2006Z06

heading to the Catskills from Toronto this weekend and would appreciate some advise from anyone familiar with upstate NY as its going to be nice weather for the RS and the trees may be in color....my honey (wife, not car!! lol) has agreed on doing the trip in the RS!!
Google Maps has a few alternate routes the shortest being through buffalo, I-90 to Albany then south. The longest (only another hour) takes me off I-90 at Syracuse and then south/east through I-81/86. a Third route has me cross at Thousand Islands then south on 12 to Utica continuing east on I90 then south from Albany like the first option.
Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated!

ny991

Where in the Catskills are you going? I would assume you'd like some decent country roads.

2006Z06

Staying in Rhinebeck for a few days....yes nice country roads are the idea..thx!

ny991

The route 12 to Utica will take you down the west foothills of the adirondacks.

My sisters live in Kingston, and I love going there on rte 28 through the Catskills. You can catch that south of the Rte 90 Herkimer exit east of Utica. That will take you right through Cooperstown (baseball hall of fame) and then to Kingston which is on the west side of the Hudson from Rhinebeck.

The Catskills and Adirondacks are both close to peak colors so either way you're good for that.

Jim137a

I would incorporate ride # 7 from this list - The Cherry Valley Highway ( Route 20 ).

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article...es-in-new-york

If you have time - it's not to far from Rhinebeck I'd def try to hit the area around West Point and in particular I'd hit Storm King High ( Storm King State Park )

Here's a few pics of the along Storm King Mountain.

Jim137a

Not sure why the pic of Storm King Highway got rotated so here's one I got from the net.

Enjoy your trip.

evilfij

I90 aka the thruway is as boring as roads get on the east coast and the merge onto 690 at Syracuse is the least safe interstate merge I have ever been on. Probably driven it 50 times. There is a road that runs parallel that is south that I forget that is more interesting. 20 I think. I took it when they closed the thruway for snow. 104 to the north is ok too. Been fairly far on that one. But the one you want is 417 which is close to the PA line. I have never done the whole thing, however, just parts. Anything other than I90 will take forever though and there is not much down by 417 so you are committed whereas 104 and 20 you can get back to I90 it you don’t like the back roads. My knowledge is mostly Syracuse west so others may have better ieads close to the Catskills.

Jim137a

A short day trip from Rhinebeck - Head to the Mountain Brahaus in New Paltz NY. from the Mountain Brahaus set you GPS to Kerhonkson NY - pretty nice ride over the Shawangunk Mountains.

This one turn is worth the trip IMO.

FLGT

Anything fun going on in Rhinebeck??
Actually I am spending day there for first time in a few weeks.
Looks nice

SWK6Cup

Once you get to your destination, take a few minutes and look up a trip to/thru Bear mountain, to the South......your timing through the Catskills should be spot on for the changing leaves/scenery...enjoy the trip!

ny991

If you're into aviation you must check out the Rhinebeck Aerodrome.

http://oldrhinebeck.org/

To the OP, it all depends on how much time you want to spend driving. If it were me, and I had all day, I would go to Syracuse via 90, then south on 81 to Lafayette where you catch Rte 20, then east on 20 to Richfield Springs where you catch Rte 28. Take Rte 28 south to Cooperstown and have lunch on the deck at the Otesaga Resort on the lake. Then take 28 into Kingston and on to Rhinebeck which is about two hours through the Catskills. It's probably 3-1/2 - 4 hours from Toronto to Lafayette, 1-1/2 hours from there to Cooperstown, and then two hours to Rhinebeck.

2006Z06

Guys, thanks for this great info.....looks like the hwy 20 is key.....just changed the oil, and will keep the Waze on for trooper alerts!
other than a speaker that my wife is keen to hear in a town nearby (spiritual, i think....i don't ask too many questions in that department), we're just spending a few days away...were staying at the Olde Rhinebeck Inn, well reviewed but i'll be able to report on that soon enough. i originally thought of staying in Lake Placid (haven't been there since university days) but am glad she's convinced me to make camp further south. The weather looks great over the next few days and i hope to post some pictures. Thanks again guys!

Needsdecaf

Make sure to eat at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park. Also, if you want to go apple picking, there is an awesome orchard in East Fishkill. Great cider donuts.

Have fun driving!

TeutonicCarFan

Should be beautiful this time of year

2006Z06

We'll, spending the afternoon in the beautiful sunshine....what a great weekend and thanks again for the recommendations guys....spent the time exploring on the east side of the river as far up as Hudson and south to culinary institute, east to Millbrook....great towns, roads, historical sites....it's a 7 hour drive for us but I would go further for this experience....we will be back! By the way, they just got Uber in Rhinebeck a few months back and except for no cars back to the BNB on the last night (took a cab) it made dinner more enjoyable with a few drinks and no worries....finally, a shameless pic attached...