Hudson Valley

Vassar is halfway between New York City and Albany, on the east bank of the Hudson River, within easy reach of the fabled Catskills (where Rip Van Winkle took a snooze), West Point, Woodstock, inspiring landscapes, historic mansions, a 4,000-seat minor-league baseball stadium, apple picking in Red Hook, hiking on the Appalachian Trail, rock climbing in the Shawangunks (the best in the East), tubing on the Esopus, and—only an hour and a half train ride away—Manhattan, Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art, Chinatown, the Village...