Catskills/Hudson river valley recs?

[parisinthespring]

You all were so helpful when I had questions about Paris, I thought I would give this a shot, as I have had zero luck on my own.
BFF and I will be spending two nights in the Orange County area of NY. Saturday night is taken care of, but we would like some place fun for Friday night. We like shopping (antique, art, clothing, whatever) and eating delicious food. We will be there in mid October so particularly stunning scenery is great too. Or just sight seeing. I cannot narrow it down to any specific town or location. Mohonk mountain house is out of the budget. I found the Roxbury motel, which looked like a fun time, but they only book two nights and that is not an option.

We will be coming from the mid-Atlantic, end destination is Sharon Springs. Anything within two hours of Sharon springs would be great. Any suggestions or ideas?

[greenscreen]

New Paltz is gorgeous that time of year, especially Lake Minnewaska and the Shawangunk Mtns.
Rhinebeck and Hyde Park are also really pretty in the fall. Rhinebeck has antique shops and cute cafes.

There might be some other options for hotels that are less expensive along the NYS thruway in Kingston or Poughkeepsie. Most of the chain hotels are fine since there is a fair amount of business travel in the area.

[Deleted]

There are lots of B&B's in the Woodstock-New Paltz area.

Rhinebeck is nice...LOTS of good restaurants!

[patches31709]

Since you said Orange County, check out Warwick. Such a quaint little town, you could go apple picking if you wanted, and there are a few different B&Bs to choose from. And if shopping is what you're after, you could go to Woodbury Common.

I also agree that Rhinebeck is an awesome place to visit and walk around.