Great Drives: New York's Hudson Valley

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George Washington chose this rocky promontory for a fortress to defend the Hudson River from the British. The museum here (845-938-2638, www.usma.edu/museum) contains one of the world's largest collections of weapons, flags, uniforms, and other military artifacts in the world, and the campus is polka-dotted with canons and other weapons dating as far back as the 1812 Spanish-American War.

Antique freaks head for the towns of Cold Spring, Rhinebeck, Millbrook and Hudson on the east side of the Hudson River, and Warwick on the west, each with a quaint, historic and tiny downtown. For handmade crafts, head to Sugar Loaf, founded as a community of artisans in 1749, and still home to candle and soap makers, potters, and quilters (www.sugarloafartsvillage.com).

The two newest Hudson Valley attractions are the DIA Center for the Arts in Beacon (845-440-0100, www.diacenter.org), a sprawling center for contemporary art housed in a former factory, and the Performing Arts Center at Bard College in Annandale, an undulating and spacious facility for theater and ballet, designed by Frank Gehry (845-758-6822, www.bard.edu/pac).

Places to stay in the Hudson Valley

• Beekman Arms, Rte.9, Rhinebeck, 845-876-7077, www.beekmanarms.com. The oldest continuously operating inn in America, opened 1766.

• Bear Mountain Inn & Lodges, Bear Mountain State Park, 845-786-2731, www.nysparks.gov. Comfortably rustic log cabins overlooking a lake

• Mohonk Mountain House, Rte. 44/55, New Paltz, 800-678-8946, www.mohonk.com. Sprawling and historic hotel within a 4500-acre mountain preserve.

What To Drive

My driving choice is the newly redesigned Corvette - classy looking, powerful, fun to drive, especially on scenic Hudson Valley roads, and because Chevrolet has a long history in the area. GM's Tarrytown plant, which ceased operation in 1996, was built originally in 1899 for the production of Stanley Steamers. GM purchased the plant in 1914 and began producing Chevrolet cars and trucks the following year. The factory site is being converted into a housing and parks complex to be called Lighthouse Landing at Sleepy Hollow (yes, there's a lighthouse there - one of six along this stretch of the Hudson River).

Provided by TheCarConnection.com—The Web's Automotive Authority