The Dispensary + Brewery Day Trip: Kingston, Beacon, and Hudson

Hudson Valley is one of the premier craft beverage regions in the country and now one of the densest markets for licensed cannabis dispensaries. The overlap is obvious once you see it: a morning dispensary stop, a lunchtime tasting room, an afternoon cider mill, a farm dinner. Planned well, it's the ideal cannabis-lifestyle weekend. Planned badly, it's four hours of driving and nothing tasted.

This guide offers three route-based itineraries, one per subregion, each built to be executed in a single day without backtracking. Sober driver required, obviously, we've flagged the spots where a designated driver or day-of Uber makes the whole thing possible.

Before you go

Three rules that apply to every itinerary here:

(1) No consumption at tasting rooms. Cannabis is purchased at the dispensary, consumed at a private residence or on permitted property only. Tasting rooms are alcohol-licensed businesses and don't permit cannabis use on premises.

(2) Designated driver. Alcohol impairment stacks with cannabis in unpredictable ways. The itineraries below work best with one person committed to not drinking or consuming for the day, or a pre-scheduled car.

(3) Eat. The best beverage days run on a solid lunch. Each itinerary includes food stops.

Itinerary 1: Kingston + Rondout + New Paltz

The densest itinerary, three dispensaries, two breweries, a cidery, and a lunch stop, all within 20 miles.

• 11:00 AM — Dispensary stop, Kingston uptown. Pick one of the Kingston dispensaries — Fluent, LotusWorks, Back Home, or Domes are all strong choices. See our directory to find hours and delivery info.
• 12:00 PM — Lunch at Mill House Brewing Company, Poughkeepsie (25 min south) or Stockade Tavern, Kingston. Mill House if you want a full brewery-food experience; Stockade if you want to stay in Kingston.
• 2:00 PM — Cider stop at Angry Orchard, Walden (45 min southwest). The cidery is part of the Angry Orchard brand but the location has a legitimate tasting program and the food trucks on weekends are reliably good.
• 4:00 PM — Finish at Arrowood Farms, Accord (30 min northwest). Arrowood is farm-to-glass with on-site food. The vibe is the cleanest version of "brewery as farm experience" you'll find in the Valley.

Total driving: ~90 minutes across the day. Total tasting time: 4–5 hours. Comfortable pace.

Itinerary 2: Beacon + Cold Spring + the Highlands

The southernmost route. Fewer dispensaries (Beacon has two good ones, Cold Spring none within the route) but a tighter tasting-room concentration.

• 11:00 AM — Dispensary stop in Beacon. The Station or LotusWorks Wellness are the two to choose from.
• 12:30 PM — Lunch + tasting at Hudson Valley Brewery, Beacon. HVB has a cult following for sour ales and an underrated food program. This is the anchor of the route.
• 2:30 PM — Cold Spring walk-around + coffee at Hudson House. Not a tasting stop, but Cold Spring's Main Street is the best walking break in the Valley. Reset your palate.
• 4:00 PM — Dennings Point Distillery, Beacon. Small-batch spirits, solid tasting program, and the cocktails on-site are the best way to use them.
• 6:00 PM — Dinner at Quinn's or The Roundhouse. Quinn's if you want ramen-and-dumplings energy; Roundhouse if you want to end the day with a proper meal.

Itinerary 3: Hudson + Catskill + Columbia County

The northernmost route. Longest total drive but includes some of the Valley's most unique tasting experiences.

• 11:00 AM — Dispensary stop in Hudson. Riverbend, GoldLeaf, or Catskill Cannabis NY (just across the river in Catskill) are all solid picks.
• 12:30 PM — Lunch at Lil' Deb's Oasis, Hudson. Caribbean-inspired, excellent mocktail program if you're alcohol-light today. One of the most interesting menus in the Valley.
• 2:30 PM — Sake Brewery, Hudson. Hudson Sake (on Warren) runs a tasting flight with sushi alongside. Underrated and a completely different experience from the cider-and-beer circuit.
• 4:00 PM — Klocke Estate Distillery, Claverack (20 min southeast). The hidden gem of the itinerary, hilltop brandy distillery with fine-dining-level tastings and Catskill views. Bring a camera.
• 6:30 PM — Dinner at Olde Hudson or Padrona. End the day in town.

How to build your own itinerary

Our three routes are starting points. The core structure to steal:

(1) One dispensary stop in the first 90 minutes, easier to find parking, less crowded, and the product is available for later.

(2) Lunch at a brewery or restaurant with a real food program, not an afterthought menu.

(3) Two to three tasting stops in the 2–5 PM window, spaced 20–30 minutes apart.

(4) A dinner destination that's not another tasting room, restaurant with a full menu and a slower pace.

(5) A sober driver or ride home. Always.

Seasonal notes

Most of these itineraries work year-round, but two adjustments:

Summer (June–August): outdoor tasting rooms peak. Arrowood, Hudson Valley Brewery's patio, Klocke's deck are all at their best. Lean into outdoor routes.

Fall (September–November): harvest season means cideries are essential. The Angry Orchard stop on Itinerary 1 upgrades to a destination; add Treasury Cider (Hyde Park) for a dedicated cidery day.

Winter (December–February): shorter itineraries work better. Skip the driving-heavy routes; pick one city (Kingston or Beacon) and stay local. Brewery taprooms are warm; the dispensary stop doesn't care about the weather.

What this guide doesn't cover

Wineries (covered separately); distillery-only itineraries (a smaller audience but worth its own piece); the upper Catskills corridor (Phoenicia, Woodstock, Saugerties), which gets its own itinerary in a future edition.

Related reading: The Late-Night Munchie Guide, for what comes after the itinerary | Farm Dinners in the Hudson Valley | All licensed dispensaries