How To Get to the GNC

In the winter, the skiers drive.  Skiers seem to own cars.  With all the equipment, there's not much choice.  In the autumn, the Leaf Peepers rent cars and drive from inn to inn comparing beds and breakfasts from day to day.

In the summer, my guests who are not skiers or peepers are always asking directions and some of their questions are rather obtuse, such as, "If I take the train from Grand Central to Yonkers, can I connect to a train to Hudson?" Yeah, you can, but why not just take a train from Penn Station direct to Hudson?  Or connect Poughkeepsie to Hudson, right across the platform?  In any case, from those of you visiting for the rest of the summer, bookmark this page and refer to it as needed.

1. Trailways Bus to Kingston from Port Authority.  Connect at Kingston for local bus to Phoenica or  Hunter.  I can pick you up in Kingston if the bus is too crowded or you are sitting next to someone objectionable.  I don't mind, and the car ride is much nicer than the bus ride from that point -- Route 23A past the Falls is pretty rather than Route 28, boring.  It's about 45 minutes to my house from Kingston.

2. Amtrak from Penn Station to Hudson.  This is the best choice, but the most expensive.  I can meet your train, we can have dinner at a nice restaurant in Hudson and then come to the mountaintop, about a 40 minute ride.

3. Metro-north to Poughkeepsie.  This is the most frequent schedule, but the longest ride for me to come get you, about 1:15 each way.  If you plan it well, you can connect Poughkeepsie to Hudson, but, as I said, if you do that, why didn't you depart from Penn Station (amtrak) instead of Grand Central (metro north), and skip the connection altogether.

4. Rideshare via Craigslist, at your own risk.  Doable, though, and cheap -- usually, you chip in for gas.  However, many  of these drivers are college kids stopping at New Paltz which doesn't get you here.  Better to find a college kid going to Oneonta -- they come right through Hunter on Route 23A.  Oneonta is about 65 miles down the road, so they can come and use the bathroom.

5. Rent  a car without mileage charges.  Its about 125 miles each way and when you get here, you'll want to sight see so that's more mileage.  Problem with this is summertime traffic going home Sunday night.  Could be a problem if there's an accident or heavy volume on the GWB.  My advice -- come Saturday instead of Friday night and stay over Sunday night and go home Monday morning;  this avoids all the traffic.

6. Limo or radio-dispatch car one way.  If you can get a good half-day flat rate, this can work.  A good driver can make it round trip in 5 hours, so if you can get a good rate for 4 passengers it works out cheaper than peak Amtrak tickets to Hudson x 4.

7. Hitchhike -- not recommended.  Unreliable as to elapsed time and company. Risky.

8. Flying to Albany or Stewart doesn't really work unless you are coming from a long distance.

9. However, helicopter works great, as there is a heli-pad about 1/4 mile from my house.  You can walk to my house from the helipad.  If you are serious about this method, let me know and I will send you the GPS coordinates of the pad.  You can see it clearly on Google maps, just west of my address.

10. Your idea here.  I am amazed at some of the ideas my friends suggest, so if you think of something else, please comment and I will list it here. Zip-car counts as rental; roller blades and bicycles are not considered serious alternatives, even for those of you who can ride a century.

However you get here, it is a great pleasure to have you as a guest.  Enjoy all the GNC has to offer.

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