Easy Getaways from NYC

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Here we are. The last weekend of the summer. (Though we *technically* have several more weeks in the season, there’s no denying that the winds have started to shift.) Now’s the time we take stock of our wish lists and check the FOMO levels. Did we find some joy? Yes! Did we leave it all on the field? Well … TBD.

Sometimes we kick ourselves for leaving everything to the last minute. But we continue the pattern because those lightly planned or truly spontaneous outings often make for the very best summer days.

Get inspired for the holiday weekend and put a cherry on top of your summer when you:

amble through the stomping grounds of yesteryear’s gazillionaires
soak up the landscapes: glistening shorelines, rolling pastures, wild gardens
feast on a farm and have cocktails by the fire pit
discover the next stop along the Northeast Corridor
…. all while keeping your travel time under two hours from NYC

Get a Healthy Dose of Art and Design in Connecticut

If you have already had your fill of Dia Beacon and Storm King, you may want to move onto The Glass House, which OG starchitect Philip Johnson designed as his residence in the 1940s, in New Canaan, Connecticut. Tours (self-guided, small groups, extended) make their way through the main house, painting and sculpture galleries, and a one-mile walk over grassy paths. Advance reservations are required — and only kids over ten are allowed.

Design junkies with smaller children can get their fix at nearby Grace Farms, a fascinating non-profit center on 80 acres of fields and woods punctuated by a $67-million-dollar building known as The River, a curvaceous structure built of steel, concrete, wood, and glass that meanders through the landscape. Built by acclaimed Tokyo-based firm Saana, this thing of beauty brings the outdoors in and the indoors out. There’s a very peaceful library (that would also be an incredible perch on a snowy day), a bright cafe and tea pavilion, a super design-y kid craft center, a gymnasium, and a light-filled sanctuary/indoor amphitheater for programming that runs the gamut — philosophical, religious, scientific, nature-based, and social justice-oriented. It's free and open to the public every day except Monday.

Check Out Big Daddy Landscape Architecture on Long Island

If you like Central Park, you’ll love the lesser-known gems designed by the Olmsted Brothers.

The rest of this article — with getaways you probably haven't heard about a million times already and are fun at any time — is for subscribers. Sign up for our newsletter Way to Go for your all-access pass.