Upstate Membership Has Its Benefits
Posted by Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025 at 11:19am
Photo courtesy of @mountaintoparboretum and @misscarlarhodes
We love a good membership! We find that when we purchase a membership to a museum or park, we're about 100 times more likely to frequently visit it than if we don't have a membership. Our dream is to have memberships to a few parks and historic sites in each county in the Hudson Valley. As real estate agents, we're often driving and have time to spare because we're early for an appointment. How lovely to have an excuse to stop somewhere beautiful and take a walk (of any length) or be entertained by a new exhibit while providing sustaining funds to some of the organizations we feel make the Hudson Valley and Catskills such a wonderful place to live. Perhaps you, too, would like to put down some tiny roots here and there throughout the region. These are the top five on our own wish list. Let us know if you have another spot you love to visit again and again!
Storm King Art Center
The Appeal: Giant sculptures, 13 miles of trails, a trolley for when we get six miles out and realize that we need to get back to the parking lot ASAP. Also, this is a great place to meet friends coming up from the city since it's lower down in the Hudson Valley.
Memberships: Individual memberships are $75 per year, which gets you free admission to the grounds with discounts for guests. You can come early, 30 minutes before opening, and you and your fellow members will be the only ones in the park. You're also invited to Saturday yoga. A family membership is $175. Higher-level memberships allow you to bring guests free of charge and include invitations to special events.
Minnewaska State Park Preserve
The Appeal: If you are a walker, hiker, or horseback rider, Minnewaska's 85 miles of trails will keep you endlessly entertained. For me, though, it's about the rock formations. We feel like touching them IS touching the earth; hold on long enough and you'll gather some of its strength. Also, we love to watch the rock climbers!
Memberships: Normal admission to Minnewaska State Park is $10/car but you can get in anytime with an Empire State Pass, a steal for just $80; the membership gets you in over 100 NY State Parks. If you’re going to get only one of these, this is the obvious choice.
Olana State Historic Site
The Appeal: Olana is beautiful, and they've added so many trails and attractions (a farm) in the last couple of years, it's more interesting each time we go there. But we also always seem to be passing it! If you're going to the northern part of the Hudson Valley, you're probably going by Olana. Why not be able to stop in as you pass?
Memberships: Olana has a host of membership options. On the lower end, an individual membership that allows access to the grounds and trails is $60 annually. An Artists Circle membership, which includes access to the house and grounds for four people, is $125 per year. The Church Family Circle membership, at $10,000, includes a few small parties per year for your guests - a great way to entertain!
Mountaintop Arboretum
The Appeal: The Mountaintop Arboretum has several miles of trails - a perfect amount for a daily constitutional. The draw is the chance to watch the incredible selection of plants, trees, and shrubs they have (both native and exotic) change with the changing seasons. The trails never look the same twice! The porcupine at the header of this article is a resident.
Memberships: We were sure that the beautiful Mountain Top Arboretum in Tannersville would have a membership fee - it does not! Admission is free, and donations are welcome. So, if you are wandering the back roads, you can swing into the Mountaintop Arboretum and wander the trails for a few hours without a membership.
Staatsburg State Historic Site AKA The Mills Mansion
The Appeal: Of all the great houses along the Hudson, the Mills Mansion has the nicest grounds, in my opinion. Trails spread out from the house, some connecting with the grounds of the Vanderbilt Mansion. Also, the Mills Mansion puts together a fabulous holiday display that's worth the cost of the membership for the year.
Memberships: Memberships include unlimited tours and start at $50/year. Upper-level packages include membership to the North America Reciprocal Museum Association, which allows you admission to over 1,000 museums nationwide.
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