This guide is about the 10 Best Things To Do in Beacon, NY for the perfect day trip from NYC!

Beacon is the perfect place for a day trip from NYC. It’s accessible through Metro-North and is super walkable!
Looking for more day trip ideas? Check out the 10 Best Day Trips from NYC Without a Car!
Here are the 10 best things to do while you’re out in Beacon, NY.
Table of Contents
- Experience the large-scale art at Dia Beacon
- Hunt down vintage and antique pieces at 188 Main
- Play retro arcade games at Happy Valley Arcade Bar
- Shop for home goods & knick-knacks at Little King
- Satisfy your sweet tooth at All You Knead Artisan Bakers
- Taste unique & delicious beers at Hudson Valley Brewery
- Pick out your next read at Binnacle Books
- Savor the unique drinks at Beacon Coffee Co. & Mercantile
- Eat the best burger in town at Meyer’s Olde Dutch
- Hike up Mt. Beacon
10 Best Things To Do in Beacon, NY
I’ve picked out the 10 Best Things To Do in Beacon, NY so that you can make the most out of your precious day trip from NYC!
1. Experience the large-scale art at Dia Beacon

What makes art, art? Ponder this very question at Dia Beacon, which is arguably the most well-known attraction at Beacon, NY.
Dia Beacon is a contemporary art museum with large-scale sculptures and works of art, like the series of 79 paintings by Andy Warhol and the massive spider sculpture.

My favorite was walking through the winding curves of the massive steel sculptures on the basement floor.
There’s also a 25-foot square-shaped hole you can look down upon. Oh, and the blank white walls with string as the frame (yup!).
Dia Beacon was created by the Dia Art Foundation, which was founded to help artists create art that wasn’t limited by its large scale or scope. They picked the right location for that goal: a 300,000 square foot former Nabisco box-printing factory! The space is impressive and floods with daylight from the ceiling windows.

Dia Beacon is a 10 minute walk from the Beacon station and is a great way to start your day trip.
The MTA offers discounted Dia Beacon ticket packages, so I would recommend buying a Dia Beacon package using the machines at the train station! I ended up buying the train tickets on the TrainTime app and just bought the museum ticket using the machine, and got $2 off ($18 tickets!).
2. Hunt down vintage and antique pieces at 188 Main

There’s several vintage and antique shops on Main St, selling old treasures ranging from trinkets and decorations to record shops.
Pop into 188 Main, which has a wide selection of quality antique items, from old cameras, typewriters, dolls and toys, to jewelry and old magazines and car plates.

I was especially impressed by their camera selection, which included old film cameras, digital cameras, a wide Polaroid, and historic box cameras. The owner was also friendly!
3. Play retro arcade games at Happy Valley Arcade Bar

I found myself pounding the keys playing Pac Man, Galaxica, and Street Fighter on the retro game machines at Happy Valley Arcade Bar. The cool part is, the games are still just 25 cents to play!
Happy Valley is also a bar, so it’s definitely an alternative fun thing to do in Beacon, NY at night!

Kids and under 21 adolescents can enter with guardians.
4. Shop for home goods & knick-knacks at Little King

Beacon, NY is the perfect place to get unique kitchen and home goods, as well as browse for interesting knickknacks and gifts. There’s also a variety of clothing shops and boutiques, ranging from ripped flare jeans to baby clothes and floral dresses!

My favorite shop on Main St was Little King, which is an edgy gift shop and cafe. There was an interesting selection of cookbooks, all kinds of colorful kitchenware, cutesy stationary, and even personal care products like sunscreen and cleansing gels.

5. Satisfy your sweet tooth at All You Knead Artisan Bakers
All You Knead has amazing pastries and baked goods. Their chocolate bread pudding is jam-packed with chocolate and has the perfect mix of crispy at the top, chewy in the middle and doughy at the bottom.
Their portions are generous for the price!
Note that there’s no seating here, making it great for a quick pick-me-up!
6. Taste unique & delicious beers at Hudson Valley Brewery

Wow. I was blown away by the delicious beers at Hudson Valley Brewery. There’s a delicious and unique selection of freshly brewed sours and beers. The beers are crafted on premises using the brewing equipment, which can be spotted on the lower floor of the brewery!
There’s so many choices to pick from, but don’t worry: you’ll be able to taste a few flavors before ordering!
The Bloom is a crowd pleaser. You would never believe it’s has 8% alcohol content! The cherry and berry scents of the sour are cheerful without being too sweet.
My personal favorite was the Valley Beer Fall 2022, which was fermented for one year in a wine oak barrel. Upon your first sip, the flavors are musky and funky at first, but transforms into a deep, lingering wheaty aftertaste. If you’re a fan of woody flavors, or nutty roasted flavors like taro and pandan, you’ll love this one!

