Escape From New York to Hudson Valley

Feeling a bit cooped up in your Upper West Side studio?

With the long weekend ahead, New Yorkers might consider getting out of the big city and hitting other parts of the state, where mountains and rivers and lakes dot a much different landscape than the scenery found in Midtown and the Financial District.

According to the New York State Department of Tourism, prime foliage viewing is still going on in the southern parts of the state until the end of October and even into November. So trade in your views of shining metallic facades for bright leaves and rolling hills.

And if you can wait a couple of weeks, the area will become increasingly haunted, with options for making the Halloween season spookier. But if you do go at the end of October, watch out for pumpkins, hay riders and -- who knows -- maybe a headless horseman or two.

Here's a route recommended by the state covering the Hudson Valley, which begins and ends in Westchester County and touches parts of Orange County. The next few weeks should offer prime fall foliage peeping -- and the wealth of parks in the area present ample opportunities to see nature at its finest.

Here's a route you might want to consider:

Drive into the area northwest of White Plains on Route 9 and begin your day in Tarrytown. To get there from Manhattan, take the Henry Hudson Parkway to the Saw Mill Parkway to I-87. Get off at exit 9 and take Route 9 toward Tarrytown.