It’s a good bet you and a slew of other Lower Hudson Valley residents have skipped town — or will soon.
Maybe it’s to trek to Block Island, Rhode Island’s south shore, Newport, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, the Hamptons, the Jersey Shore, or other spots. Data several years ago showed where Nantucket’s summer visitors come from: Westchester County was among the more sizeable dots on the map.
But what restaurants and attractions can be found off the beaten path in those summer destinations? And if slogging through traffic to get there, where to stop along the route for a lobster roll, fish n’ chips or fried clams — just to stay in the traveling mood?
Here’s a guide to some gems in the typical vacation spots, culled from online searches, online travel guides, commenters’ recommendations and various published articles. (If skipping the driving, JetBlue goes to Nantucket from Westchester County Airport. And Seastreak’s ferry service, which you can board in Manhattan, makes multi-hour trips to points including Long Island, Rhode Island, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket).
A taste of Connecticut: About 62.6 miles from Westchester
You hit the highway, bound for lobster rolls and clambakes, only to get mired in traffic right out of the gate. So, maybe take a break (and get a preview of what you’ll be eating soon anyway). Some possibilities:
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Rowayton Seafood: About 14 miles east of Port Chester, it’s a Rowaytown, Connecticut, waterfront restaurant on the Five Mile River, a Long Island Sound inlet, and has a store selling seafood. Takeout includes a $12 bowl of New England clam chowder and a $34 lobster roll, either hot with butter (Connecticut style) or cold lobster-salad-filled with mayonnaise (Maine style). Also nearby are several Lobster Craft locations – one is in Greenwich, the first exits out of New York (for those who can’t wait a mile more for vacation to start).
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Abbotts Lobster in the Rough: In eastern Connecticut’s Noank, 105 miles up I-95 from Port Chester, it’s the sort of outdoor lobster spot that screams New England and is famed throughout the area. Go a little farther up, and drop into historic Mystic, where online buzz has pointed people to Sift for artisanal pastries and breads.
South County shoreline sure to please: About 132 miles from Westchester
Rhode Island vacation locales tend to be in two areas: South County shoreline communities such as Watch Hill, Charlestown, and Narragansett and, on the state’s eastern side, waterfront places such as Newport and Little Compton. And, of course, Block Island. They call it the Ocean State for a reason.
Watch Hill, an affluent enclave in Westerly, just over Connecticut’s border, includes Taylor Swift among homeowners, the USA TODAY Network’s Providence Journal reported. Watch Hill has premiere places such as five-star resort Ocean House, but also hidden gems such as Flying Horse Carousel. It’s said to be the country’s oldest, continuously operating, free-flying carousel.
There’s also the ruins of Fort Mansfield at Napatree Point, and several galleries and antique stores.
In low-key Charlestown, along with plenty of beach there’s Ninigret Park, with its playground, ballfields and courts, a bicycle trail, swimming area, and nature observatory. Check out the town’s trails for hiking, including Charlestown Moraine Preserve and Tucker Woods Preserve. The town also has an indigenous-cuisine restaurant whose chef was recently a James Beard-awarded best chef winner. The eatery, Sly Fox Den Too, also made USA TODAY’s list of best restaurants in the country earlier this year.
Narragansett has the town beach and its iconic The Towers, and other sandy expanses such as Scarborough State Beach. There’s also Point Judith Lighthouse, built in 1816.
Fly or drive from Lower Hudson Valley: Summer travel ideas for foodies, dog-lovers and more
Block Island or bust: 171 miles from Westchester
About nine miles off the mainland, Block Island is named for a Dutch explorer and officially the town of New Shoreham.
If catching the Block Island Ferry from Narragansett’s Point Judith, there are various areas to park and leave the car and go aboard, the USA TODAY Network’s Providence Journal reported. One type of ferry — which carries cars (for which reservations are hard to come by unless done well in advance) but also people going without a car — takes about an hour to get there. A fast ferry — no cars — does it in about a half-hour.
You arrive on island, and the Victorian-style National Hotel catches the eye. And, over at Ballard’s beach resort, there’s the “Naked Lobster” lobster roll.
But for something off the touristy path, go to the Block Island Historical Society. A number of events are coming, including an Aug. 15 “Moonlight Cemetery Tour,” for which tickets are $25, and an Aug. 29 “The Battle of Point Judith” event that is free and focuses on a perhaps lesser known fight between U.S. and Nazi Germany ships in which a U-Boat was sunk off Point Judith, Rhode Island, in 1945.
There’s also the simple gem of a great view: Head to the Mohegan Bluffs, which gazes toward Long Island’s eastern tip.
Pretty nice in Newport: 167 miles from Westchester
In the state’s East Bay, there’s famed Newport, where late-19th-Century, Gilded Age wealth — think Vanderbilts and Astors — built massive Bellevue Avenue “summer cottages.” These mansions are now museums, open for tours through the Preservation Society of Newport County. Grandest of all is the Breakers. Tickets are $29 for an adult and $10 for ages 6 to 12.
Whether you tour any of those, you can always walk along a path — for free — that runs along the coast to catch the mansions and their great lawns, with the craggy rocks and waves to the other side. For swimming, beaches in Newport and neighboring Middletown abound.
Premier Newport places to stay include the Castle Hill Inn, which overlooks the water, and the Francis Malbone House. But as with any of the hot vacation spots, reservations may be needed. Among other inns, hotels and bed and breakfasts is a lighthouse you can stay in, with reservations: The Rose Island Lighthouse.
