Climb to the top of an 80-foot-tall derrick fire tower and take in spectacular views of the Hudson Valley's second-best old-growth forest below and the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains beyond. Along with making the climb up the fire tower, visitors can also take advantage of this picturesque destination by hiking or biking any of the forest's 12 miles of trails. To take in the spectacular scenery from two wheels, pick up a rental mountain bike from the Rhinebeck Bicycle Shop.

Step into a landscape painting with a visit to the cradle of American art. Glimpsed by British expatriate Thomas Cole as he traveled by steamship up the Hudson River in the autumn of 1825, the pastoral landscapes of the Catskills and the Hudson Valley were the muses behind the country’s first artistic movement: the Hudson River School. Today, travelers can be inspired by the same majestic vistas that launched the mid-19th-century art movement with a trip along the Hudson River School Art Trail. Not only can art enthusiasts visit Cedar Grove, the former home and studio of Thomas Cole in Catskill, New York, but they can also retrace the footsteps (and brushstrokes) of some of the movement’s most famous artists and paintings. Along with the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, art enthusiasts can visit Frederic Church's OLANA and breathtaking settings captured in Hudson Valley School works in places like Kaaterskill Wild Forest, many of which are located roughly 30 to 40 minutes from Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn. Though not officially part of the Hudson River School Trail, admirers of the style will also want to pay a visit to Locust Grove, the estate of Samuel F. B. Morse. While largely remembered for his invention of the single-wire telegraph and co-development of Morse code, his first and, arguably, greatest love was actually art. One of the founders of the National Academy of Design and a portraitist for the likes of Marquis de Lafayette and former Presidents James Monroe and John Adams, Morse was also heavily influenced by the Hudson River School.

Take flight over the Hudson Valley at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Founded in 1958, this aviation destination is the country's first flying museum of antique aircraft and home to more than 80 vintage aircraft from the Pioneer Era, World War I, and the Golden Age of Aviation. To see aviation history brought to life, visitors can watch the aerodrome's aircraft take to the skies from June through October during airshows each weekend. Guests can even have a genuine barnstormer experience, complete with a helmet and goggles, with a ride in a 1929 D-25 biplane (offered on select days from May through October).