Olana House Tours

• Olana State Historic Site - Hudson River Valley School of Painter Frederick Church's Persian fantasy castle - Olana has reopened its doors for house tours after extensive renovations. The grounds alone are worth the visit with their gorgeous views of the Catskills.
  
  
• Martin van Buren National Historic Site - Lindenwald, home and farm of the eighth President of the United States.
  
  
• FASNY Museum of Firefighting, Hudson - 50,000 square feet of fire trucks (!) and memorabilia from all over the state.
  
  
• Clermont State Historic Site - One of the castles of the Hudson. The Livingston Family home for over 2 centuries has tours, and grounds are open for viewing.

• Lindenwald - The home of President Martin van Buren re-opens in the Spring of 2006 after a three year restoration with many special events on the calendar.

• Shaker Museum and Library - the Museum's property at Mount Lebanon, Shaker Village is open to the public on a seasonal, event-only basis, while the buildings and landscape are under restoration

• Mt. Lebanon Shaker Village

• Columbia County Historical Society - CCHS has information on many of the old homes as well as family genealogical records of the region.

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FESTIVALS - with good food, good weather, and good friends, why not celebrate?

• Columbia County Fair, Chatham

• Copake Auction, Copake - Americana, Antique Auctions, and Annual Antique Bicycle Auction.

• Film Columbia, Chatham

• Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Hillsdale

• Hudson Arts Walk, Hudson

• Blueberry Festival, Austerlitz

• Winter Walk on Warren, Hudson

• A calendar of dates is available through www.columbiacountyny.org, and at www.CoCotodo.com. A wonderful weekly blog about happenings in the area is Rural Intelligence.

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THE OUTDOORS - Columbia County offers many options for the outdoor enthusiast from kayaking and fishing on the Hudson River and in its lakes to mountain biking, birding, and skiing in the Eastern regions. Below are a few of the many outdoor adventures that are available.

• Lake Taghkanic State Park, Taghkanic

• Bash Bish Falls/Taconic State Park, Copake Falls

• Columbia County Land Conservancy, Conservation Areas Open to the Public
• Catamount Ski and Snowboarding, Hillsdale - downhill skiing, snow boarding, aerial forest adventure park, mountain biking

• Harlem Valley Rail Trail, Copake

• Hudson Cruises – Hudson Lighthouse

• Columbia County Bounty - for listings of farm stands, pick your own orchards, artisanal cheese producers, and much more.

• For more specific sites for golf, bicycling, hiking, birding, fishing, swimming, hunting, and boating see: columbiacountyny.org

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AND THE REST

• HADA - Hudson Antique Dealers Association

• Stair Galleries, Warren Street, Hudson - Two-tier auction house and one of the biggest on the East Coast. Great Friday night auctions held every six weeks. See Web site for future dates.

• Copake Auction, Copake - Americana, Antique Auctions. Don't miss the Annual Antique Bicycle Auction or Annual Textile Auction.

• Old Chatham Sheepherding Farm - Internationally acclaimed sheep’s milk cheese for sale on site while you visit the facilities.

• Lebanon Valley Speedway

• Hudson-Berkshire Beverage Trail - Columbia County has two wineries, an apple vodka distillery, and a micro brewery, and this trail continues into neighboring Rensselaer and Berkshire Counties.

Many of our Columbia County, New York towns such as Canaan, Chatham, Copake, Ghent, and Hillsdale have their own Web sites for their special events, or you can contact Columbia County Tourism at www.columbiacountyny.org for more information.

For lodging options right in the city of Hudson visit: http://www.stayinhudson.com for more information.