For eats, there’s Brick Alley Pub, the The Mooring, and The Red Parrot. Others include Giusto, Scratch Kitchen & Catering, and Franklin Spa.
On the way in or out of Newport, consider stops in Warren and Bristol, two historic towns with notable architecture, and dine at various locations of Blount’s fried-clams and other seafood excellence.
Keep calm on Cape Cod: About 238 miles from Westchester
Massachusetts’ Cape Cod National Seashore is about 68 square miles, with nearly 40 miles of beaches. Its famous hook shape seen on maps, the cape runs from towns such as Bourne and Sandwich to the northernmost Provincetown.
A few gems away from all those beach days:
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10.7-mile Shining Sea Bikeway, which affords view of Vineyard Sound, cranberry bogs and more. It runs from Falmouth. to Woods Hole
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Nobska Lighthouse, features several “twilight tours” in August, in Woods Hole
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Whydah Pirate Museum, Opened in 2016, its website said it “houses the largest collection of pirate artifacts recovered from a single shipwreck anywhere in the world.” West Yarmouth, admission from $18.
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John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, which focuses on Kennedy and his family’s connection to Cape Cod.
From Cape Cod’s Hyannis or Woods Hole, catch a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket, either by the quasi-public Steamship Authority or the private Hy-Line.
Cape Air flies people to the islands (in little planes), also from Hyannis.
Make merry in Martha’s Vineyard: About 252 miles from Westchester
Seven miles off Cape Cod, it’s been a favored spot of celebrities, literary titans, and former Presidents Barack Obama and (Westchester County’s) Bill Clinton. “The Vineyard” has six towns — from Edgartown to Chilmark to Aquinnah — and is where much of Steven Spielberg’s classic “Jaws,” with its fictional Amity Island, was filmed.
Places such as The Black Dog are well known, and check out the gingerbread houses in Oak Bluffs. But culled from online articles and commenters, here are their suggestions of spots worth checking out:
As for any debate over the island’s lobster rolls, several online folks touted Menemsha Fish Market.
Nantucket is never a bad idea: About 269 miles from Westchester
Thirty miles off Cape Cod, the hook-shaped island with cobblestoned downtown streets is a town, island and county all in one, and a key setting in Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.” Melville called it an “elbow of sand.” President Joe Biden and family spend Thanksgivings there. The ferry brings you into the harbor, with Brant Point lighthouse greeting you.
Surfside Beach is a busy, louder spot. And catching sunsets in the island’s Madaket section is renowned, but the area is probably packed. (If you go for the sunsets, stop at Millie’s for eats and drinks).
For something popular but more forgiving, give Cisco Beach a try. It’s known for impressive surf. It now has a main parking area. No promises, but another possible Cisco place to park: If riding a bike, driving, or riding the Wave (the island’s bus service that goes to points all over the island), head south on Hummock’s Pond Road, go left onto Heller Way, then right onto Austine Locke Way. Toward the end of that, people have been known to find parking and walk to the beach.
For a gem, check out what the Maria Mitchell Association offers. See the stars from its two observatories. Visit its aquarium, and learn about Maria — pronounced Mariah — a 19th Century astronomer, naturalist and educator who even discovered a comet known as “Miss Mitchell’s Comet.”
Coming out of downtown, go south about 6.5 miles on Milestone Road to ‘Sconset (what everyone calls the village of Siasconset): The dainty cottages, covered in roses at points during summer, are not to be missed.
For dining, SeaGrille has been known to offer great food that both year-round islanders and summer visitors love. For affordability, there’s the Downy Flake — have the doughnuts — and Faregrounds. At the high end are places such as Cru, which deposits diners out on a dock, The White Elephant, and Toppers at the Wauwinet, the latter two also being prominent hotels.
Prefer to stay in NY? Have a Hamptons weekend
You’re Hamptons-bound. Packed with celebrities and the Northeast’s most expensive houses (one’s listed for $125 million) — and known for traffic jams on the way that put the looonnnng in Long Island Expressway — the East End offers hidden gems, too.
Check out the Pollock-Krasner House, where artist Jackson Pollock lived and work and now a museum, in the hamlet of Spring.
Or go to LongHouse Reserve, a 16-acre expanse with outdoor sculptures — all told, more than 60 outdoor works.
Affordability is very relative in the Hamptons, but for dining on online recommendation is Estia’s, in Sag Harbor.
High-end eateries include Nick & Toni’s, in East Hampton; Topping Rose House, an inn and restaurant in Bridgehampton; 1770, an East Hampton restaurant and inn; and Almond in Bridgehampton.
As for lobster rolls, purveyors include Bostwicks Chowder House and Duryea’s.
Headed the other way? Try the Jersey Shore: 116 miles from Westchester
You drove the other direction out of Westchester — venturing “down the shore” in New Jersey. That means destinations such as Point Pleasant, Sea Isle City, Brigantine, Spring Lake, and Avalon. It’s about 141 miles of oceanfront, from Perth Amboy to Cape May.
Besides the famed boardwalks, beaches and Cape May’s Victorian houses, online guides and articles suggest some under-the-radar things to check out:
The Visitors Center opened in May of 2015, and contains exhibits that highlight the natural beauty and historical significance of the park.
If you want to swim in New Jersey but skip the traffic, the USA TODAY Network’s Bergen Daily Record has a list of non-Jersey Shore alternatives.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Weekend road trip out of Westchester NY: Where to stop, what to see
