Small towns and wide open spaces are core to the magic?and myth?of the United States. To celebrate that, we?re turning our lens on the wildly diverse areas outside of the cities we cover, from the sweeping deserts of southern California to the sylvan hiking trails of Western Massachusetts, to bring you intel on where to go and what to do in some of America?s most scenic regions.
Want to time travel in Palm Springs" Road trip from New Orleans to Houston" Take in contemporary art in a world-class museum in rural Massachusetts" Our series of tell-all guides has you covered. ?Asad Syrkett

Johnny Fogg

Johnny Fogg

The Curbed guide to the Hudson Valley and the Catskills
As the weather turns warmer, New Yorkers begin to think about escaping the particular hell that is summer in the city?sweltering days, sweaty bodies in crowded subway cars, overpowering trash smells. And naturally, many of them will make the scenic drive (or Metro-North ride) along the Hudson River to the Hudson Valley and the Catskills. New Yorkers have long flocked to these regions in search of respite: The painters of the Hudson River School were inspired by the natural beauty of the Catskill Mountains, while Gilded Age tycoons (including the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers) fled chaotic 19th-century New York and built palatial estates in some of the small towns along the river.
While those elements?the pastoral landsc...