New York is one of very few American cities where a weekend away genuinely needs no car. The rail network still reaches things, which is not true of most of the country.
The Hudson Valley
Metro-North's Hudson Line runs up the east bank, and the views from the train are the first part of the trip.
Beacon, 80 minutes. Dia Beacon is a contemporary art museum in a former Nabisco printing factory, with gallery spaces large enough for work nothing else can hold — Richard Serra, Walter De Maria, Dan Flavin. One of the best museums in the country and almost nobody outside the art world has heard of it.
Cold Spring, an hour — a small riverside main street of antique shops and restaurants, and the gateway to the hiking.
Breakneck Ridge has a seasonal weekend train stop at the trailhead, which is remarkable for American hiking. The trail is a steep scramble with exposure; Bull Hill nearby is gentler.
Storm King, an outdoor sculpture park of 500 acres, reachable by seasonal bus connection from Beacon.
Philadelphia
70 minutes on Amtrak, or two hours and considerably cheaper on NJ Transit to Trenton and SEPTA onward.
Central Philadelphia is walkable: Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Barnes Foundation with its idiosyncratically hung collection, Reading Terminal Market, and the Italian Market.
Cheaper than New York in every respect, which makes a weekend there feel generous.
Connecticut and Rhode Island
New Haven, two hours — Yale's campus and museums, several of which are free, plus the pizza argument the city takes extremely seriously.
Mystic, further along, for the seaport museum.
Providence, three hours by Amtrak — RISD's museum, Federal Hill for Italian food, and WaterFire installations on summer evenings.
The Jersey Shore
NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line reaches Asbury Park in about 90 minutes — a beach town with a music history, the Stone Pony, and a boardwalk that has been through several lives.
Long Branch and Bay Head further down.
Where a car helps
| Destination | Drive | What |
|---|---|---|
| Catskills | 2h30 | Hiking, small towns, swimming holes |
| Berkshires | 3h | Mass MoCA, Tanglewood in summer |
| Delaware Water Gap | 1h30 | Hiking, the river |
| Montauk | 3h (or LIRR) | Beaches, the far end of Long Island |
Mass MoCA in North Adams is the Berkshires' anchor — the largest contemporary art museum in the US, in a converted mill complex.
Practical
Book Amtrak ahead — Northeast Corridor fares rise steeply close to departure.
Metro-North and NJ Transit are flat-fare and need no booking, with off-peak discounts.
Autumn is the season for the Hudson Valley, Catskills and Berkshires, and accommodation books months ahead for peak foliage weekends.