If you like art and architecture, you will likely enjoy visiting Opus 40. What is it? A large scale…read moreoutdoor, hand-crafted architectural work of art that took a man near 40 years to carve and construct. At first glance, it seems random. But walk slowly, observe how sight lines of the work draw you to the mountains in the distance and how shadows change the perspective. It's truly a masterpiece of outdoor art. Budget at least an hour to visit and wear comfortable shoes. Roads and parking: unpaved entrance and rather rough parking area. So drive your Range Rover and not your Ferrari to Opus 40 (although some of the country roads nearby provide incredible driving opportunities). Price: $12 on site for adults, $11 online with $1 service charge. Misc tips: (1) Buy tickets online. For two people or more, buying online saves at least a dollar and guarantees entrance on busy weekends. (2) Try to visit in mid-October as the leaves change.

Well worth visiting including the on-site museum. I would say think about the historical context as…read moreto when this was being built.

A must see attraction in the Hudson Valley! A wonderful site with much to offer. The Church 200…read moreExhibition is excellent and the grounds and house are superb!

5/19- 5/20/26 Visits:…read more -5/19/26: We came for the special Fredrick Church 200th b-day exhibit. The paintings were wonderful to view. I'm taking one star off. The male tour guide was underwhelming to say the least. He did admit that it was his first tour. I believe for Church's 200th birthday exhibition, a paying customer would've expected the guide to give an overview on the artist and a description of his paintings. All we received was a a person walking the group into a couple rooms. I even tried to question him about one of the paintings. He basically threw the question back at me. -5/20/26: We took an electric car tour throughout the 5 mile narrow hilly estate. Price $40 and totally worth it! Ellen was our tour guide and driver. Brava to Ellen! She was extremely thorough and knowledgeable about the entire Fredric Church estate. A wonderful gift shop is available on the premises.

Steepletop was poet Edna St Vincent Millay's home before she passed away in 1950. According to the…read morenice man we spoke to here, the Millay Society opened the house and grounds up to the public in 2009-ish. What's here now is the house itself, which is only open for guided tours, the gardens, a small historical gallery with the poet's family tree, photographs, and heirlooms, and a Poetry Trail into the woods, leading to Millay and her family's burial site. Admission was a bit more than I expected, but I'm not sure why (why it surprised me, that is... not why it was more than I thought). Maybe it's just been a while since I've been to a historical site, but it was $10 to view the gallery and grounds; guided tours of the garden or the house would have been $16; and a combination of the two comes to $25. According to the website, reservations are required for the tours. Walking the Poetry Trail alone is free. As you come up East Hill Rd from Rte 22, you'll see the Millay Colony for the Arts on the left. That's not it. Keep going until you see the sign for the Millay Society at Steepletop. The gravel driveway is very tight, but I don't think they get a lot of traffic. There are signs directing you to the side of the house, where you enter and go up some stairs to the office. My friend and I did the gallery/grounds thing. The man working there was amazingly informative and loved to tell us everything he knew, but he was also happy to step back and let us browse on our own. The family tree that sprawled across an entire wall, though it was packed with information, seemed a little chintzy, created with printouts and typed with not always the best grammar -- a bit disappointing for an author's home. In addition to the family history, you can find books from Millay's own collection, a piano she grew up with, a couple of garments -- one real, one a replica -- and a few other family mementos. When we had fully saturated the gallery's displays and our host's brain, he pulled out a big cardboard map to show us the layout of the gardens. It wasn't until then that I realized the building we were in as not the actual Steepletop house. But it was not going to be hard to find. We memorized the map (why they don't have a version you can take with you, I have no idea) and ventured across East Hill Rd and up a soft incline to the house. All we could do was wander around the outside, but we were interested enough to do so. The Millay Society is in the process of restoring both the house and the gardens to their previous condition, and at the moment the gardens are in an odd in-between state where some bits are meticulous and well maintained and others are rustic and overgrown. But the swinging gates, the weather-stained sundial and other stone features, and grassy areas like the one that used to be a circular badminton court all still have a quaint and beautiful feel, even in their disrepair. The swimming pool has seen better days. And hopefully will see better ones to come. One intriguing stop in the garden area was Millay's writing cottage. It's small and musty and was the only building we encountered that didn't have its windows blocked from the inside, so we peeked in. A couple of desks are inside, one with a pile of papers and a composition book. The Poetry Trail is charming. It takes about 20 minutes to roam from the road to the burial area. Every so often, a passage of poetry by Millay appears on a post. The distance between poems is just right for letting the previous one sink in. Eventually we reached the burial site and found Millay and her husband Eugen Boissevain's graves easily enough. Millay's mother, sister, and brother-in-law are supposed to be there, too, but we didn't spot them right away (and it had started raining, so we weren't going to spend much time searching). Millay and Boissevain's flat gravestones were scattered with leaves and fit right into the unmanicured grove. I'm in this area once a year and might try a guided tour at some point. Whether you're a Millay fan or just Millay-curious, this little historic site is worth coming a little bit out of the way to check out.

