Columbia County is a county in New York's Hudson Valley region.

Cities

• 1 Hudson
• 2 Kinderhook
• 3 New Lebanon

Get in

By air

• 1 Albany International Airport (ALB ^IATA), 737 Albany-Shaker Rd, Albany. Close, but not very international. (updated Aug 2020)
• 2 Stewart International Airport (SWF ^IATA), 1180 First St, New Windsor, ☏ +1 845 564-2100. An alternative to Albany. Allegiant Air, American Eagle, and JetBlue operate flights from Florida and Philadelphia. (updated Mar 2021)

By car

Taconic State Parkway runs through the county and connects Albany and the I90 east-west portion of the Thruway system to New York City via the Saw Mill River and the Henry Hudson Parkways.

By train

• Amtrak, . Runs on the Hudson River side of the county. Long distance connections are available at the station in the city of Hudson.

See

• Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, 1013 Old Post Rd (off Route 9H), ☏ +1 518 758-9689. Kinderhook. Lindenwald is the retirement home of the 8th president. Van Buren was the first US president born after the nation's independence and, to date, the only Dutch speaking president. House is open for guided tours daily from Memorial Day weekend through the end of October; Saturday and Sunday, November through the first week of December. Grounds open year round dawn to dusk. Visitor center open 9AM to 4:30PM on dates the mansion is open. 
• Olana, 5720 Route 9G, Hudson, ☏ +1 518 828-0135. The mountain-top villa of Frederic Church, one of the most prominent Hudson River painters and one of the United State's most significant artists. From the hilltop home there are sweeping views of the Catskills, the Hudson River, and the Taconic Hills. Interior of the house is closed for rehabilitation work through July 2007. Grounds are open. 
• Mount Lebanon Shaker Village, Darrow Road (off Route 20), New Lebanon, ☏ +1 518 794-9100. Once the largest Shaker village—at its peak, over 6,000 acres and 100 buildings. Now the village is mostly in ruins or demolished, but the shell of the massive stone still stands. For 2006, open only for special events. Call or check web site for schedule. See other Shaker villages in the northeast United States through the itinerary Touring Shaker country. 
• Shaker Museum and Library, 88 Shaker Museum Rd, ☏ +1 518 794-9100. Old Chatham. Probably the premier collection of Shaker artifacts. The collection includes items from Shaker communities in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Museum season runs from Memorial Day weekend through fall: open daily 10AM-5PM, closed Tuesdays. Adults $8, children ages 8 to 17 $4. Library open year round by appointment. 

Buy

Fresh sheep's milk cheese and yogurt at Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, 155 Shaker Museum Road, Old Chatham, +1 888-743-3760, . Award-winning cheeses produced on site from a flock of 1,000 sheep. Visitors welcome. Cheese is available at a 24/7 self-serve shop in a restored Shaker barn on the farm.

Eat

• Destino, 112 Hudson Ave, ☏ +1 518 392-6663. 5-9:30pm. One of Chatham's, if not Columbia county's best Mexican restaurants. They feature a full menu of specialty margaritas using fresh ingredients. Be sure to stop by on a Wednesday or Thursday evening from 5-7pm for happy hour which features drink specials on beer, wine, and... you guessed it... margaritas. In addition to fantastic drinks and service, the food is outstanding, it's difficult to choose because everything looks so good! $10-30. 

Connect

Telephone area code 518.