The Hudson Valley Brewery location is a repurposed warehouse from the 19th century. The venue is modern and minimalist, with white walls against wooden beams. There is plenty of outdoor seating, where you can get a view of the Fishkill Overlook Falls, the small waterfall that marks the end of the main Beacon downtown.
Trying the beers at Hudson Valley Brewery is definitely one of the best things to do in Beacon at night!
7. Pick out your next read at Binnacle Books

Binnacle Books is a charming secondhand bookshop in Beacon. NY. Binnacle has a great selection of books, ranging from art theory, to female authored books, cookbooks and more!
Binnacle is located in a cozy location that looks like a lived-in house from the outside. The inside of the store is just as charming.
8. Savor the unique drinks at Beacon Coffee Co. & Mercantile

Beacon Coffee Co. is a cozy and retro cafe with expertly brewed and varied coffee menu, as well as interesting specialty drinks! The drinks range from flame-brewed Turkish coffee, to the Horchata Latte and spiced hot cocoa. There’s also a ton of espresso options.
Beacon Coffee Co. is a great option if you want to try a memorable drink or are a coffee lover.
The decor screams upstate New York.
Old decorative, patterned ceilings common in New York were repurposed and painted a coppery gold to form the cabinet panels above the barista area. The coppery gold matches the hue of the two large coffee machines.

While you sip your drink, you’ll hear the constant soft flutter of the wall signage, which was inspired by the old train destination displays where the individual letters flip over.
This coffee shop is also a “mercantile,” and you’ll see displays showcasing mugs, watches, home decor and more gifts, which are all available for purchase!
9. Eat the best burger in town at Meyer’s Olde Dutch

The Double Dutch burger at MOD, as the locals call it, has amazing burgers!
The patty was crispy and reminded me of a smash burger. The meat was slightly overcooked, but I dabbed on some of their chipotle fries sauce and it made the perfect juicy combo.
The veggies inside the burger tasted fresh. While I’m not a huge pickle fan, I was a fan of their pickles, which tasted homemade and had just the right amount of tanginess balanced with a crunchy texture.

The fries are on the greasier side, but are still very crispy — they are very satisfying to eat! They were a little salty, but delicious nonetheless.
MOD is definitely one of the best restaurants in Beacon, NY!
10. Hike up Mt. Beacon
Upstate New York is a great escape from the city to go hiking. The 2.4 mile hike up Mt. Beacon takes about 1.5 hours to complete and is totally worth the panoramic views of the Catskills, Beacon Reservoir and of Hudson Valley!
If you make the hike up, you could end your journey at Hudson Valley Brewery, which is conveniently located at the end of the hike up Mt. Beacon.
Is Beacon, NY walkable?
Yes, Beacon, NY is very walkable, making it the perfect car-less day trip out from NYC!
Right after you get off of the Beacon Metro-North station, Dia Beacon is only a 10 min walk away, and the downtown Main Street is an easy 1 mile stretch extending out from Beacon Station.
If you choose to go to Dia Beacon, there is actually a free bus route that will take you from the museum to Main Street (or you can walk 20 min).
How to get from NYC to Beacon, NY
You can take the Metro-North from Grand Central to get to Beacon, NY. This journey takes 1.5 hours and is along the express Hudson Line route to Poughkeepsie. If you live uptown, you can also catch this train at Harlem-125.
If you live in Upper Manhattan, then you can catch the local Metro North from Marble Hill-225 Station and transfer at Croton-Harmon to get to Beacon, NY. The first leg of your journey would be the Hudson Line from Marble Hill headed to Croton-Harmon. Then at Croton-Harmon, you would transfer to the Hudson Line train headed to Poughkeepsie and get off at Beacon.
You can purchase tickets on the TrainTime app and pay via Apple Pay.
10 Best Things To Do in Beacon, NY (Summary)
Beacon is the perfect town for an easy and cozy day trip from NYC without a car! It’s only a 1.5 hour Metro-North train ride away from NYC and has a lot of culture and eateries to offer.
Here are the 10 Best Things To Do in Beacon, NY!
- Experience the large-scale art at Dia Beacon
- Hunt down vintage and antique pieces at 188 Main
- Play retro arcade games at Happy Valley Arcade Bar
- Shop for home goods & knick-knacks at Little King
- Satisfy your sweet tooth at All You Knead Artisan Bakers
- Taste unique & delicious beers at Hudson Valley Brewery
- Pick out your next read at Binnacle Books
- Savor the unique drinks at Beacon Coffee Co. & Mercantile
- Eat the best burger in town at Meyer’s Olde Dutch
- Hike up Mt. Beacon
This article was about the 10 Best Things To Do in Beacon, NY.
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Saving this for when the temperature gets warmer! How many hours would you say to allocate at the museum?
For sure, the wind was cooooold when I visited in Jan! I’d say… probably 2.5 hours! 🙂