Day Trip from NYP

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Jen G

Train Attendant
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Jun 15, 2012
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Hi All,

I'm looking for a good day trip from NYP. Either north or south. I want to pick a destination station that would have something within walking distance or leaves you "right in town"...

I would like to make it a day trip and come back the same day but if anyone has any suggestions for unique lodging (inn, B&B etc) that would be ok too!

Preferably a small town with unique shops and restaurants. Although a nice park or somewhere on the water to explore would be fine too!

I'm looking to avoid a larger town....for that I can just stay in the city. =)

Thanks for any suggestions!

Jen
 
Does it have to be by Amtrak?

If not, here are my favorites:

1. LIRR Montauk Line to Southampton or Amagansett. Hang out in the quaint villages, visit the beach, have a nice lunch in the village etc.

2. LIRR Port Jeff Line to Port Jefferson, walk down to the harbor (about a mile downhill), enjoy the parks and shopping in quaint village stores at Port Jeff Harbor, then either trudge up the hill back to Port Jeff Station to take LIRR back, or better still take the Port Jeff - Bridgeport Ferry which runs frequently, to Bridgeport and then take either an Amtrak Regional back to Penn Station or a Metro North Express back to Grand Central and then subway to Penn Station.

3. LIRR Montauk/Speonk/Patchogue train to Oakdale or Sayville and then ferry to Fire Island. Spend the day on the beach and head back via Ferry and LIRR to NYP.

4. NJT North Jersey Coast Line to Point Pleasant Beach. Hang out on the Boardwalk or explore Point Pleasant Beach downtown. head back via NJT to NYP. Alternatively you could explore the village of Manasquan, the station immediately preceding Point Pleasant Beach, or even Belmar the station preceding Manasquan.

5. Amtrak Boston Regional to Mystic. I have heard good things about it, but never done it myself.

6. Amtrak Adirondack to Saratoga Springs and then possibly S&NC Dome cars to North Creek and back. AlanB is an expert at that one. I actually did it by driving to Saratoga and then taking S&NC.

7. On the Hudson Line I love the Village of Cold Spring. but you have to take Metro North from Grand Central for that one since Amtrak does not stop there. Fantastic views of Storm King Mountain from the waterfront, which is very well preserved in its old quaint state.

8. Amtrak Empire Service or Metro North Hudson Line (ex Grand Central) to Poughkeepsie, and then go for a walk across the Hudson on the old restored New Haven Railroad Bridge across the Hudson. Spectacular views specially during Fall Color season, but even otherwise. Specially on a clear day you can see the Catskill Mountains to the north.

9. NJT NEC Line or Amtrak to Trenton, and then RiverLINE DLRT to one of the various quaint little Delaware Valley towns that it serves. My favorites are Bordentown NJ and even more so Burlington NJ. Explore the town, the riverfront and have lunch at a riverfront restaurant. In Bordentown explore the first commercial railroad track segment of the old Camden and Amboy. From Bordentown all the way to Pennsauken the RiverLINE follows the right of way of the old Camden and Amboy.

10. NJT Midtown Direct to Millburn, Summit, Chatham or Madison. Hang out in the parks and have lunch at one of the many excellent eateries. The South Mountain Reservation Park is a short walk from Millburn station. You can also take in a play at the Papermill Playhhouse which is on the way to the South Mountain Reservation Park. This is deep in my (and Shanghai's) neck of the woods!

TAFN (That's All For Now)
 
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Great ideas!!

I am from Long Island.....so I'd rather go somewhere where the train is a part of the day....I could drive out to the Hamptons or Port Jeff....and I live next to a Fire Island Ferry! LOL

I was tossing around the idea of taking the Adirondack to Saratoga Springs....I've always wanted to take the Adirondack!

I'm going to look into the DE & CT stations as well! Thank goodness for google street view!

I was actually tossing around heading south on one of the silvers or the crescent.

A friend and I will be taking the crescent to SC in October (soooo looking forward to the trip!) and it will be his first Amtrak trip. I wanted to try a short run before then so he can fall in love with Amtrak and be just as excited about the October trip as I am! ;-)
 
I second Ocala Mike's suggestion of Mystic CT. I was there for the first time this past weekend and it was really nice.

Depending on your interests (and time of year of course), certain stops/towns might have events you want to go to. For example, the (nighttime) Waterfire event in Providence is really cool to see. I would determine the timeframe you want to go and look up fairgrounds near various stops. (IE: Rhinebeck Fairground events).

JIS hit on some really nice options in the other direction. I'd second his suggestion of the coast and point pleasant beach. Cold Spring also has some really nice antique shops.

Lastly (if you own one) I suggest taking a folding bike. They are usable on any form of transit, and greatly increase your mobility at your destination without needing a car. Alternatively, reserve a bike rental at a bikeshop at your destination.

Edit: typo
 
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Wow,jis. ! First time I have seen my hometown of Madison, NJ or my former ticket office station, Chatham recommended as travel destinations. You have a great imagination!
 
Hey I live around here and I think the downtowns are pretty neat. Though my preference would be Millburn and then walk over to South Mountain Reservation one of the most peacful Oases in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Essex County.

