So usually is New York City referred to easily as “New York” that it is easy to overlook that the Big Apple—town to finish all cities, make no mistake—does not even start to comprise all that the bigger state has to supply. I studied in Poughkeepsie myself, and a chorus usually heard amongst fellow college students was that we have been so fortunate to be located in and surrounded by “the scenic Hudson Valley,” a phrase touted ad nauseam in catalogs advertising the virtues of our liberal arts college. The language was overdone, but it was by no means false advertising. Beginning just a few miles above Manhattan and extending up, up, up all the way to the Canadian border, there’s so much verdant nature on either side of the river in summer that you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in lucky green Ireland (incidentally, winter is just as good, with skiing and après galore—not to mention vivid foliage come autumn). Out east lie the famous beaches of the North Fork and the Hamptons, plus the myriad charms of the bucolic villages that populate these areas. Whether you’re looking to hike the national parks or relax by the water, escape the city for a countryside weekend or eat and drink your way through the towns that line the way, the Empire State is never just one thing. —Charlie Hobbs, affiliate editor