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Let the countdown begin! New Year’s Eve is one of the most fun and festive nights of the year, and here in Dutchess County, we are ready to pop the cork, pour the Champagne and toast 2025 in grand fashion.
Here is a list of 25 can’t-miss, alphabetically listed New Year’s Eve hot spots and uniquely Dutchess experiences (including a few that are kiddo-friendly). So, get out and celebrate!
The nine Metro-North rail stations in the county and two Amtrak stops make getting here a snap. If time allows, make a weekend out of it! Check out these Boutique Hotels and Bed-and-Breakfasts and plan an unforgettable getaway.
And after a night of revelry, a first-day hike is the perfect way to start the new year on the right foot (pun intended). First-day hikes are scheduled at Staatsburgh State Historic Site in Staatsburg and at the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie.
It's the Totally Tubular 1980s Prom Night Countdown Party at 1915 Wine Cellar, so make sure you dress your best to ring in the new year! Guys, bust out those rental tuxedos with the satin cummerbunds. Ladies, don't forget the Aqua Net and shoulder pads. Enjoy plenty of delicious food with the Vegas-style buffet and raw bar beginning at 9 p.m. while international house music DJ and producer Cire provides the gnarly 80s mixes to help you dance the night away. Stick around for the complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. VIP tickets include reserved tables for two or four and a four-course menu beginning at 7 p.m. Located in a beautiful space on the lower level of the recently restored historic building at 40 Cannon Street, 1915 Wine Cellar combines fine wine with exceptional food and offers a menu inspired by seasonal ingredients and global flavors to create an extraordinary culinary experience. Throughout the year, 1915 hosts a variety of live musical performances and events.
Dress to impress and party away the final moments of 2024 at The Academy bar and event space. Dance all night to music by Culture Ramo and DJ AKR. Enjoy delicious food for purchase from Sundaze Smash Burgers and a Champagne toast at midnight.
Ring in the New Year at America's oldest continuously operated inn, which was built in 1766 and is known to have hosted the likes of George Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Frank Sinatra and Miley Cyrus, just to name a few. Packages are available that include a three-course prix fixe dinner, the New Year’s Eve party and overnight accommodations. This charming inn in the heart of the Village of Rhinebeck offers a choice of 80 beautiful rooms in several different historic buildings, while the on-site restaurant serves lunch and dinner seven days a week and Sunday brunch.
Not all New Year's celebrations need Champagne and confetti. If you're an artist looking to sharpen your painting skills, head over to Betsy Jacaruso's studio for a three-hour, mixed-level watercolor class. You'll explore various techniques, color mixing, and value as you express your individual style. This session is open to all levels of experience, but if you are a beginner, you should consider taking a beginner class first. This class is scheduled for 10 a.m. on New Year's Eve, so you'll have plenty of time afterward for funny hats and noisemakers.
Related: Bubbly Dutchess Drinks Perfect for Your New Year's Cheers
All Class Entertainment keeps the party hopping as you enjoy the top-shelf open bar, passed hors d'oeuvres and a delicious buffet with cocktail stations, a carving station and a Viennese-style pastry display for dessert. Grab a breakfast sandwich on your way out, and be sure to take advantage of the special room rates for partygoers at the elegant, European-style inn. Conveniently located near the Taconic State Parkway, Curry Estate hosts a variety of events, including dinner theater and live musical performances. Its four-star restaurant, Restaurant Six (formerly Le Chambord), offers a balance of casual and fine dining experiences served up by Executive Chef Richard Hoert.
Damn the Torpedoes, a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band, provides the entertainment with two shows on New Year’s Eve. Owned by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Daryl Hall, Daryl’s House hosts live musical performances several nights each week and offers scrumptious dinner and brunch menus. Those who aren't night owls might enjoy the free brunch performances at Daryl's House every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
Related: The Dutchess Tourism Inspiration Finder is a mobile passport program featuring discounts and perks to some of the best cultural institutions, exhibition spaces and performance venues. Click here for details.
Enjoy a fascinating slice of local history with a visit to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, where you can see the exhibition featuring Hudson Valley Ice Yachts. Ice sailing has been a popular winter activity on the frozen Hudson River dating back to the 1800s and was a favorite pastime of FDR himself. This free public exhibition opens on Dec. 23 and will be on display in the Wallace Center every day through Jan. 6 (except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day). Visitors are welcome on New Year’s Eve between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. View authentic ice boats with full rigging — including KRISS, the boat built for FDR's uncle, John Aspinwall Roosevelt.
As their slogan goes, "pull up a seat, order a drink and stay awhile" at this neighborhood bar. Every day in December starting at 3 p.m., Goodnight Kenny will be serving up holiday cheer and festive cocktail specials from its Holiday Ho Down menu.