I had a great experience at Steepletop with a very informed, very passionate guide (and I was lucky…read moreenough to be on a private tour). I did the combo tour of the house and grounds; when I called to reserve my spot, I was told this was the best way to visit, and I can't help but think she was right. The house itself is somewhat small but the outdoor space is substantial. Most of my traveling is for literary tourism and I aim to visit as many author homes as possible. Often, I'm disappointed because the tour makes it seem like any old house, rather than the home of an author. This tour guide was sure to highlight Edna St. Vincent Millay's life, her relationships, and her work. It was much better than what I call an "inventory tour" ("This is a chair!"). I even enjoyed the outdoor walking, though I'm not usually interested in gardens and plantings. This tour made those details seem relevant, rather than just pretty things. Oh, and the most important part: She read poetry! I mean, why visit a poet's home if you don't hear poetry? The price was a bit steep -- which I'm sure is at least partially due to the need for income despite relatively small visitation numbers -- and it really is in the middle of nowhere. It was a tad long (especially because I stayed to watch the film) and some folks might be overwhelmed by the bugs during the outdoor portion. Still, I think it was worth the trip and the fee.

Probably the most interesting art museum in Mass. If you're in the Boston area, it is a bit of a…read moredrive--we turned it into a weekend getaway, and it was worth it. The museum is massive, with tons of exhibits. You'll find a mix of contemporary art, immersive installations, plus regular live performances. We spent hours exploring/wandering. Some exhibits lean abstract or experimental, so it helps to go in with an open mind, but that's part of the appeal. Overall, it's a must-visit, and I hope to come back to catch their dusk/dawn exhibit, which seems to be a staple.

My mom and I were members for a year. I do wish there were more new and frequently changing…read moreexhibits. We have always enjoyed our time there but prefer to go a bit less often so we don't keep seeing the same things. The buildings are so cool but it is large and a little confusing to navigate. As with any art, there's been certain exhibits we've loved and others that weren't as interesting to us. It would be cool to have some more info about what the building used to be and how it used to look. I think the price could be prohibitive for a lot of people or for families. I am not knowledgeable about contemporary art but I like browsing here. We have done one of the free tours before as well. There are some times exhibits and those require advance booking online (the cost in included). This means many times, there were no slots available during the days and times we'd planned to visit. That felt like some people were getting "more for their money" and like we'd missed out. There was a roller coaster that ran once per hour and so I think members got first choice of spots so there was no availability for months (we never did get to experience the ride). There are a few James Turrell experiences that also require pre-registration. This makes it impossible to see them if you do a spontaneous visit.

We came here during our long weekend in Kingston and had a wonderful time! It is a great spot for…read morekids, but us being in our early 20s, we still had a delightful experience. It was very nostalgic and they are both so enthusiastic and knowledgable about Steiff animals. We had so much fun here and learned a great deal. Steve and Nan were so delightful. We had a lovely conversation with them about what we were doing in the area before beginning our tour. The tour was fascinating and takes you through their vast collection of Steiff bears and other animals as well as their history. Before we left, Steve and Nan made sure that we got a picture in the museum and even gave us some recommendations of other things to do in the area. They also have a cute gift shop where you can buy your very own Steiff. And we sure did. Again, this was a fun thing to do while we were in Kingston and would highly recommend it to other travelers!

