Even though the weather at 7:45 am on Tuesday morning, 07/20/21, was hazy, misty, and almost foggy, the protected waters of the Hudson River were super smooth – our favorite. As we traveled northward, we passed Haverstraw, NY, to our port and Crugers, NY, to our starboard. Soon we came to Stony Point and Tompkins Cove, NY, then Verplanck, Jones Point, and Peekskill, NY, where we’d shopped at Walmart via rental car last week. As we passed Highland Falls, NY, and West Point Academy to our port, we had a completely different vantage point from the one we’d experienced earlier, via land. The Academy actually overlooks Highlands State Park on the opposite side of the Hudson River.
The Hudson River Valley does not disappoint with its many vistas of high, craggy hills jutting right out of the water. (Too bad it was so hazy out that day…) Mirror-smooth waters…Our first view of the United States Military Academy West Point from the Hudson River.More views of the historic, rambling campus of West Point, as seen from the water.
Eventually we passed Cornwall-On-Hudson, New Windsor, and Newburgh to port. There was no doubt we were traversing the Hudson River Valley, as magnificent mountains rose up out of the water on both sides. They were beautiful, despite the partially obscuring haze that still hung in the air all around us. Few good pictures today, unfortunately…
Beautiful, old waterfront estates are visible on both sides of the Hudson River…
A highlight of this portion of the river was Legacy cruising beneath the Bear Mountain Bridge, which we’d crossed multiple times in our rental car the week before. We passed Cornwall-On-Hudson, (where we floated right past the very old Bannerman Castle where it sits out in the river on a small island), New Windsor, NY, then cruised underneath the Newburgh-Beacon (NY I-84) Bridge, when we reached the town of Newburgh, NY.
Approaching Bear Mountain Bridge, cruising northward on the Hudson River.Views of Bannerman Castle, where it sits on Pollepel Island (also known as Bannerman Island) in the Hudson Highlands, on the Hudson River, near Beacon, NY. Construction of Bannerman Castle first began in 1901, by Scottishman, Francis Bannerman VI, a military surplus storage tycoon in New York City. Bannerman, himself, designed the castle as a massive military arsonal. Using his Scottish heritage as inspiration, Francis envisioned three warehouses, a family residence, workers’ housing, a massive six-story tower, and even a working drawbridge (that was never actually completed). Upon his death in 1918, Bannerman’s sons continued both the surplus business and construction of Bannerman Castle. Although the facility was much more secure and safer than storage in the heart of Manhattan, accidents still plagued the structure with accidental weaponry mishaps and explosions, and frequent lightning strikes due to the castle’s location in open water, and its many flagpoles. In 1959, the Bannerman family decided to move their Manhattan-based business to Long Island, emptying their stores on Broadway and Pollepel’s castle of all remaining military supplies. The island and castle was sold to New York State’s Taconic Park Commission in 1967, and on August 9th, 1969, a suspicious fire destroyed the wooden floors and roofs of the buildings and left the entire island in ruins. In recent years, the Bannerman Castle Trust was founded to preserve the island and what’s left of the buildings. Along with rebuilding docks and repairing some particularly dangerous areas, the trust also holds walking tours and various events under their supervision.Because the weather and natural lighting was so poor on 07/20/21, I borrowed this picture from the internet to show a clearer perspective of the Bannerman Castle ruins.Views of Newburgh, NY, from the Hudson River…
The air began to clear around us a bit as we continued northward past Castle Point, Chelsea, and New Hamburg, NY, before reaching the point where the Wappinger Creek flows into the Hudson River. Craggy hills and rocks rise straight out of the Hudson River all through this portion. And, at one point through this area, our depth gauge read more than 100-feet in water depth.
The Hudson River Railroad follows the Hudson River almost exactly. There is a commercial line that runs along the western side of the river and a passenger line that runs along the eastern side. We watched and heard both of these trains running continuously as we cruised up the river.We passed this interesting example of a man-made buttress constructed to support a particularly large and looming rock overhang along the western railway.
After Crown Heights and Milton, we reached Poughkeepsie, NY, and passed beneath the Mid-Hudson (US Highway 44) Bridge. Next we saw the beautiful buildings of the Culinary Institute of America perched high up on the hill to our starboard, and recalled the scrumptious dinner we’d enjoyed there exactly one week ago.
We passed miles and miles of bucolic homesteads like these along both sides of the Hudson River.It’s not easy to tell from this picture, but these two residences are definitely historic.Our river view of the wonderful Culinary Institute of America location in Hyde Park, NY, where we’d dined last week.
The Crum Elbow portion of the Hudson River, north of Hyde Park, NY, is the deepest part of the entire river, where the depths reach a staggering 135-feet. Soon, we passed the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site to our starboard, but could only see its rooftops through the tall trees surrounding it. Not far past it, to our port, we saw the impressive Holy Cross Monastery. We passed Straatsburgh, NY, to our starboard and Esopus Meadows Preserve to our port, before reaching Port Ewen, NY, Sleightsburgh Park, and the mouth of Rondout Creek where it spills into the Hudson River.
Views of the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse on the Hudson River, south of Kingston, NY, which was first constructed in 1839. This lighthouse is nicknamed the “Maid of the Meadows”, and is also referred to as the Middle Hudson River Light. It is still active today, and stands on the west side of the channel, in the river, its granite foundation built atop piles that have been driven into the riverbed, and is only accessible by boat.
Hudson River Maritime Museum and Marina are located on Rondout Creek, not far off of the Hudson, and we arrived there at approximately 1:45 pm that afternoon. The harbor master instructed us to tie-up to their transient wall on Legacy’s starboard side, facing into the current. Once Legacy was “all tucked-in”, as our friend Brandee Sharp likes to say, we showered and then walked into the town of Kingston, which is directly adjacent to the marina. There are multiple restaurants, bars, and shops right there close-by that make Kingston an enjoyable place to stop along the Hudson River. We decided on Ole Savannah Southern Table and Bar for our early dinner on Tuesday, 07/20/21.
Our first view of Kingston, NY, coming in on Rondout Creek.There are multiple examples of boat relics along the banks of Rondout Creek….This one could be a river-cruiser’s dream of a fixer-upper. It could either carry passengers or be one heck of a live-aboard for a single owner! 😉There are also beautifully-restored and maintained boats to be seen on Rondout Creek. Here, Legacy is tied right behind this boat, Belle Aventure, along the wall at the Hudson River Maritime Museum Marina’s transient docks. We watched workmen constantly restoring her massive teak exterior while we were there.This school is right next to our marina, along the historic Kingston, NY, waterfront.This is an example of the school’s teachings that sat between our boat and this night’s dinner location.Where we enjoyed an early dinner in Kingston, NY, on Tuesday evening, 07/20/21.
