We visited the Hudson River Maritime Museum on a rainy afternoon, so we were limited to viewing…read moreonly their indoor exhibits. The facility was surprisingly large with a massive breadth of information, most of which was left for you to read (if you did not take the guided tour), though there was some video content as well. Some of the modeled recreations were rather old and not very detailed, but the authentic items on view were very interesting. Overall, it was a decent way to spend an hour or two, but I would not say that you would NEED to go out of your way to visit (at least from the indoor perspective).

A fun little place packed with details of the fascinating story of the majestic, historic, and…read moreprosperous Hudson River and environs. Right on the waterfront dock where some of it happened. For those interested in understanding the geographical, maritime, Native American, commercial, socio-economic, and cultural impact of this region it is well worth the visit!!!!

My wife and I first came here during the pandemic but we only looked around quickly, but for my…read morebirthday we decided to come back with our toddler. As a railfan hopping to learn about trolleys, I was very disappointed with the whole experience. First off, their phone message said that they opened at 11AM so when we arrived a little early and couldn't get in I was confused. I called them from the parking lot and someone answered, told me they were in a Board meeting, the message was wrong, and that they didn't actually open until 12. So, we killed time in the area. Second, to get to the "museum" you have to climb steps. A lot. I am young and didn't mind but this isn't an easy musem to access. And once you are inside, it is underwhelming. It was pretty dark overall inside. They have a gift shop of sorts, with stuff for sale scattered all over. A G scale trolley track was along the ceiling but it wasn't running. A non-operational section of an O scale layout was in the back corner but it was torn up and in disarray and featured diesel engines, not trolleys. A part of a donated transit bus cab was available for kid cameo pictures. A movie was playing in a back corner, near a storage bin for some Brio trains. And they had some displays on the wall. As a train museum it was bad, but as a Trolley museum it was worse. I didn't learn much of anything about trolleys, and most of what was inside including the toys for sale were just general train things. Third, moving outside they have a collection of transportation equipment in various stages of display and decay. I counted two transit buses, five different types of rapid transit/subway (two you could go into, that was neat), one whitcomb diesel engine, and a couple random pieces of stuff. Including the vehicle we rode in, there were two "trolleys" total that I could see and one of those was a PCC car. From what I could see, they are a transportation museum, not a trolley muesum. Fourth, the ride. They said it ran every hour on the hour. We boarded at 12:15 and then went the short distance into town. We sat in town about 10 minutes (we were told they were training a new crew member) and then we rode back to the museum and stopped again. Finally, we trundled out to the end of the pier and arrived at 1PM. We got off and had a picnic lunch and picked up the next trolley at 2PM. The ride was just okay. I don't know a lick about Kingston and would loved to have heard someone tell us about the area we were passing through; or the history of trolleys in the area; or a bit of information about trolley we were riding (like why it had belt driven wheels, or why it wasn't running on overhead catenary, etc.) Or why we should care about the museum and/or the area itself. The three emplyees standing in the front of the car blocked all view out the front... which arguably is just as interesting as out the sides. In sum, if this is supposed to be a trolley museum it should be a MUSEUM about TROLLEYS. The first part requires there to be a public education element. If it is only supposd to be a form of public transportation from the village to to the pier that is fine with me... it is a neat idea. But that isn't a museum. And, if its focus is supposed to be trolleys (as its name implies) it is struggling with that. I know why they don't have overhead catenary and why the car was running on diesel, but does the public? Do they (museum and/or public) care about this distinction? I dunno, but after driving an hour to get here I was disappoitned. Now, the staff were very friendly. They let Harrison pet their dog inside the museum (!), they let him stomp on the foot bell lever in the trolley, and they made him feel welcome. And they thoughfully opened the trolley windows during the ride and the breeze felt great. But those were the highlights of the visit.

The Trolley Museum was very interesting and the Trolley ride was so much fun! The staff is great…read moreand very well informed. Amy was very helpful and friendly and made it fun!. The museum is very child friendly and the ride is very entertaining. It is a great way to spend an afternoon. We will definitely go back.