Definitely interesting, I love a non traditional museum and this was it. It was a rainy day so it…read morefit the bill for an hour's distraction

Hubby and I loved this museum. The layout could be better as it was like a maze but overall we…read morethink they did an excellent job with it. It is free to visit but they take donations. We spent about three hours in the area. They're certainly worth a visit.

I didn't want to write this review, as my December trip to the Capital District was a pleasant…read moredistraction from reality, so this final writeup symbolizes the "end of an era" (three days long but I stretched out the content). The museum does stellar work on the impossible task of capturing New York State. ("How dare they mention the NYC subway but completely ignore the one that used to be Syracuse?! ZERO STARS"). Sesame Street's here, along with clocks, fire engines and a discussion of Albany's rum trade. Not only you can you enter an old-timey train car in the subway exhibit, there's a newsstand with old Post and Daily News copies mentioning the (an?) A-Rod scandal. The best part of the museum, or at least the most photogenic, is the assortment of minerals. The greens and oranges were quite surprising, as was the information that many of the specimens are from downstate. The cartography-inclined will enjoy old depictions of areas like "Lange Eyland."

Took the tour. It feels like you are rushing through - so much information is given. The tour lasts…read moreand hour and it hardly seems enough to cover three floors of house. After the tour we were free to wander at our leisure. The gardens are well manicured. A video in the house shows the history of the property and photos of restoration inside and out. Gives a real appreciation of the restoration work done here. Amazing. The woodland path is lovely, shaded and serene. There were childrens programs going on along the path during our wander. There is also a sculpture event happening with pieces scattered along the paths. Park in the dirt lot by the stables where you can purchase tickets and watch an orientation video. It's about a five minute walk to the house from here. A book walk begins here too-a series of signs, each one page of a childrens book. If you need handicap parking, buy tickets online, drive past the stable and park near the house. Very informative tour. An abunfance of information throughout the house. Cafe with prepared food on the terrace overlooking the grounds. Plan to spend two to three hours.

Checked out the grounds while staying in the area. This is a beautiful and relaxing spot to walk…read morearound. There's also a trail system behind the main house, which is well worth exploring. Plenty of benches to stop and enjoy the gardens. Look forward to returning here to tour the interior.

This place is incredible and extremely child friendly! The volunteers who run the operation are…read morebeyond spectacular and are extremely helpful. I have two under three who were extremely excited for the entirety of this museum. It was a perfect day. We ended up buying a membership and very much look forward to our returns in the future! Be sure to check out their virtual airplane ride it's actually really fun and was one of the highlights for my little guys!

