The Drive » It’s only 14 miles
to West Point – take Rte 9W to
the town of Highland Falls and
continue on Main St until you
reach the parking entrance for
West Point Visitors Center on
the right.
4 West Point
Occupying one of the
most breathtaking bends
in the river is West Point
US Military Academy.
Prior to 1802, it was
a strategic fort with a
commanding position
over a narrow stretch of
the Hudson. West Point
Guided Tours (%845-446-
4724; http://www.westpointtours.
com; adult/child $12/9) offers
one- and two-hour combo
walking and bus tours of
the stately campus; try
to go when school is in
session since the cadets’
presence livens things
up. Guides move swiftly
through the academy’s
history, noting illustrious
graduates such as
Robert E Lee, Ulysses S
Grant, ‘Buzz’ Aldrin and
Norman Schwarzkopf, as
well as famous drop-
outs (Edgar Allen Poe
for one). Guides will also
explain the rigorous
admissions criteria for
parents hoping to land
a spot for their kids. At
least as interesting is the
highly regimented daily
collegiate life they lead.
Next to the Visitors
Center is a fascinating
museum (10:30am-
4:15pm; free admission)
- even for the pacifists
among us – that traces
the role of war and the
military throughout
human history. Displays
of weapons from Stone
Age clubs to artillery
pieces highlight
technology’s role in the
evolution of warfare,
and elaborate miniature
dioramas of important
moments like the siege
of Avaricum (52 BC) and
the Battle of Austerlitz
(1805) will mesmerize
anyone who played with
toy soldiers as a kid. Give
yourself enough time to
take in the substantial
exhibits and when you’ve
had enough of fighting
check out the collection
of paintings, prints and
drawings by Hudson
River School artists.The Drive » On this 11.5-mile
drive, take NY-218 north leaving
Highland Falls and connect to
Rte 9W (not Storm King Hwy
which NY-218 becomes). Exit on
Quaker Ave, right on NY-32 and
left on Orrs Mills Rd. You can see
Storm King from the New York
State Thruway (and vice versa)
but there’s no convenient exit.5 Storm King Art
Center
Storm King Art Center
(%845-534-3115; http://www.
stormking.org; Old Pleasant Hill
Rd; admission $10; hApr-Nov)
in Mountainville (p44),
on the west side of the
Hudson River, is a giant
open-air museum on
500 acres, part sculpture
garden and part sculpture
landscape. The spot was
founded in 1960 as a
museum for painters, but
it soon began to acquirelarger installations and
monumental works that
were placed outside in
natural ‘rooms’ created
by the land’s indigenous
breaks and curves. There’s
a small museum on site,
formerly a 1935 residence
designed like a Norman
chateau, and plenty of
picnic sites that visitors
are encouraged to use (be-
sides vending machines,
there’s no food sold here).
Across the expanse
of meadow is the Storm
King Wall, artist Andy
Goldsworthy’s famously
sinuous structure
that starts with rocks,
crescendos up and across
some hills, encompasses
a tree, then dips down
into a pond, slithering
out the other side and
eventually disappearing
into the woods. Other
permanent pieces were
created by Alexander
Calder, Henry Moore,
Richard Serra and Alice
Aycock, to name a few.The Drive » NY-32 takes
you past the down-on-its luck
riverside town of Newburgh.
If you have time, turn right on
Washington St. Near the river
is a small building and museum
marking General George’s
longest lasting Revolutionary
War base. Otherwise, head over
the Newburgh-Beacon bridge
($1 toll).6 Beacon
This formerly scruffy
town is now on the map
of art world cognoscenti
because of the Dia:TRIP HIGHLIGHTNEW.YORK.TRIPS.1
.HUDSON VALLEY