for next weekend.
The Taconic is a beautiful highway. Much more scenic that I87. You can cross the river at Catskill to get to 23A. If you're up there, you must go to Olana (Olana: the Persian style home of Hudson River artist Frederic Edwin Church). It the former estate of Frederic Church on a hill overlooking the river. The views are spectacular. I've only been in the summer, but I'm sure it's even better in the autumn.
What do you recommend as a scenic route to get to the Taconic? Coming from Long Island, I assume I should take the Whitestone Bridge to the Hutch to the Cross County (the Throgs Neck Bridge would connect to I-95 rather than the Hutch, and I-95 doesn't really have connections to the more scenic parkways). I then have 3 options. Which is the most scenic:
1. Bronx River Parkway to Sprain Brook Parkway to Taconic Parkway
2. Bronx River Parkway (avoiding the Sprain) to Taconic Parkway
3. Saw Mill River Parkway to Taconic Parkway
Or should I use a different route completely?
From the Taconic, should I cross the river on the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, or on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge? If the former, should I get on the Thruway for one exit, and then take Route 32 to 32A to 23A? Or should I take 9W to 32?
In any case, where should I go next after I'm finished with 23A?
My wife and I are planning to go camping this weekend as well, and to observe the change in the leaves. I think the Taconic and Palisades pkwy are both very nice and scenic drives .....and being that it's the long weekend, keep an eye out for speed traps!
My wife and I are planning to go camping this weekend as well, and to observe the change in the leaves. I think the Taconic and Palisades pkwy are both very nice and scenic drives .....and being that it's the long weekend, keep an eye out for speed traps!
Is there a route you would recommend that uses both the Taconic and the Palisades? Or are you suggesting one or the other? Thanks.
What I am thinking about doing is maybe, from the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge to take 28 west. I've read that 28 is scenic. Should I take 28 along the north side of the reservoir, or 28A along the south side? From 28, I plan to take 214 north to 23A west. Is that a good route? Although, I would miss out on 23A east of route 214. Which part of 23A is more scenic? East or west of 214? If I go west, when 23A ends, should I continue west along 23, or head east on 23? If east on 23, is it worth it to pick up 23A again to do the part that I missed? Will I have time for all this? It will probably be late afternoon before I even get to the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge.
Or, am I better off sticking to the route that I used last year, where, from the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, I can take the Thurway for 1 exit (or should I take 9W or 32) to Route 32 north to Route 32A to 23A west. And then I can head east on 23.
Thanks to everyone who helped last year. i have the same question for this year: are we better off with Oct. 5 or Oct. 12?
As for the NYC part of the trip: since we want to take the Saw Mill Parkway this year, I'm thinking of taking either I-95 or the Hutch to Pelham Parkway. Is that a good route to get to the Saw Mill, or is it too slow with the traffic lights? I'm not necessarily looking for the fastest route, but I also don't want to waste too much time in the Bronx, since the main purpose of the trip is the Catskills. From the Pelham Parkway, I can either take the Bronx River Parkway for one exit to Southern Blvd, to the Mosholu Parkway, to the Saw Mill. Or, I can stay straight onto Fordham Rd, and take Southern Blvd to the Mosholu Parkway to the Saw Mill. Which of those routes, if either, is better?
If you don't recommend Pelham Parkway and one of the routes I mentioned above, what would be a better way to get to the Saw Mill? Obviously the Cross Bronx, or anything involving Manhattan would be bad ideas; too much traffic, and not scenic (at least not the Cross Bronx). I could take the Hutch to the Cross County, but that seems to have a lot of traffic, and isn't that scenic.
Thanks.
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