Somewhere hidden inside the Empire State Aerosciences Museum is a great museum trying to get out of…read morethe shell of a tired old one. The collection here isn't the issue per se. The outdoor air park has an enormous number of post-War jet planes and one helicopter, and while they're peeling in the sun and the displays need quite a bit of freshening up, it's an impressive collection of real aircraft, some of which you can peer into the cockpit. They have mostly American, one British, and several Soviet-era aircraft, almost all war planes and mostly fighters. The interior exhibits look like a hodge podge of things amateur enthusiasts have collected over the years, made, and shoved together into a vaguely coherent timeline from the dawn of flight to the early rocket age. It's not good. There are many individually interesting things but they're just too random, and many are quite old, dated, and some broken. Some of it looks like your Grandpa's model plane project after it's been sitting in the attic for 25 years. There is NO sense of curation here, as the displays, interpretation, and artifacts are random; again, it shows the marks of many volunteers and enthusiastic amateurs but without the guidance of professional curation. The collection is divided up into two buildings, one of which is the old GE hangar (a lovely building, somewhat ruined by having had a building within a building constructed on one side) with dusty interior exhibits in the minibuilding and some very random real plane exhibits alongside a bunch of obvious works-in-progress restorations that looks very much like an aviation junk yard. The second building leads out to the airpark, which is fenced in and can only be reached through the second building. What really would make a great museum is if they cut out about 90% of the artifacts, and focused on the local stories -- not even New York aviation as a whole, but starting with the story of the original use of the place, as the GE Aviation Testing Center in 1946, and working their way up to much, much more on the story of the 109th Airlift Wing at the adjacent Stratton Air National Guard base. If the collection focused on that -- even if it meant jettisoning the air park -- there could be a really cool and much more coherent story with both local interest and international importance. There are so many odd and undercurated GE-related historical museums and exhibits around here -- from the Edison in downtown, to MiSci, to the Schenectady County Historical Museum, to this place -- that are scattered about and thus tell an incoherent story about GE's presence in town -- one kind of wishes in the abstract GE would sponsor some kind of master museum just about the history of the place (like the Heinz Center in Pittsburgh, PA) and cleaved off the science museum part. An example of what I consider to be the kind of problem a place like this continues to have: they are currently trying to get money together to get a half-sized model of the SST. What? Whatever for? It's not like it's a real SST, and a half-sized model is just another maintenance headache that I doubt very much will be either a big attraction or key to understanding the story of aviation in New York. Yeah, the SST took off from a New York airport. I'm sure that's the hook. But it's not really the kind of direction this place needs to head. For now, this is a little sad and depressing but for the ardent history buff there's still things to dig out of it, and if you have an aviation-enthused youngster (but not one not already interested, I don't think) they will enjoy it. The front desk staff are pleasant and the small shop, while having not a whole lot of unique local-interest items, is reasonably priced for souvenirs. (I have suggested to them they at least add some models of the C-130s used by the 109th.) No food or drink (an outside cafe with a viewing area to watch the planes take off, with interpretive plaques, would be a big money maker) and extremely rudimentary bathroom facilities (in the second buliding).

Amazing Asian art statue and art collection-- from all over the world. Speak to the owners, they…read moreare so knowledgeable and travel around the world for their merchandise.

We wandered off during one of our days while staying in the Berkshires to come here and take in all…read moreof AsiaBarong's immense art collection. To add, the husband and wife team prove that there's no stopping them. The massive- and I mean jaw-dropping space is the perfect background for showcasing a range of Tibetan sculptures, Balinese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Nepalese, Indian to Kama Sutra and even more items. There are $$$$$ sculptures up the wazoo- but we were substantially below that. Plus, we're not in the market for Asian statuaries or marble items weighing a ton. As an alternative, AsiaBarong has many modest pieces such as Buddhas that I was eyeing- but we have a few in the garden and indoors. Instead, we picked up a very small Xian Warrior sculpture, a black lacquered Japanese vase, hubs picked out a black onyx bracelet for himself and something for our daughter. The price was right and so was the super warm service. She even secured one of the gifts in like a (cleaned) plastic salad container for the ride home. Listen... whatever works.

We visited the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome with family and friends, including a 4-year-old and a…read more2-year-old. It's a great weekend outing -especially on a nice weather day. I wasn't sure the kids would stay entertained through a two-hour air show, but they did (mostly!), and being outdoors definitely helped. The show itself was fun and laid-back, with a loose storyline, impressive stunts, and a nostalgic vibe. You can bring your own food and drinks, or grab something from the concession stand, which was reasonably priced. The small gift shop has cute souvenirs for kids, and the nearby hangars filled with old planes and vehicles were great to explore before the show started. The only downside was that it was a bit hard to hear the narration over the PA system, but it didn't take away from the experience. Overall, a charming, family-friendly day trip worth checking out.

The Aerodrome air show is a unique experience and only available on summer weekends. We came for a…read moreSaturday afternoon show and it's quite kitschy with old-timey music and a seasoned announcer. The show + museum access is about $30/pp. There are a couple of gift shops (one in the air field and one by the museum area), snack stands (CASH ONLY) with hot dogs, burgers, fries, etc., and a workshop. One con is there's no phone signal and no wifi on the premises so it is best to preload any maps if you're not familiar with the area and need gps.