K104’s own Bill Beale keeps the party bouncing for this New Year’s Eve Gala overlooking the Hudson River. Start by enjoying a mouthwatering assortment of passed hors d’oeuvres and internationally themed stations during the cocktail reception, followed by a dazzling array of dinner options and desserts. Don’t leave without grabbing some breakfast sandwiches, cheeseburger sliders and hot dogs, and be sure to take advantage of special room rates at the Hampton Inn & Suites Poughkeepsie. With its stunning views of the river and the surrounding highlands, The Grandview is a great venue for elegant events and celebrations. The Grandview is located only minutes from the Poughkeepsie train station, which is a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line and an Amtrak stop as well.
Climb aboard Happy Valley's interstellar spaceship and be transported into 2025 via Dance Independent’s "Rave at the Arcade." Enjoy delicious food by Braised Pies as DJ Ethical Drift and DJ Roland Cespedes lay down the tracks to keep the party festive. This unique bar on Beacon’s walkable Main Street features more than two dozen fully operational vintage video game consoles, including Asteroids, Centipede, Frogger, Galaxian, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and Space Invaders, as well as several pinball machines.
Head Chef Frank Camey, a Culinary Institute of America alum, is serving up a scrumptious four-course dinner especially for New Year's Eve. Heritage offers a menu full of seasonal local items and a robust selection of beer, wine and spirits from the Hudson Valley and beyond.
Related: The Dutchess Tourism CIA Chef Finder is a digital passport that helps you find Culinary Institute of America chefs who create world-class cuisine in the heart of New York’s Hudson Valley. Click here for details.
Ring in 2025 among friends in Hudson Valley Brewery's cozy tasting room, which is staying open late for New Year's Eve. Party under the disco ball with DJ No Rules, and stick around for the toast at midnight. Hudson Valley Brewery is famous for its sour beers and New England-style IPAs. Located in a repurposed historic mill building, Hudson Valley Brewery uses only New York State ingredients in its Sour Farmhouse Ales.
Weekend at Bernie's provides the live music for the New Year's Eve party at Juan Murphy's, which offers three different options for your night of revelry. The best package of all, which must be purchased in advance, includes table service seating, a buffet dinner, open bar, party favors and a Champagne toast. Juan Murphy’s — the Irish pub with Mexican grub — hosts a variety of special events, including live musical performances and trivia nights. It is an official member of the New York Jets Bar Network, so if you're a Jets fan, be sure to head to Juan Murphy's on game day.
Lasting Joy's New Year's Eve celebration will feature music with DJ Sean and delectable food provided by Cousin's Maine Lobster. Enjoy house-made cocktails, sparkling wine and, of course, Lasting Joy's assortment of signature brews. Tucked away on a picturesque 31-acre farm and operated by the husband-and-wife team of Alex and Emily Wenner, Lasting Joy is known for its unique concoctions, such as its Heartbeet of the Hudson, a one-of-a-kind English Stout that incorporates the earthy sweetness of beets. Lasting Joy hosts a variety of fun events, including trivia nights and food pop-ups.
Mahoney’s encourages you to ring in the new year the Irish way at their Irish New Year’s Eve Party beginning at 4 p.m. Enjoy live music by Mick Lynch, bagpipers, Irish step dancers, a champagne toast and a balloon drop at 7 p.m. — which is midnight in Ireland. If it’s a few good laughs you’re looking for, head downstairs to Mahoney’s Laugh it Up Comedy Club for the New Year’s Eve Gala and Comedy Show featuring comedians Sean Morton, Rebecca Cadiz, Anthony Zenhauser and T.J. Del Reno. Enjoy a delicious buffet dinner, dessert table, champagne toast, balloon drop and party favors. Stick around for the after-party until 4 a.m. with DJ Parag.
Pack up the kids and ring in the new year as a family at the Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum’s New Year’s at Noon party. Enjoy music, crafts, live science demos, refreshments, noisemakers and activities for kids of all ages as you count down to noon. The museum will only be open on Dec. 31 for this event. The Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum (formerly the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum), offers lots of kid-friendly exhibits, including Early Learning Junction, the Science Center, the Children’s Garden, and Imagination Station. Stop by for the Family Free Night events, which are held on the third Sunday of each month; on these nights, the museum stays open late and offers free admission from 5:30–7:30 p.m. for families with kids 12 and younger.
For the youngsters — and the young at heart — Mill Creek presents its Noon Year's Eve Party featuring music by DJ Jimmy Lyles, magic by Dylan Knight, a buffet breakfast and more! Pose for pictures in the photo booth so you can reminisce about all the fun memories throughout the new year. Whether it’s in The Creekside Room or The Ballroom, Mill Creek is the perfect place to celebrate all of life’s biggest events.
Chef Dan Crocco is cooking up a special Mill House Steakhouse menu for New Year's Eve, which is sure to pair nicely with Brewmaster Jamie Bishop's craft brews. Housed in an old Poughkeepsie mill, this lively and hip brew pub has won several awards for both its beer and its food. Its annual food events — like its sixth-annual Wild-Game Dinner, which is set for Jan. 26 — always sell out quickly.
