tsquared1965
New Member
starting to think about next years trip a cruise up the hudson is on the table would like some feed back would be coming from jersey looking for good stops along the way
hudson river cruise
- Thread starter tsquared1965
- Start date
ImpulseIII
Active Member
Rondout Creek (Kingston), great stopover.
BigBoysToys
New Member
- Mar 12, 2013
- 421
- Boat Info
- 2009 Riviera 4400 Sport Yacht
- Engines
- Twin Volvo Penta IPS600
Lots of good stop-overs depending on your preference and draft. 7 miles north of the Tappanzee Bridge is a beautiful anchorage with protection from south and east winds. Best sunsets on the river. A little further north is Haverstraw Marina. Good marina to overnight. Fully stocked ships store, pool, and a good restaurant with live music and outdoor dining. Just north of West Point is a great lunch stop at Cold Spring. We love this little town but don't recommend overnighting here. North of Cold Spring is the Newburgh Waterfront. Multiple restaurants, lots of night time entertainment, room for any size boats. Our next recommended stop north of Newburgh is Poughkeepsie. Real nice marine, good restaurant with a great Sunday brunch. We havent gotten north of Poughkeepsie in the last two seasons so ill leave that area to the locals.
Red Stripe
Member
I kept my boats in the upper reaches of the Hudson for several years and still relish returning when I can. As many times as I have traveled the river I still feel its history and enjoy the richness of the scenery on each trip. And I always have the Northeast Cruising Guide on hand when people are on board who are doing the trip for the first time as it's always quite interesting to read along as we come upon the Hudson's many terrific sites. Obviously your cruising speed and the amount of time you are taking will dictate the type of experience you will have, but if you're able to make it to just south of the Albany area you will have a very full experience.
One approach: Depending on your point of departure in New Jersey and assuming you like to run at at least 18 kts, you could make New Baltimore in two easy days of travel taking note of the areas that pique your interest on the way for perhaps a stay on the return down river. While there are a few spots where you have to back it down for exposed marinas, most of your running is as wide open as you want in a well-marked, mostly very wide channel. Just be sure to maintain a vigilant watch for the often ever-present flotsam, particularly after a big rain.
Haverstraw Marina is a decent enough stopover with a pool and restaurant (but that's it and there's nothing within walking distance). It certainly has its supporters and detractors - I personally wouldn't stay there again unless I needed to break up a trip based on my many experiences there. As with most marinas, best to read the Active Captain reviews to see if it would suit you. Half Moon Bay Marina across the way is liked by many cruisers and it is at least walkable to a nice little town. But if you have the time, press on. Kingston is the first fully protected stop north of Haverstraw and a great stopover (or ultimate destination if your time is limited). Kingston City Marina is a good enough place to tie up right in the thick of the Kingston "action" - much of it backs up to a public parking lot. It's a small but nice little waterfront town with some good restaurants (Ship To Shore was traditionally one of our favorites). For something a little more private and less mainstream, I always liked tying up at the docks at the Hudson River Maritime Museum, also right downtown. Space is limited so it's best to plan ahead if this looks like your kind of place. For more of a traditional marina experience, the Rondout Yacht Basin is on the other side of the creek and an easy dinghy ride or short cab ride (or good walk) into town. Each of the sites I have linked have info on the area. Depending on your timing and what you like it would be a nice one or two night stay.
If you can continue north, plot a course to Donovan's Shady Harbor Marina about ten miles south of Albany. In my opinion, it is the best "destination" marina on the mid to upper Hudson River. It's run by real boaters who have transformed it over the past couple of years to a place they would want to stay. There's nothing within walking distance but it's simply a great place to land with a good restaurant featuring an exceptional view, an excellent ship's store, a pool and wonderful hospitality all in a beautiful spot. Nice people and lots of Sea Rays there too (including a rare 56 DB with the extended European Bridge). The marina is just off the main channel in a no-wake zone and, for the most part, the wakes of passing boats are not a problem. There's also a great protected anchorage just around the bend from the marina to the east for a great day of swimming off the boat or spending the night on the hook. Between Kingston and New Baltimore it's nice to tie up at the small but well done free town dock in Athens for a bite to eat in the village.
This really just scratches the surface and I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you may come up with as you begin to plot and plan. For what it's worth, I've got an opinion on most stops and sites on the river.
This table of distances gives you a good overview of the distances between the Battery and Troy...
One approach: Depending on your point of departure in New Jersey and assuming you like to run at at least 18 kts, you could make New Baltimore in two easy days of travel taking note of the areas that pique your interest on the way for perhaps a stay on the return down river. While there are a few spots where you have to back it down for exposed marinas, most of your running is as wide open as you want in a well-marked, mostly very wide channel. Just be sure to maintain a vigilant watch for the often ever-present flotsam, particularly after a big rain.
