The colors, aromas, and sites of Fall: Beer, Cider, and Golden Leaves… October is the height of leaf season, and if you haven’t made your plans yet, there is still time! Whether it’s gorgeous drives through winding roads, apple picking, cider tasting, brewery hopping, or hiking among the golden hues, The Millbrook Inn is the perfect place to retreat to and relax at the end of a gorgeous Fall day.
WHAT TO DO THIS OCTOBER IN THE HUDSON VALLEY
Fall Festival with Fishkill Farms and Treasury Cider
Every weekend through October, enjoy wagon rides and apple picking through their stunning, 50-year-old organic heirloom orchards; pumpkin patches; live music; corn maze for a cause; local food trucks; hard cider tastings from their tree to bottle cider company, Treasury Cider; and Fishkill Farms’ locally-renown cider donuts. Fishkill Farms is only a short drive from the inn, and the festival is really charming way to experience a day in the Hudson Valley.
Craft Breweries
There are so many craft breweries in the Hudson Valley, there is a map dedicated to them!
We always rotate the local brews on our menu at The Vintage, but some of our nearby favorites include The Sloop Brewing Company, Hudson Valley Brewing Company, and the pastoral Plan Bee Farm Brewery.
Stop by and enjoy one at our bar, or visit them directly, and do a tasting!
PERFECT DAY NEAR MILLBROOK: HIKING AND A HUSBAND’S FOOD TRUCK
Dover Stone Church Preserve, in nearby Dover Plains, is a small-town preserve, with moderate walking, steps, and several trails of different lengths. The reason to go is the scenic cavern and waterfall at the end of the trail called “The Dover Stone Church”, not a church at all, but an extraordinary cave-like natural formation with a 30-foot waterfall cascading into a pool of water that flows through and then out of the cavern entrance.
The Dover Stone Church Visitor’s Guide provides a history and description of the site, including a map showing designated parking areas and the access path to the trailhead. After working up an appetite through the nature preserve, head on over to Kelly’s Creamery and Kelly’s Husband’s Truck: the couple who turn out both a amazing crazy ice cream flavors, and amazing Ahi Tuna burgers in the food truck parked in their parking lot. It seems “down and dirty”, but its not: the creamery is a charming ice cream shop, with dozens of flavors, mix-ins, and cones; the food truck is next door with a lovely open barn structure with picnic tables underneath. If you’re game, mini putt-putt awaits diners in the back.
A PEEK INN-SIDE OCTOBER: SHADY KNOLL APPLE FARMS AND DISTILLERY
On a farm that dates back to the 1700’s, the latest stewards, the Kneipper-Richards clan, are turning over 120 varieties of apples from their orchards into award winning Rye, Whiskey, Brandy, and other apple spirits. They are truly “tree to bottle”, doing all the processing, distilling, barrel-aging and bottling on their farm. We love using their spirits all year around, but especially in the fall and winter, when we go apple-cocktail crazy! Take this cocktail, for instance, our Harvest Royale, to celebrate the apple harvest: one part Pommeau, which is best described a slightly alcoholic apple cider; and 3 parts bubbly.
Garnish it with a sugar rim that is accented with cinnamon and fresh vanilla bean, and this is one “apple a day” we can definitely live with! Shady Knolls gives great tours and tastings, which we will gladly set up for you, or you can contact them on your own.