Valentine’s Day windows at Zakka Joy, 177 Main Street.

With February’s long weekend fast-approaching (15th to 17th), there’s still time to plan a mini-break escape, or a fun staycation if you live in Beacon.

While Beacon is only 60 miles from NYC—and super easy to get to by Metro North on the train— it’s a world away from the subway, honking cabs, and gritty sidewalks. Imagine a mile-long Main Street packed with gorgeous independent shops and restaurants, running between the highest peak of the spectacular Hudson Highlands—Mount Beacon—and the mighty (and currently icy) Hudson River. And at this time of year, the chilly, fresh air will blow away any mental or emotional cobwebs that might be lurking from the Holidays.

To take the hard work out of researching what to do and where to go, we’ve put together some mix and match itinerary suggestions for the winter months. With three days to enjoy the best of Beacon, you’ll be able to pack lots in whatever the weather. If visiting, you’ll find the “Where to stay” recommendations at the end of this feature. Drivers will find our guide to free parking in Beacon helpful.

Breakfast: the most important meal of the day

A weekend vacation isn’t complete without a big hearty breakfast or brunch to start the day. Here’s some top spots where you can fuel up. If you’re visiting, check out Google Maps to see which are closest to your hotel if you’re not breakfasting there.

A sit-down breakfast or brunch

Nilufer’s Home Kitchen (135 Main Street). Enjoy Turkish fare from award-winning chef Nilufer Goodson. Highlights from her delicious menu include menemen eggs, full Turkish breakfast, pita sandwiches, and, of course, Turkish tea.

The Beacon Daily (29 Teller Avenue): Family-owned and operated, come here for all-day breakfast that will keep you going all day, sandwiches, burritos, housemade English muffins, and scrumptious Bang Bang Cauliflower.

Beacon Bread Company (193-195 Main Street): One of the hottest breakfast and brunch spots in Beacon, you’ll find freshly baked pastries, egg breakfasts, burritos, tacos, omelets, and a tofu scramble.

Yankee Clipper Diner (397 Main Street): Offering the most extensive menu on Main Street, choosing breakfast may be the hardest decision you ever make. Good news is the lovely team here is very patient and super generous with coffee refills.

Kitchen & Coffee (420 Main Street): Perfect for vegetarians and vegans, this 100% gluten-free vegetarian café and bakery offers delicious breakfast, lunch, and everything in between.

The Towne Crier (379 Main Street): Open Thursday through Sunday, 10:30AM Saturday and Sunday, this is a great spot for brunch and often accompanied by a jazz trio or similar.

Grab n’ Go

If you’re hiking Mount Beacon, you’ll find Bob’s Mountain Grocery (790 Wolcott Avenue) offers hearty sandwiches, burgers, bagels, and plenty more.

Beacon staple, Mr V’s Deli (297 Main Street) offers down-to-earth wraps, breakfast sandwiches, bagels, and salads at reasonable prices.

While Subway (294 Main Street) is a national brand known for its footlong sandwiches, it’s also a franchise, which means there’s a real life Beaconite running this business and that’s why it gets a mention. You’ll find good, honest sandwiches and refreshments here.

For those with a sweet tooth, vegan doughnut shop, Peaceful Provisions, offers a delicious and varied selection of doughnuts free of dairy or any animal-derived ingredients, and an awesome breakfast sandwich that will keep you going until lunch (or longer).

Take a break and refuel

Coffee and delicious pastries at Beacon Coffee Co & Mercantile, 344 Main Street.

Pacing is everything and there’s always time to take a break for a coffee, tea, and a sweet treat. Beacon has more than 15 coffee, tea, and hot chocolate houses along Main Street, so there’s an abundance of options to choose from. See our guide to coffee and tea shops for more detail.

Plan a dinner date

There are plenty of spots for a romantic (or otherwise) dinner for two in Beacon, NY for those celebrating the Valentine’s/Galentine’s Day weekend. Whatever strikes your fancy, Main Street restaurants have you covered. We recommend making a reservation over this busy weekend to avoid disappointment. For where to eat and drink in Beacon, read our features here and here.

Make time to shop on Main Street

Allow plenty of time to wander in and out of the amazing indie boutique stores when exploring Main Street. Whether starting from the west or east end of Main Street, remember there’s a middle section, too. West end, mid-Main Street, and the east end make up more than a mile of shops. If you think you’ve reached the end, just keep going.

In fact, there’s more than 80 shops offering everything from eco-conscious beauty, artisanal fine foods and chocolates, books, creative stationery and paper goods, flowers, aura-readings and crystals, tintypes and ambrotypes, vintage clothing and antiques, upscale home goods, hiking gear, kitchenware, refill and reuse stores, menswear, womenswear, kidswear and toy stores, and sewing and craft stores. And because Beacon is a wedding destination, there are high-quality wedding dress boutiques and fine jewelry stores for every taste. See our Shop directory for every store on Main Street if you’re keen to bag a particular item.

