Family Activities

The five entries here reflect what makes the Hudson Valley distinctive as a place to bring children: animal sanctuaries where rescued creatures thrive on open acres, museums housed in unexpected buildings—a 110-acre refuge for farm animals in Saugerties, an 85,000-square-foot warehouse of motorcycles in Newburgh—and outdoor theater under the Highland sky in Garrison. Bear Mountain State Park and its Trailside Museums occupy a gentle stretch of the Appalachian Trail, where injured and orphaned wildlife, including black bears and bald eagles, live within reach of a paved walking path. Poughkeepsie offers a children's museum built directly onto the waterfront. These places invite unhurried time: a picnic on sanctuary grounds, an afternoon watching Shakespeare, or the kind of wandering that makes sense when kids are learning.