Haverstraw Marina is a decent enough stopover with a pool and restaurant (but that's it and there's nothing within walking distance). It certainly has its supporters and detractors - I personally wouldn't stay there again unless I needed to break up a trip based on my many experiences there. As with most marinas, best to read the Active Captain reviews to see if it would suit you. Half Moon Bay Marina across the way is liked by many cruisers and it is at least walkable to a nice little town. But if you have the time, press on. Kingston is the first fully protected stop north of Haverstraw and a great stopover (or ultimate destination if your time is limited). Kingston City Marina is a good enough place to tie up right in the thick of the Kingston "action" - much of it backs up to a public parking lot. It's a small but nice little waterfront town with some good restaurants (Ship To Shore was traditionally one of our favorites). For something a little more private and less mainstream, I always liked tying up at the docks at the Hudson River Maritime Museum, also right downtown. Space is limited so it's best to plan ahead if this looks like your kind of place. For more of a traditional marina experience, the Rondout Yacht Basin is on the other side of the creek and an easy dinghy ride or short cab ride (or good walk) into town. Each of the sites I have linked have info on the area. Depending on your timing and what you like it would be a nice one or two night stay.
If you can continue north, plot a course to Donovan's Shady Harbor Marina about ten miles south of Albany. In my opinion, it is the best "destination" marina on the mid to upper Hudson River. It's run by real boaters who have transformed it over the past couple of years to a place they would want to stay. There's nothing within walking distance but it's simply a great place to land with a good restaurant featuring an exceptional view, an excellent ship's store, a pool and wonderful hospitality all in a beautiful spot. Nice people and lots of Sea Rays there too (including a rare 56 DB with the extended European Bridge). The marina is just off the main channel in a no-wake zone and, for the most part, the wakes of passing boats are not a problem. There's also a great protected anchorage just around the bend from the marina to the east for a great day of swimming off the boat or spending the night on the hook. Between Kingston and New Baltimore it's nice to tie up at the small but well done free town dock in Athens for a bite to eat in the village.
This really just scratches the surface and I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you may come up with as you begin to plot and plan. For what it's worth, I've got an opinion on most stops and sites on the river.
This table of distances gives you a good overview of the distances between the Battery and Troy...
| NM | ||||||||||||
| BATT | ||||||||||||
| BATTERY | 0 | TARRY | ||||||||||
| TARRYTOWN | 24 | 24 | HAVER | |||||||||
| HAVERSTRAW | 32 | 32 | 8.0 | W PT | ||||||||
| WEST POINT | 45 | 45 | 21 | 13 | NEWB | |||||||
| NEWBURGH | 52 | 52 | 28 | 20 | 7 | POUGH | ||||||
| POUGHKEEPSIE | 61 | 61 | 37 | 29 | 16 | 9 | KINGS | |||||
| KINGSTON | 77 | 77 | 53 | 45 | 32 | 25 | 16 | SAUG | ||||
| SAUGERTIES | 87 | 87 | 63 | 55 | 42 | 35 | 26 | 10 | CATS | |||
| CATSKILL | 96 | 96 | 72 | 64 | 51 | 44 | 35 | 19 | 9 | ALB | ||
| ALBANY | 126 | 126 | 102 | 94 | 81 | 74 | 65 | 49 | 39 | 30 | ||
| TROY LOCK | 131 | 131 | 107 | 99 | 86 | 79 | 70 | 54 | 44 | 35 | 5 |
SillyKnot2
Member
Ditto on Shady Harbor. I wouldn't go past without stopping.
SloBurn
Active Member
- May 30, 2013
- 842
- Boat Info
- 1994 270 Sundancer. 7.4L Merc. Tow with a 2006 Dodge RAM Hemi
- Engines
- 340 HP Merc 454 c.i.
Newburgh waterfront, Kingston (Esopus creek) several places to eat and enjoy the view.
Red Stripe
Member
Just so there's no confusion for anyone using this for planning purposes, Kingston, NY is on the Rondout Creek. The Esopus Creek meets the Hudson ten miles north of Kingston in Saugerties. While the Esopus is well-protected and can be a very nice place to carefully drop the hook, the small marine facilities there really don't cater to transients and there are no restaurants right on the water.
The Catskill Creek, about 20 nm north of Kingston can be another nice stopover, particularly if you can't go the extra 16 nm to Shady Harbor (as mentioned above, you really should). Catskill Marina, while not at the level it was before Hurricane Irene is still a serene and protected place to tie up and a very short stroll into the village of Catskill which is bouncing back nicely after the downturn (you may hear people who haven't spent much time there suggest it is unsafe which is simply not true). There's a dock-and-dine at Port Of Call to starboard just after you enter the creek. The food and service is terribly inconsistent but it's a nice spot for cocktails with a great view. It's good to be aware of Riverview Marine Services on the creek should you need mechanical assistance in the area.
As mentioned, the Newburgh waterfront can be a great place to stop for lunch or dinner with a variety of eats right on the water but, in my opinion, it's not the best choice for an overnight stay if you can avoid it due to the exposed nature of its location, the nearby train tracks that operate through the night and the safety concerns of wandering too far from the waterfront in that area. That said, if you can't make it further north it's OK for a night and you will at least have experienced one of the most significant highlights of the trip, the stretch through World's End by West Point. Newburgh is just a few miles up the river from there.
One more note about Shady Harbor - a few years ago I organized a rendezvous for about a dozen boats with SH as our destination marina. The owners and staff went out of their way to help us put together a terrific weekend and I can wholeheartedly recommend it as a place to strongly consider for your group.
tsquared1965
New Member
Thanks for all the input really looking forward to this trip
