For this week’s Car-Free property, we wanted to show that you could live somewhere like Rhinecliff, which we consider Mecca for carless commuters, in a nice house, with a yard, without causing irreparable damage to your bottom line. We think this updated 1887 farmhouse fits the bill just about right.

Rhinecliff is known for its quaint chi-chi-ness, and the general feeling is that it’s not easy, maybe even impossible, to find something this nice for less than $300,00. But it’s not true, and this is a great example of what you can find if you look. The house has a good yard, nice back deck, gorgeous sun room, roomy kitchen and big enough overall at nearly 2,000 square feet.

Jones Street lies a mere a block from the water front, and it’s just a half-mile from the Rhinecliff Amtrak station. It’s also close walking distance to a couple of must-see spots in Rhinecliff, like the Morton Public Library just up the hill. Not only is it a great library, it’s also the home of a small theater that hosts plays and even yoga (check out the events calendar).

Then there’s the Rhinecliff Hotel, which has an amazing restaurant and bar with patio seating so you can watch the boats go by on the Hudson.

And finally, it’s near one of our favorite restaurants in all of the Upstater area, China Rose. This is not your typical Chinese restaurant. While you can order takeout, it’s worth it to take the time to sit in their amazing dining room or cozy bar. And their food is amazing.

The house sits on a corner lot on a nice residential street. There’s a hitch (isn’t there always?): There’s no bus service from Rhinecliff to Rhinebeck, which is the nearest town with a grocery store. Short Line bus services runs some routes around the Rhinebeck/Poughkeepsie/Hyde Park area, so if you can get to Rhinebeck, you can get to other places. So although you might not be able to be completely car-free, you can certainly use it less than you might in other areas.

5 Jones Street, Rhinecliff (Better Homes and Gardens/Gail Saucier) GMAP
Asking Price: $284,000
Beds: 4
Baths: 1
Square Feet: 1837
Year Built: 1887
Land: .44 acres
Taxes: $5,659
Features: Sun room

Olana

Okay, we’re a day late for this Valentine’s Day post, but we were waiting for folks to add more suggestions to the Daily Freeman’s ongoing list of the most romantic spots upstate. Some we’re intimately familiar with. Others we were happy to learn about.

Here are a few key selections:

Olana: The Hudson River School painter’s mansion, and site of his inspiration. Incredible house, incredible views. Just south of Hudson, NY on 9G.

Parade Hill: At the end of Warren Street in Hudson, a small waterfront park.

Ulster County’s five covered bridges: Perrine’s in Esopus; Turnwood in Olivebridge; Grant’s Mill and Myer’s in Hardenburgh; Tappan Bridge in North Seager.

Tanbark Trail: A short hike with great views, accessible from downtown Phoenicia, on Tremper Mountain.

The Rhinecliff Hotel: Right on the Hudson (and right on the railroad tracks, steps from the Rhinecliff Amtrak station), this is a swanky, tasteful joint with modern rooms and delicious eats.

We would add Poet’s Walk, along the Hudson and next to Rokeby, in Rhinecliff. You guys have any spots to add?

We thought this Groupon deal was worth mentioning, since the Rhinecliff has great views, beautiful rooms and an extremely convenient location, steps to Amtrak (which doesn’t bother guests nearly as much as you’d think). Good for getting away and house hunting!

Oh, how I love you Rhinecliff! You’re Rhinebeck’s cool, goth little sister—literally edgier, as you’re right on the cliffs overlooking the Hudson River. (Get it?) Pretty, glossy Rhinebeck is just a couple miles away, so your residents can take easy advantage of her charms, while enjoying your ready access to the Rhinecliff Amtrak stop and gorgeous river views. Plus, you have the best white person Chinese restaurant in New York, with its porch overlooking the river.