Speaking of day trips, one can do a very very long day trip starting at 3am to Ashland VA. I have done it once and enjoyed it immensely and got an incredible stash of train photos. I know Piotr has done similar.

If you are willing to take a Thruway bus then you can do a day trip to Cumberland MD or to Ocean City MD too.

Ah yes, another one I forgot. NJT to Salisbury Mills on the Port Jervis Line and then explore Moodna Viaduct and take pictures of trains. Take along some food and drinks in a backpack though.
 
Guest said:
Amtrak north to Rhinecliff, Rhinebeck, and the Dutchess County Fairgrounds?
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Yes. My mistake on the beck/cliff suffix swap. I know one is a hamlet of the other but can never keep which one is which straight. The rhinecliff station is 2+1/2 or 3 miles from the fairgrounds.
 
I would take an Amtrak train up the "Hudson River Line" as in the song. Carry along a New York Times (same song). Maybe stop in Rochester or somewhere scenic along that line to visit. The Montreal train would be perfect. It follows the Hudson to Albany - then stop along the way, and catch the southbound back. I am thinking Saratoga Springs.. How could you top that for a day trip from NYC.

The first two hours or so along the Hudson are really nice.
 
Thank you all again for such great ideas!! I've been looking into them and even tossing around the idea of just making a day of the train along the hudson and coming back....no real exploring of the area!

Jen
 
Hudson NY is a pretty interesting place. It's about 2.5 hours north of NYP and all the Empire Service trains plus LDs stop there. The station is right in town. I spent several days there a few years ago. It reminded me of Venice and New Orleans in the combination of funky dereliction and upscale renovation side by side. I seriously considered moving there to live. It is a lot smaller than Poughkeepsie and has more character imo.
 
If you want to do a circle trip of it, you can do New York -Acela-> Boston Back Bay -LSL-> Albany -Empire Service-> New York in a single day on all days of the week except Sunday! It is probably one of the longer possible circle trips in Amtrak
 
I would look into Sarasota Springs - arrive lunchtime or so.. on the Adirondack Leaves NYC at 8:15 and you arrive a little before noon. Wonderful timing for a non rushed lunch somewhere... Depart around 3:45 and arrive back in the city at around 8 PM.

Perfect day - very scenic. Take a good book...
 
You can make a day trip to Saratoga 3 hours longer on Sundays by taking the Adirondack up and the Ethan Allen back (every other day of the week the southbound Ethan Allen is a morning train). It doesn't leave Saratoga until 6:47pm!

I'm a big fan of Hudson, NY it's a quaint little town. It's starting to become my preferred stop to earn an extra 100 points and get lunch over an hour going to and from Syracuse (where I have family)

If your on Long Island maybe ferry to Bridgeport and Amtrak from there to Mystic (the dock is at the Amtrak station) or other New England destinations.

For an overnight maybe the Vermonter up somewhere for the night? (It also stops in Bridgeport) no towns come right to my mind.
 
SubwayNut hit upon a great day trip to Saratoga Springs on a Sunday. You could go up during the racing season (which ends on Labor Day), and spend a great day at my old haunt, Saratoga Race Course, for a day at the track. Would work for me!
 
Jen G said:
I was actually tossing around heading south on one of the silvers or the crescent.
A friend and I will be taking the crescent to SC in October (soooo looking forward to the trip!) and it will be his first Amtrak trip. I wanted to try a short run before then so he can fall in love with Amtrak and be just as excited about the October trip as I am! ;-)
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If I were to take the Silvers, I would go to Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA - but these would be weekend trips, not day trips. I was about to suggest Washington, DC - SOOOO much to see and do there! Nice station, too. But if you are trying to show the best of Amtrak to your friend, the cattle call of people at DC could turn off anyone for good. :eek:
I like your idea of just riding up the Hudson and back. A friend and I did a similar trip when I was in High School - in Japan. Except after riding the train for nearly two hours, we were still not out of the "metro" area. We finally got out into the sticks, found a mountain to climb and enjoyed Japanese culture. It was way fun. Once, I took almost my whole paycheck and rode the bullet train as far as my money would stretch in first class - two stops. LOL.
 
I ride up the Hudson and back many times each year just for the heck of it. It is Norman Rockwell country that started an entire school in Art! My favorite stops are Garrison or Cold Spring on Metro North, and Rhinecliff or Hudson on Amtrak. For photo location, Cold Spring is my favorite.

In Japan going out of Tokyo, the impromptu trip that I enjoyed the most all by myself was a trip to Fuji Yoshida on the side of Mt. Fuji that is lesser frequented by foreign tourists, and trekking around there. There are the usual perennials like Kamakura, Nicco and such of course.

If all goes well and according to plans, I am off to Savannah GA for a weekend, out by Star on Friday back by Palmetto on Sunday. I have done this before and I would heartily recommend it too.

I had refrained from suggesting Washington DC since a small town was asked for originally.
 
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Hi All,

I think we're set!! We are going to take the Adirondack to Hudson, NY and then the empire service back. If all goes well....Saratoga is next on the list! I think I'll save the LD train until October. Can't wait!

Jen
 
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