Seven day trip ideas for fall break, no car required

Staying on campus this fall break? Escape the Barnard bubble by exploring somewhere new in or around the city.

Photography by Alina Wang/The Barnard Bulletin

By Serena DiDio

October 31, 2024

It’s a classic post-midterms tale: fall break arrives and you realize you’ve barely left Morningside Heights in weeks after hopping from dorm to class to the library and back again.

If you’re staying in the city over break, consider venturing to these three nearby areas (no car required!) and explore seven notable locations handpicked just for you.

The Hudson Valley

Near campus sits the Harlem-125th Street Station, where frequent Metro North trains take New Yorkers up the picturesque Hudson River. Off this line lies two notable destinations: the neighboring towns of Beacon, New York and Cold Spring, New York, both under 90 minutes from Harlem. A 15-minute bus ride on the M60-SBS will drop you right by the station, where a round-trip, off-peak ticket to Cold Spring costs $30.50 and one to Beacon costs $35.50. You can purchase tickets conveniently with the MTA TrainTime app.

In Cold Spring, you’ll find a quaint main street of independent shops housed in red brick ivy-covered buildings, right by the train stop. Spend a few hours wandering in and out of antique stores, boutiques, and even a cheese shop. The main street leads to a riverfront park with dramatic views of surrounding mountains.

If breaking a sweat is more your vibe, there are numerous Hudson Highlands State Park trailheads within walking distance of the Cold Spring station. Alternatively, take the train one more stop to Breakneck Ridge, a dedicated station for hikers operating on weekends. Follow the trails for stunning views of the Hudson River and fall landscape.

Up in Beacon, one stop after Breakneck Ridge (or Cold Spring, on weekdays), you’ll find another friendly main street a short walk from the station. If you’re craving coffee, try Bank Square Coffeehouse, a popular cafe with a large indoor-outdoor seating area whose maple cinnamon latte I really enjoyed. Unique to Beacon, however, is Dia Beacon, a nearly 300,000-square-foot contemporary art museum located in an old factory. The museum is another short walk from the station and houses an impressive collection of sculptures, paintings, and installations in a maze of giant galleries. Student tickets are $12. 

Northern New Jersey

If going upstate isn’t your speed, maybe you want to venture west to New York’s spirited neighbor, New Jersey. As someone from the state, I’ll admit that our most easily accessible nature reserves from NYC aren’t quite as picturesque as the Hudson Valley. So, instead of touching grass, how about touching racks of clothes? 

A 20-minute bus ride from Port Authority Bus Terminal, the over 200 retail shops at the American Dream Mall aren’t even the most impressive thing about it. The massive complex also hosts an indoor theme park, water park, ski slope, aquarium, and other family-oriented activities, though tickets to the various attractions aren’t cheap. If you want to save money, go at off-peak times for reduced tickets, use the pay-per-ride option, or just stick to the mini-golf course. Then, spend the rest of the day window-shopping, people-watching, and gawking at the shiny new exemplar of American consumerism. 

Not into the chaos of a mega-mall? Consider walking across the George Washington Bridge to Fort Lee, New Jersey! Located right across the GWB on the NJ side, Fort Lee is known for its large Korean-American community, as well as a smaller Japanese-American population. The downtown has an abundance of Korean and Japanese restaurants, including multiple K-BBQ places and a conveyor belt sushi joint, Kura Sushi, where you order each sushi piece on a screen and a restaurant-wide conveyor belt delivers it right to your table. Sure, you can get delicious Korean and Japanese cuisine right here in Manhattan, but going to Fort Lee is about the journey as well as the destination. Also, the food is cheaper. Take the 1 train to 168th street, stop by the Little Red Lighthouse, enjoy panoramic views of Manhattan, New Jersey, and the Hudson as you cross the GWB, and the food will taste even better after the adventure.

Brooklyn

Believe it or not, Brooklyn has more to offer students than Bushwick nightlife. NYC’s second-largest museum, The Brooklyn Museum, is a one-hour trip door-to-door right off the 3 train. With a massive collection of historic works from around the world as well as contemporary exhibitions, it is absolutely worth visiting, especially if you’ve gotten bored of the Met (if that’s even possible). Go on a Sunday to also hit the pop-up artisan market outside the museum. Student tickets are $14, and if you’re 19 and under, admission is free. Sorry, juniors and seniors!

Another Brooklyn institution you may have never visited before is an exotic, Swedish cultural export: the Red Hook IKEA. Now’s your opportunity to pick up those random dorm items you convinced yourself you actually can live without because you were too lazy to go out and buy them, but have since realized you actually do kind of need… or just wander around trying to pronounce the Swedish names. Of course, you can't forget about the restaurant, where you can enjoy views of downtown Manhattan over meatballs or salmon with mashed potatoes and lingonberry sauce. Before you leave, pick out some charming Swedish holiday decor that your suitemates will love, and some chocolate for the road. Marabou, Daim, or Karl Fazer are authentic Nordic options. 

From getting out into nature to wandering around a museum, the greater NYC region has somewhere to go for your perfect fall break day. Midterms have never felt so far away.