As Rhinecliff is a tiny hamlet of relatively tiny Rhinebeck, it doesn’t have a huge selection of real estate stock, so I was thrilled to see this pretty little country house on the market. We often get asked by our readers (and I get asked by my renters), “Do you need a car to access this one?”  While the answer is always yes—honestly, basics like grocery shopping and going out to eat are impossible in most Upstate counties without wheels—-this one is within walking distance of the train station. The house is small, on a small-ish lot, but it has a nice established garden and that American Gothic feel so common in Rhinebeck. I’m not crazy about some of the updates, but it is in move-in condition. Stats on the jump. (more…)

While it’s far out of my price range, 6 Long Dock Road seems like a really good deal to me. It’s in the lovely little hamlet of Rhinecliff, a few strokes from the Amtrak station and less than a 10-minute drive to downtown Rhinebeck. Yes, yes, the ceilings are low, which is always the case in these very old stone houses of upstate New York, but those beams are quite amazing. This is a place to take your friends and impress the heck out of them. It’s on five acres, very close to the Hudson River, with lovely landscaped grounds, and — score! — a great little one-bed guest cottage (the kitchen in the guest house is far more appealing to me than the teal-slathered kitchen in the main house) and artist’s studio. I imagine that the upkeep of such a place is rather strenuous. You’ll need some version of a caretaker if you’re not going to live here full time, or if you’re going to live here full time but still have some room in your schedule for, you know, work. (We do plan to do a post on caretakers for second homes soon, btw). Taxes, alas, look to be above $13,000. Save some room in the budget for that.

Here’s one incredible thing about this place: central air! In a 300-year-old house! For some reason, that gives me extra faith in the renovation. Please buy it and let me have the guest house! Slideshow below, and stats on the jump.

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The Tivoli B&B

We had a reader request for upstate accommodations, places to shack up when out house hunting or just getting fresh air for a weekend. Below you’ll find a starter list, places we’ve stayed, visited or just heard really good things about, to suit a variety of budgets. We’ve broken then up by county. Please help us compile a master list by adding your own, in the comments or by emailing us.

COLUMBIA COUNTY
Hudson
Hudson Merchant House
Four rooms to let in a restored, modernized Federal-style brick home, three blocks from the train station
$165 to $295

The Inn at Hudson
A restored, grand 1903 Mansion
$200 to $225

More Hudson options here.

DELAWARE COUNTY:
Roxbury
The Roxbury Motel
Super hip-ified motel with spa
$99 to $345

DUTCHESS COUNTY:
Rhinecliff
The Rhinecliff
Fancy and tasteful hotel, delicious restaurant, steps from train station
$259 to $359

Tivoli
Madalin Hotel
Fancy inn, center of town, delicious food
$199-$299

Suminski Innski
Amazing restored mansion filled with art, on the Hudson
starting at $125

GREENE COUNTY:
Round Top
The Winter Clove
Wonderful family mountain house with pool and bowling alley, stuck in time
starting at $95 per person

SULLIVAN COUNTY:
Monticello
Kutshers
Rebounded borscht belt holdout
Starting at $145

ULSTER COUNTY:
Gardiner
Minnewaska Lodge
Poor man’s Mohonk, rooms like a Target showroom, but great locale
$169 to $225

High Falls
Clove Cottages
Adorable, affordable, pet-friendly, recommended by a reader. They bring hot scones in the morning!
$110 to $180

Mt. Tremper
Kate’s Lazy Meadow
Airstream trailers and cabins, tended to by a former singer from the B-52s.
$175-$450

Phoenicia
Simpler Times Cabins
Pretty self explanatory
$60 to $125

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We’ve had a lot of requests to profile places you can escape to without a car. So how’s this one? I’ve driven by it a zillion times since it’s two seconds from the Rhinecliff Amtrak station and perched right on the Hudson. This means great views, even if the house is a humble 60′s ranch with wall-to-wall carpeting and some dour olive paint. Decently-sized, though, with three beds and two-and-a-half baths, washer/dryer and a dishwasher (my idea of heaven). You can walk to the newly shmancy Rhinecliff Hotel (delicious) or the Chinese restaurant (never eaten there, but an amazing location along the railroad tracks) for dinner, or bike into Rhinebeck (aka the Hamptons of Dutchess County) for groceries. The big questions is: what will you do with that garage if this is your car-free getaway? (More local info on the jump)
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