Should you stay more than a day, consider breaking shopping excursions into small chunks to take it all in. You’ll find Beacon shopkeepers super-friendly and helpful, so feel free to peruse the often-beautifully merchandized stores at your own pace. No pressure, here.

Valentine’s & Galentine’s Day Shopping Destinations

If you’re planning to gift that special someone, here’s some inspiration on where to shop in Beacon for a gift that will surprise and delight any time of the year:

Flowers, Chocolate, and Candy

For flowers, visit Flora Good Times (197 Main Street); Raven Rose (474 Main Street); and Mountain Laurel Florist (15 Tioronda Avenue) for epic, colorful bouquets or simple, elegant sprays that last.

There’s no shortage of destinations that will make a sweet-toothed loved one’s day. Options include Alps Sweet Shop (269 Main Street)—makers of chocolates and candy based in Beacon since 1922—offers a vast selection of small batch chocolates, including chocolate-dipped strawberries made from family recipes; HÅKAN Chocolatier (462 Main Street)—created by award-winning chocolate master Håkan Mårtensson—offers divinely-flavored bonbons, chocolate bars, and more; The Chocolate Studio (496 Main Street) is a must-visit spot for decadently dipped chocolate bars and truffles, freshly baked pastries, heart-shaped cookies, and vegan and dairy ice-cream. Hudson Valley Marshmallow Co (510 Main Street) has delicious and adorable heart-shaped confections if you’re a marshmallow devotee. For those with a more savory-sweet palate, Beacon Cheese Shop (378 Main Street) is offering a mouthwatering Valentine’s Day Brie Box, which includes one brie, cherry jam, fresh berries, and chocolate.

Late hours announced: HÅKAN Chocolatier announced that it’s extending its opening hours to making shopping easier for those with a tight schedule. On Thursday, February 13th and Friday, February 14th, the shop will stay open until 7PM. Great news for fans of their delicious Champagne Strawberry bonbons.

Sweet treats at Hudson Valley Marshmallow Co, 510 Main Street.

If gifting a wine-lover, there’s Artisan Wine Shop (180 Main Street) for a curation of small producer global and local fine wines as well as local ciders, and spirits; Dirty Bacchus (380 Main Street) for natural wines, meads, and cider; and Paul Brady Wine (344 Main Street) for New York State wines and spirits.

Gifting a Valentine’s keepsake

For a special memento, consider Beacon Tintype (149 Main Street) which offers one-of-a-kind handmade heirloom portraits made to last. Choose from a tintype (made on tin) or an ambrotype (made on glass).

And while we’re on the subject of glass, a beautiful, limited edition solid glass heart handmade by Beacon’s Glass Queen Z, Zeinab Manesh, also makes a stunning and collectible gift. Contact Zeinab on Instagram at @glassqueenz for details.

For vintage and thrift-lovers like us, consider a treasure from one of Beacon’s many vintage and antique stores. See our Shop Directory to discover them all. It’s worth noting that the fabulous Another Door at 468 to 470 Main Street is hosting a special Valentine’s-themed Bingo Night this Saturday, February 15th with a secret sale, refreshments, and late night thrifting.

Consignment shop, Blackbird Attic (temporarily at 211 Fishkill Avenue until March) is hosting a Sip, Shop, & Celebrate Galentine’s weekend on Friday, February 14th and Saturday, February 15th between 12PM and 6PM. Expect 20% off when you bring a friend, and enjoy free personal styling and complimentary wine.

Guaranteed to please

To bring a smile to the face of an eco-conscious beauty-lover, look no further than Witch Hazel (176 Main Street), where eminently giftable brands including Ellis Brooklyn, Fischersund, and Harbinger for fragrance, Nopalera for bodycare, and local brand Cantique for candles.

Cheeky, fun-loving giftees will appreciate a token from one of our favorite stores (we try not to have favorites) Zakka Joy (177 Main Street), which offers an amazing array of creative stationery items and cute things including Valentine’s sticker cards, Snoopy key tags, Hello Kitty, Pusheen, Chococat, greetings cards, and much more.

Now that “Mission Gifting” is complete, it’s time to plan some activities.

Cold weather things to do in Beacon

Visit Dia Beacon

Dia Beacon (3 Beekman Street) is open Friday through Monday with winter hours of 10 AM to 4 PM. We recommend allowing at least a couple of hours to peruse this incredible international modern art collection. A current must-see is the mesmerizing, meditative Steve McQueen installation, Bass. With this new work, McQueen builds on past experiments into how light, color, and sound affect our perception of space, time, and ourselves. A mind-blowing fact is McQueen is the only artist and filmmaker to have won the Turner Prize and an Academy Award. Another mind-blowing fact is we’ve seen the installation at least 20 times and are planning a few more visits before it ends on Monday, May 26th, 2025.

There are various entry prices, but Beacon residents should note that entry is free for them upon proof of address.

