October 17, 2026

New Paltz & Mohonk: Stone Houses, a Rock Scramble, and Cider

New Paltz is one of those Hudson Valley towns that does not have a single big thing — it has three or four very good things stacked next to each other, which is a better deal. Stone houses from the 1600s, a mountain house with a view that gets used in every ad for the region, and a rock scramble with a name that undersells exactly how much of a scramble it is.

It is a full day of Hudson Valley in one town, which is what you want when the drive is ninety minutes each way and you refuse to do ninety minutes for a single selfie spot.

Getting There

About 1 hour 30 minutes. Take the Thruway north to the New Paltz exit and follow the signs into town — Huguenot Street is right off Main Street, and Mohonk Mountain House sits up on the ridge above at 1000 Mountain Rest Road.

What to Explore

Huguenot Street is a row of stone houses built by French Huguenot settlers in the late 1600s — some of the oldest surviving buildings in the country — and walking it in fall feels like walking through a history textbook that someone lit beautifully. Then a day pass at Mohonk gets you onto the grounds and trails, including the Lemon Squeeze — a crack in the rock you genuinely have to squeeze yourself through, with ladders and a little upper-body work, on the way up to the best view in the county. It is not a casual stroll; it is a story you will tell at dinner, ideally after you have already changed out of the good shirt. End with a cider at Brooklyn Cider House on the edge of town while the ridge goes orange.

Then it is an easy hour and a half home — tired legs, warm cider, and the quiet kind of satisfied that only a day with a rock scramble in it can produce.

Written by Frankie

Frankie is Chief Editor & Marketing Director for Frosty Flame Vehicle Rentals.

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