A Day in Beacon, New York

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Dress: And Other Stories | Sandals: ℅ Marc Fisher | Jacket: Similar | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff | Necklace: ℅ Taudrey

A few weeks ago, I decided to head up to New York City and tag along with my boyfriend on one of his photo shoots. I spent the day catching up with friends in the city, and he spent all day downtown shooting one of the coolest celebrity chef pop-ups in town. 

We were going to spend the rest of the weekend in the city but by this point, we were a little exhausted. I hadn’t been home in a week, and I flew from Chicago to DC, then swung down to Charlottesville, then went up to New York. We both knew we wanted to have a bit more of a relaxing weekend and NYC is not the best place to chill out. My BF grew up in the Hudson Valley, so he suggested that we spend a day in Beacon, New York. It was super, super easy to get to, incredibly quaint and overall a place that I’m dying to visit again. 

How to Get There

Beacon is right off the MetroNorth, and it is only an 80-minute train ride from Grand Central. If you’re driving, it’s about an hour and a half of a drive from New York on the Palisades Interstate Parkway. We ended up driving since my boyfriend takes his car to photo shoots, but we ran into a ton of traffic on the way. Personally, I’d opt for MetroNorth. MetroNorth also has a getaway package where you can buy round trip train tickets and an admission ticket to Dia:Beacon for only $39.50. 

Dia:Beacon

If you take MetroNorth to Beacon, Dia:Beacon will be right next to the station. Dia:Beacon is the quirky art museum where most of these photos above were shot, and it is a must. This one of a kind gallery is housed in an old printing factory and has tons of natural lighting and a variety of exhibits. Beacon itself has plenty of other smaller art galleries in town, but you could spend hours roaming around this spot.

Main Street

After you’re done roaming around Dia:Beacon, head over to Main Street for shopping, food and a quaint-small town environment. Every Sunday from April-November, they have a flea market from 8 am-3 pm, weather permitting, where you can shop pieces from 50+ different vendors. Main Street also has dozens of delicious farm-to-table restaurants, eclectic boutiques, and a pretty incredible distillery. 

Nearby Spots

If you opt to drive or get a carshare up to Beacon, you can easily access other gems in the Hudson Valley. We swung a trip over to Storm King Art Center after we were done strolling on Main Street, and we also took a trip over to nearby Newburgh to try out Graft Cider. You’re also not far from Woodbury Commons if you’re craving some outlet shopping. 

Photos by Tom McGovern