Guardian Revival, a Beacon-based non-profit organization that strives to preserve the mental well-being of veterans and first responders — the guardians — hosts this free afternoon hike for guardians and their families and friends. The four-mile, out-and-back trek will bring hikers to the fire tower on Mount Beacon, which offers stunning views of the Hudson River and surrounding highlands and is perfectly situated to watch the sunset. Guardian Revival is led by co-founder and chief executive officer Alex Othmer, a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy who served eight years as a Navy SEAL and was combat disabled before beginning a difficult transition back to civilian life. The organization is featured in Episode 5 of “Veteran’s Playbook.”
Head to The Old Drovers Inn and enjoy a wonderful New Year's Eve dinner by the fireplace in the charming Tap Room. The evening's special menu features a variety of savory entree choices, including gluten-free and vegetarian options. If time allows, spend a night or two in the quaint six-room country inn, which dates back to 1750 and was once used as a romantic hideaway for Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Bid farewell to 2024 with a beautiful New Year’s Eve dinner overlooking the majestic Hudson River. Enjoy a prix fixe menu with all sorts of great options for appetizers, entrées and dessert. Then, come back to Shadows the following day for their New Year’s Day brunch buffet and enjoy more of your favorite breakfast and lunch items, along with carving stations, a raw bar and a bevy of decadent desserts. Bring your appetite — and your camera, as Shadows is perched on a 40-foot cliff on the Poughkeepsie Waterfront and offers stunning views of the Hudson and the surrounding highlands both day and night.
Terrapin’s New Year’s Eve dinner includes a special three-course, prix fixe menu served in the elegant dining room. Start with a tapas platter full of tasty choices, then select from a mouthwatering array of entrée options, and top it off with your choice of dessert. Or if you prefer, the Red Bistro and Bar will be open from 11:30 a.m. to midnight, and regular menu items will be available. Executive chef and owner Josh Kroner — who trained and was later an instructor at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan — cooks up a unique style of New American cuisine, blending a classical French approach with the diverse influences of Asia, Italy and the American Southwest. Terrapin occupies Rhinebeck’s beautifully renovated First Baptist Church, which was erected in 1825.
Related: Winter Road Trip to These Quaint Towns
Ring in 2025 at the Towne Crier’s New Year’s Eve celebration featuring powerhouse performances by the Chris O’Leary Band, the Robert Hill Band featuring Rae Simone and Marc Von Em. Executive chef Daniel Gugliuzza serves up a delicious prix fixe, multi-course meal that includes dessert and a champagne toast when the clock strikes midnight. The Towne Crier has been a mainstay in the Hudson Valley music scene since owner Phil Ciganer opened its doors on Nov. 21, 1972 (the act on that opening night, in case you were wondering, was the Wretched Refuse String Band). Since then, the Towne Crier has moved twice — from its original location in Beekman to Pawling, then to its current location in the heart of Beacon — and hundreds upon hundreds of musicians have graced its stage, including Pete Seeger, David Byrne, Joan Osborne, Arlo Guthrie, Don McLean, Kevin Bacon, Susanne Vega, Leslie Gore, John Sebastian, and the 10,000 Maniacs. The Towne Crier hosts live performances several nights each week and serves up delectable brunch, lunch and dinner menus, as well as sensational handmade desserts created by renowned pastry chef Mary Ciganer.
Ring in the new year in the bucolic Amenia countryside at this historic 250-acre estate. Begin the evening in the dining room with a family-friendly dinner featuring an amazing assortment of special dishes cooked up by Troutbeck’s culinary team led by executive chef Vincent Gilberti and chef Emma Isakoff. After dinner, hotel guests and Troutbeck members are invited to head to the Manor House for the New Year’s Eve “House” Party, which is sure to include lots of dancing, drinks and festive nibbles. Stick around for the champagne toast at midnight. Separate tickets are needed for the dinner and the party. Book one of Troutbeck’s luxurious rooms and spend some time relaxing in the natural tranquility of eastern Dutchess. Troutbeck has welcomed a long list of distinguished guests since the 1700s and hosted two early meetings of the NAACP. Attendees at these meetings, now known as the Amenia Conferences of 1916 and 1933, included Mary Ovington, a co-founder of the NAACP; and groundbreaking African American writer, sociologist and activist W.E.B. DuBois. Colonel Joel Spingarn, who purchased Troutbeck in the early 1900s with his wife, Amy, was the chairman of the NAACP’s Board of Directors and one the organization’s first Jewish leaders.
Villa Borghese hosts its New Year’s Eve dance party featuring top-shelf open bar, cocktail hour, dinner stations, a Champagne toast when the clock strikes 12 and a Dunkin' sendoff. The Villa Borghese and the Porco Family have been providing fine catering and a wonderful event and wedding venue since 1970.
Celebrate the Lunar New Year on Jan. 11 with a children's story hour and craft project in the Visitor Center at the Livingston Mansion. Enjoy stories, snacks, and crafts focusing on celebrations surrounding both the Western New Year and the Lunar New Year.
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