Upon leaving Dia Beacon, you can pick up the Beacon Loop bus which runs approximately every 20 minutes (times vary so be sure to check the timetable) and can be picked up outside Dia’s gates. If it’s a sunny day, stroll over to Main Street (about 10-15 minutes depending on pace). Signs will guide your way.

Mount Beacon and the trails

Ice floats on the Hudson River, near Long Dock Park.

If you live in Beacon (or visit the city) you’re just a stone’s throw away from Mount Beacon or a beautiful trail walk. Even at this time of year—with the right walking boots and clothing—it’s worth planning to spend time outside, weather permitting. Visit the staggeringly gorgeous waterfalls at Madame Brett Park and Fishkill Creek (behind The Roundhouse), marvel at the ice floats in the Hudson River and listen to the ice creaking as the tides pull it in and out. It’s otherworldly.

If Mount Beacon seems a tad overwhelming in the snow, consider a long loop trail walk starting at Long Dock Park near the train station, connecting to Madame Brett Park (follow the signs), and heading along Tioronda Avenue until you reach Main Street. Then you’ve really deserved that coffee break before heading back to where you began. It’s just over five miles in total.

Visit the Farmers’ Market

If you’re in Beacon on a Sunday, don’t miss the Beacon Farmers Market at 233 Main Street in the DMV parking lot, which runs come rain or shine from 10 AM to 2 PM (unless there’s seriously extreme weather conditions). There’s plenty of local vendors selling everything from locally grown flowers, vegetables, cheese, baked goods, meats, pies, soaps, ice-cream, spirits, and more. A local musician may be playing some tunes there if you’re lucky.

Do some artwalking

We’ve included a brief overview of current exhibitions on and off Main Street here. For full details and listings see our Events page.

Visionaries: The Bannerman Castle Trust & Towne Crier Café exhibition is on now at the Howland Cultural Center (477 Main Street). Runs weekends until Sunday, February 23rd.

Beacon Open Studios Winter Group Art Show, Baggage Claim kicks off on Friday 14th February with a show reception and live music.

BAU Gallery (506 Main Street) is hosting three exhibitions starting February 8th running until March 2nd.

Distortion Society (155 Main Street) is showing a solo exhibition by Kipton Hinsdale called The Evolution of Mark Making starting February 8th

Super Secret Projects’ latest exhibition, Current of Love, (484 Main Street) highlights the artists the curators admire for their ability to convey the depth and vulnerability that love inspires. Opens February 8th and runs to March 1st.

Enjoy an evening out

See our Events page for the rundown of Valentine’s weekend activities. Weekend highlights include a Murder Mystery fundraiser for the Howland Cultural Center called Rodney & Juliet’s Wedding: A Fundraiser to Die For (NEW DATE MARCH 15TH), Valentine’s Day party at Happy Valley Beacon (296 Main Street), and a Love Bites prix-fixe menu at Hudson Valley Food Hall (288 Main Street). It’s an almost always-lively scene in Beacon, so whether you’re living here or visiting, it’s worth checking the Howland Cultural Center, The Yard (4 Hanna Lane), Dennings Point Distillery (10 N. Chestnut Street), and Towne Crier websites for live events and music.

There’s even a parade

For those planning a long weekend to celebrate Valentine’s Day, you’ll enjoy the bonus of a Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Parade on Monday, February 17th. The event was originally scheduled for January but was postponed due to one of the epic snowstorms we’ve experienced here in the Hudson Valley this year. See our Events listings for full details.

And finally…where to stay

A daytrip is never enough when coming to the Hudson Valley. Beacon has some charming boutique hotels to choose from if you’re visiting and plan to stay over. Some are on Main Street, but even those that aren’t on Main Street are close by.

A touch of glamor

Consider The Roundhouse at 2 East Main Street if you want a touch of glamor and luxury in a historic setting (and a waterfall).

Victorian charm

Botsford Briar Bed & Breakfast, 19 High Street.

The Dutchess Hotel & Day Spa (151 Main Street): Choose from the Townhouse, or The Factory and Artist Apartments.

Beacon Bed & Breakfast (4 North Elm Street): Literally five seconds walk from Main Street and everything it has to offer.

Botsford Briar (19 High Street): A stunning Victorian mansion house quite literally set on a “high” street lined with beautiful Victorian properties line on either side. It has the added benefit of being walking distance from the train station.

Chrystie House Bed & Breakfast (300 South Avenue): A historic, restored nineteenth century Federal-style mansion. An easy mile walk to Main Street.

The Swann Inn (120 Howland Avenue): A beautifully restored Gothic Revival Victorian house nestled at the bottom of Mount Beacon. It’s a short drive from Main Street, and the Innkeepers offer pick up from the train station.

So, that’s it. While we can’t possibly capture everything going on in the city, the bottom line is, with a little planning there’s plenty to experience in Beacon, whatever the season.

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Until next time…

The Beacon Beacon🧡

A Winter Weekend Guide to Beacon, NY