Showing Hudson River towns : highlights from the capital region to Sleepy Hollow country by Hardie Truesdale

A captivating journey, in words and photographs, through the cities, towns, and villages of the Hudson Valley.

The cities, towns, and villages along the banks of the Hudson River are the lifeblood of a region bursting with historic sites, cultural attractions, and natural beauty. Hudson River Towns pairs the spectacular work of renowned Hudson Valley photographer Hardie Truesdale with the vivid descriptions of Joanne Michaels, one of the region’s most experienced travel writers. Together they document, in words and photographs, the dynamic nature of the river’s population centers, offering readers a captivating personal journey down the Hudson River.

Although Main Street continues to struggle across America, there has been a movement afoot in the Hudson Valley to support local enterprise, and many of the region’s communities are currently enjoying a renaissance. Newburgh, for instance, has a beautiful waterfront and a new crop of businesses emerging in the inner city. Poughkeepsie’s “Walkway Over the Hudson” has drawn thousands of visitors since its opening in 2009, turning the city’s Mount Carmel neighborhood, once a sleepy Italian enclave, into a tourist destination. And Kingston was recently named one of the top ten most desirable—and affordable—cities in America for artists. Festivals, parks, and recreational activities are part of the fabric of contemporary Hudson Valley life, and they are represented in these pages as well.

The journey begins in the Upper Hudson River region, stopping in Albany, Coxsackie, Athens, Hudson, and Catskill; continues through the Mid-Hudson River region, featuring Saugerties, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Beacon, Cold Spring, and Garrison; and culminates in the Lower Hudson River towns of Peekskill, Nyack, Tarrytown, and Piermont. With more than 120 full-color photographs that lavishly display the dramatic faces of these cities, towns, and villages, Hudson River Towns reveals a dimension of the region unseen by most travelers and local residents, who will be inspired to think differently about their surroundings after taking this armchair journey through one of America’s most beautiful and historic regions.

Hardie Truesdale’s photography has been represented by galleries throughout the country. National Geographic Books, the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, the Mohonk Preserve, and the Nature Conservancy have all featured his work. His previous books are Hudson River Journey: Images from Lake Tear of the Clouds to New York Harbor and Adirondack High: Images of America’s First Wilderness, both with Joanne Michaels. He lives in Gardiner, New York.

Joanne Michaels is the author of many books, including Hudson River Valley Farms: The People and the Pride behind the Produce; The Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains: An Explorer’s Guide, Seventh Edition; and Let’s Take the Kids! Great Places to Go in New York’s Hudson Valley, Third Edition. The former editor-in-chief of Hudson Valley magazine, she lives in Woodstock, New York.