A Hudson Valley Almanac day-trip guide
Say "Westchester" and most people picture commuter suburbs — but drive north of the parkways and the county turns into genuine horse-and-farm country: rolling hills in North Salem and Bedford, county-run working farms open to the public, the best farmers market around, and Westchester's only cidery. The southern half, along the Hudson, is more of a river-towns-and-breweries scene (and a good one). This guide leans into the rural north, with the river corridor waiting as a second arm. Here's a Saturday up in the hills.
Start at the Chappaqua Farmers Market, voted the best in Westchester ten years running — 40-plus vendors right at the Metro-North station on Saturdays, with a winter indoor market keeping it year-round. From there, swing through Bedford Village to Bedford Farms, a nine-acre nursery and farm market with a café among the garden beds, growing its own produce and flowers on-site. Beekeeping fans can seek out Out of the Hive in Bedford Hills, a treatment-free raw-honey producer.
Two of the best stops here are owned by the county and free to visit. Muscoot Farm in Somers is a historic interpretive farm with animals, a farm store, and one of Westchester's most beloved markets — the Muscoot Farm Farmers Market runs Sundays, May through November. Nearby, Hilltop Hanover Farm in Yorktown is a 187-acre working farm and environmental center with a market that donates at least a quarter of its produce to food-access partners. Both are excellent with kids.
The rural northeast corner around North Salem is the farm heart of the county. Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard is a 65-acre family farm with a year-round store, a seasonal café, U-pick apples and pumpkins, and a big fall harvest festival — and it's home to Hardscrabble Cider, Westchester's only cidery, with a cider garden, brick-oven pizza, and live music on summer weekends. It's the natural place for lunch. Close by, Herondale Farm raises 100% grass-fed beef and lamb, and Purdy's Farmer & the Fish offers U-pick and a CSA.
Round out the day in Yorktown Heights. Wilkens Fruit & Fir Farm has been at it for over a century — pick-your-own peaches and apples, fresh-pressed cider, cider donuts, and choose-and-cut Christmas trees in December. And White Oak Farm is the last commercial maple producer in Westchester, tapping 2,400 trees, with a sugarhouse, sawmill, and a year-round market. For a craft-beverage finish, the Captain Lawrence Barrel House in Mount Kisco pours sours, stouts, and barrel-aged beers from the county's craft-beer pioneer.
The southern, riverside half of the county is a different day — historic river towns and a deep brewery bench:
Also worth a detour: Hemlock Hill Farm in Cortlandt (pasture-raised meats, weekend tours), D.I.G. Farm in North Salem (foraging and herbalism workshops), and standout growers like Katonah Nursery and Homegrown Kitchen Gardens, which grows organic starts at Tarrytown's Lyndhurst estate.
The Chappaqua market is the year-round, every-Saturday anchor — and, like much of lower Westchester, it's a short walk from Metro-North, so the southern brewery-and-river-towns version of this day is very doable car-free. The northern farms, though, are spread across rural townships and really need a car. U-pick at Harvest Moon and Wilkens peaks in fall, and Muscoot's market is Sunday while Chappaqua's is Saturday — so check days before you build the route. With cideries and breweries in the mix, bring a designated driver.
The full Westchester lineup is on the Almanac: farms & food and craft beverages.
Horse-country hills, a county farm or two, the only cider press in the county — one very good Saturday.