I was in Kingston, New York recently and visited the newly-opened, fascinating and educational…read moreInternational Museum of Dinnerware Design (IMoDD). Establish in 2012, with pop-up exhibits in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the IMoDD's mission is to collect, preserve, and celebrate masterpieces of the tabletop genre created by leading artists and designers worldwide. The museum invites visitors to step back in time and experience the nostalgia of gathering around the dinner table. Located in a wonderful building on Broadway, the IMoDD is currently presenting two exhibitions. The first is a curated exhibition of Dining Grails where there are more than 100 fabulous tabletop objects by leading industrial designers and contemporary artists such as Eva Zeisel, Russel Wright, Roy Lichtenstein, Eddie Dominguez and Pop-up book illustrator Robert Sabuda. Another exhibition, Dining Memories offers a chance to remember cherished dining experiences through intimate vignettes such as picnics, Mid-Century TV dinners, diner moments, tea aboard the Queen Mary, the art of highchair fine dining, and more. Their "á la carte gallery" allows visitors to try the "tablecloth trick" - pulling a tablecloth out from under a table full of dishes! The IMoDD gift shop is stocked with books, vintage dinnerware and other items to take home as a reminder of your visit. Support small museums and visit the wonderful International Museum of Dinnerware Design!

This small and unique collection is worth a stop in Kingston. Permanent pieces varied from…read moretraditional to avant garde and the special exhibit showed more than a dozen themed installation works.

Beautiful property right on Hudson River, well preserved, well maintained home, informative tour…read moreguides/staff.

There seems to be two parking lots. One for the grounds and trail and one for the tour. Both have…read moreaccess to everything. If you need handicap parking drive up to the house. It's $11 for adults. Buy the ticket on the side of the house. Look for signs. The tours are self guided with docents stationed in each room. The tickets are sold in the gift shop. During holiday they have cider and cookies ( nothing special). Start with some info before the 7 min video. It's bad quality but what do u expect from 1986?!? They have the old house floor plans and pictures of the family tree. The main house is amazing but access/tour is only the first floor. People seem to complain but honestly it's a small preservation organization that are doing their best to restore and have mainly volunteers working. The grounds are lovely. Spring looks better. And was told every two years has some artist sculpture event. Winter has xmas decorations.

Visiting Kingston for the weekend and it's so lovely in the Fall! Highly recommend buying tickets…read morefor the Hudson River Cruises and sailing along the Hudson, so pretty!

Folk House collective is a great example of interesting works a collection of artworks that have a…read moreunique style!

Lovely historic home and museum. Parking was a little far and you have to cross a busy street but…read moreit's worth it.

Nice little museum, and excellent tour of the home of the first New York State Senate. The tour…read moreguide was very knowledgeable about the site and the latest historical theories about. She was friendly and polite and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

A very sturdy…read morelighthouse The first lighthouse built in this area was back in 1838. The ship traffic was increasing dramatically as steamboats became more popular and a lighthouse was definitely needed. Unfortunately the wooden structure wasn't up to the massive ice floes and storms that hammer this area and was soon in very poor condition . So a new and much stronger lighthouse was built with stone and reinforced concrete pilings. Over the years the ice once again proved too much for even this stronger light. Parts were removed and brought over to the Bristol lighthouse in Rhode Island and eventually the rest of the second lighthouse was demolished in 1953. In 1915 a third and even stronger lighthouse was built. It had a 4th order Fresnel Lens, a 1,000 pound fog bell and stood over 48 feet high. It served the shipping of the area well for decades. It was automated in 1954 but even this light took a pounding for the storms, cold and massive ice floes and was eventually abandoned and left to the wind, ice and elements. Fortunately a group of lighthouse lovers decided to do something about it and started a restoration project in 1984 and rebuilt and furnished the light and house to it's 1930 look. They certainly did a lovely job and the light is now as in excellent condition. The lighthouse is presently a museum and tours go out there on occasion to give a glimpse of what it was like living in a lighthouse surrounded by water. An impressive lighthouse that will continue to please and educate people for a long, long time.

6/26/26: Staatsburgh can give many of the Newport mansions a run for their money…read more On the drive up to the mansion, you'll see a beautiful sculpture of Diana the huntress. We made reservations online. Upon entry, you'll check in and pay at the gift shop in the rear of the estate. Lindsay was very helpful. Inside the gift shop, there's wonderful items for serving tea and historical books on area mansions. Our wonderful docent was Faith. She was so passionate and highly knowledgeable of all the estate decor and family history. Think Faith is one of the best docents ever! The tour group starts out in a very low-keyed way. During that time, you're learning about the history of the estate in a fun way. Out of nowhere, the Gilded Age Opulence appears. YOU'RE WOWED! Unfortunately, Staatsburgh doesn't receive the accolades like the other well known area mansions. If you're going to see one estate in the area, make it Staatsburgh!

The Staastsburgh Estate grounds are simply beautiful, expansive and extremely well maintained. The…read morelong canopied tree-lined paved driveway winds its way up to the mansion and down to and along the Hudson River. There is a smaller unpaved road that leads to the carriage house and around to several gardens and eventually up to the front entry way of the mansion. We didn't go inside as we had spent 40 minutes walking the grounds but plan to do so on a future visit.