NYC Arts: The Complete Guide to Art and Culture

By Randall Bourscheidt, president of Alliance for the Arts

New York City is very much a part of the Hudson River Valley, which extends 315 miles north from New York Harbor. The city is a major source of wealth, ideas and artistic expression for the entire valley. The cultural groups featured in this day trip collection are just a portion of those that preserve the heritage of the valley and the artists who work in it, from the Hudson River School painters to those who exhibit today in galleries from Chelsea to Beacon to Albany.

Dia:Beacon in Dutchess County has a permanent collection in addition to special exhibits. Aside from Dan Flavin’s fluorescent sculptures, the museum is lit entirely by natural light diffused through large factory windows and skylights.

Walkway Over the Hudson is a pedestrian bridge over the Hudson River that connects Highland and Poughkeespie. When the 6,767-foot steel cantilever truss bridge opened in 1889, its length and design distinguished it as one of the longest of its kind in the world. It reopened in October 2009 for bicyclists, walkers, dog walkers and roller bladers. The Metro North and Amtrak train station in Poughkeepsie is just four blocks south of the bridge.

Harriman State Park can be accessed in both Rockland and Orange Counties. It offers more than 200 miles of hiking trails and 31 lakes. From George Washington Bridge, the drive along the Palisades Parkway is beautiful itself.

These are some of the sites profiled in the book The Hudson Valley: A Cultural Guide. On the Web,  New York City attractions are profiled on this site; other Hudson Valley organizations are profiled on www.nystatearts.org.