Explore: New Paltz (by Day)

Whenever I talk about New Paltz, I can’t help but mention hippies. Hippies everywhere. Much like Woodstock, the area is known for the makeup of it’s community, but as a Marist student who had never really been, I felt almost ignorant for just assuming that if I went to New Paltz, I would be bombarded with messages of peace, love and drugs. Though I did find New Paltz to be a peaceful place surrounded by some beautiful Valley scenery, I also found myself to love the atmosphere. I guess the only thing that was missing from my day trip was the drugs. I consider that a success. Now, onto our itinerary:

You’ll find plenty to do on the Main Street strip, pictured above. We didn’t even find reason to venture off of Main St during our afternoon visit!

Make sure you come hungry; there are plenty of unique places to eat. You can see in the picture above a little dive called “Rock Da Pasta.” It looked decked out in tie dye, and the menu had a huge variety of pasta dishes. Though we didn’t go in to eat, I found out via their Web site that the owners want you to “Rock out while we get the pasta out,” and accomplish this by paying tribute to some great musicians in their seating area. A whopping 85 percent of their menu is vegan or vegetarian, and some gluten free options are available as well. They even offer a tie dyed cheesecake, which more than exemplifies the hippie vibe you’ll get while visiting New Paltz. I’m definitely going the next time I find myself on Main Street.

We also tried the Main Street Bistro. From the outside it looked like a quiet and comfortable place to grab lunch. Once we opened the door, we saw the massive amount of people waiting for a table and opted to try another spot. The wait looked to be about an hour, and more people kept coming in to hop on line. I’ve heard from friends who attended SUNY New Paltz that the Bistro was good; though we didn’t end up eating there, the sheer amount of people that packed the place is enough evidence for me.

Still hungry, we wandered to the end of Main Street and found the Gilded Otter, a microbrewery and restaurant.

Though among the sea of dives and cafes in New Paltz, the Otter seems like more of a formal option, it was definitely the best choice we could have made. The menu had everything, including a variety of seafood options, appetizers and sandwiches. I got a Stone House Melt, which was roast beef and sauteed onions topped with melted mozzarella and fontina cheese. Jaimee got pear Gorgonzola pizza, which featured, “Caramelized Pear, Gorgonzola, Walnuts, Caramelized Onions, Bacon, Fontina & Mozzarella Cheese, baked then topped with Mesclun Mix and Drizzled with Blue Cheese Dressing.” It looked delicious. KP got an 8 oz. bistro steak, and they kept it nice and red in the center, which is just what she requested. We all practically licked our plates clean.

After lunch we wandered around a bit and found ourselves in the Water Street Market, which is basically right across from the Gilded Otter.

It’s a small sidewalk filled with art galleries, antique shops and craft stores. The free gallery was featuring some interesting monkey art on the day of our visit…

We also stopped into a clothing store called Eden, which had some beautiful, albeit super expensive, clothing. I’m not sure whether or not it was handmade, but the price tags certainly made it seem that way. Finally we stopped into a place called Maglyn’s Dream, a gift shop filled with handcrafted, homemade treasures. The woman working there was wonderful, explaining to us where everything in the shop came from, and the significance of some of the pieces. My favorite was a hand carved bed frame, beautifully painted and etched with an inspirational phrase:

It reads “The secret to life is enjoying the pleasures of time.” Imagine waking up to that every morning?

Finally, before we left for the day, we stopped at The Muddy Cup, a cafe in the center of Main St. In terms of their drinks, it’s much like any other privately owned coffee shop. But the vibe they give off is much different. The Muddy Cup is filled with antique looking couches and chairs, and is dimly lit. According to their Web site, the goal of the cafe is to promote an environment  of sharing — sharing your art, your opinion, your voice. Though my friends and I didn’t have much to “share” that day, we still enjoyed some warm lattes on the comfortable recliners before we left New Paltz for the afternoon.

 

New Paltz is just a short, 20 minute drive across the river from Marist (get driving directions here)