Cold Spring – Hiking, Oktoberfest, steak and red wine… What else do you need?

I really enjoy heading to one of NY’s train stations and discovering new places around the city where I can breathe some fresh air and disconnect from the daily madness. Cold Spring is an absolute must for that. Less than an hour and a half from Grand Central, beautiful and elegant town, very nice hiking options for all levels and some amazing food and drink options for when you’re done.

What are you waiting for?

Cold Spring one-day getaway in a Nutshell

Grab the Metro North in Grand Central and head to Cold Spring. Do a nice hike in Hudson Highlands State Park (the Under Cliff Trail). Visit the Cold Spring town or if you are lucky enough, enjoy one of their thematic events. Eat like a king after a long day and head back to NYC to feel like you have been away for a whole week after just a few hours.

The details

We took the train in the morning at about 9.45 am. There are trains every hour and it takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Once we got there, we stopped by a deli and bought some supplies for the hike i.e. a couple of litter of water per person, some protein bars and fruit. The trailhead is about 20 minutes by walk from the train station and the walk around the town is quite nice.

What is the best trail in Cold Spring?

Once you get to the trailhead, there is a small trail information desk where they will provide you with information on the different trails and maps. There are a few options but we went for the Under Cliff Trail, which is a 6 miles loop with an elevation gain of about 2 thousand feet and takes about 3 to 3.5 hours.

There are a few steep sections but overall, it is a very nice trail, with beautiful views, forests, a river, and fauna.

Link to the trail: Under Cliff Trail

What else can I do in Cold Spring?

This was a total surprise to us. Once we were done with the trail and heading back to the town, I hear some familiar music. Back in my days in Europe, I visited Munich a couple of times for Oktoberfest, the amazing Bavarian beer festival. The music was exactly the same, I couldn’t understand what was going on. Apparently, on the way back from the trail there is a field where they organize fairs and festivals. They had an Oktoberfest celebration with German beer, pretzels and loads of games. Having a one liter Spaten beer was a total pleasure of the Gods! Check out the events before going, you may get lucky!

Once we were a bit tipsy from the beer and tired from playing every single possible game, we decided that it was about time for a good meal. Not sure if it was a very late lunch as those I used to have back in the motherland or a very early dinner but I can assure you it was great.

Where should I eat in Cold Spring?

After doing some research on TripAdvisor and Yelp we decided that the best option was a French restaurant called Brasserie Le Bouchon.

See link: Brasserie Le Bouchon

We really liked this restaurant because they had good meat and pretty good value for money red wine. And what is better than a good steak and a bottle of wine after a day hiking? If you are vegetarian or pescatarian, I suggest you check out other options in TripAdvisor as there are a few. For the wine, I strongly recommend you the Spanish Basque red Eguren Ugarte, it goes amazing with the steak.

Finally, we headed back to the Cold Spring train station to catch the train back to NYC after an awesome day that made us feel like if we had been a whole week out of the city. I really love these days that make you feel so full of life and energy!

How do I get to Cold Spring?

Head to Grand Central and take the Metro-North Hudson line to the Cold Spring train station. Total time of about 80 minutes. There are trains every hour during the whole day.

You can check train schedules at MTA Metro North Schedules

If you are planning to go by car, about 70-80 minutes too.

For another similar option in the Hudson Valley visit our post Beacon – Perfect one-day getaway from NYC