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 2026 in grand fashion.
Here is a list of 20 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 start of 2026!
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.
Ring in 2026 with a night of Old Hollywood sparkle and pizzazz as the wine cellar is transformed into a scene straight out of Hollywood's Golden Age. Surround yourself with vintage elegance, glittering gowns and sharp tuxedos. Dress to impress and celebrate the occasion in style under the lights on your very own red carpet. Enjoy dining, dancing and more.
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.
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Celebrate the new year with a party hosted by Nick Michaels, a singing DJ who blends live vocals with curated mixes! The evening begins with passed and stationary hors d’oeuvres and continues with a delicious buffet, a five-hour top-shelf open bar, and hats and noisemakers to ring in the new year. Enjoy a breakfast sandwich on your way out. Special room rates are available at The Inn for attendees! 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.
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.
Treat yourself to an all-inclusive New Year's Eve package in the heart of Poughkeepsie. Enjoy dinner for two, which includes a five-course gourmet menu, one bottle of wine, two glasses of champagne and three premium drink tickets, along with deluxe overnight accommodations and breakfast for two in the morning.
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 featuring authentic ice boats with full rigging opens on Dec. 20 and will be on display in the Wallace Center every day through Jan. 4 (except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day). Visitors are welcome on New Year’s Eve between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
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 Hudson River and 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 offers service on the Metro-North Hudson Line and on Amtrak as well.
Dress to impress and dance 'til you drop at this annual New Year's Eve bash. DJ Ethical Drift lays 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.
Stay tuned for details on Juan Murphy's New Year's Eve Grunge Type Thing celebration. 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.
Ring in the new year at a more family-friendly time of day — ball drop at 6 p.m.! Enjoy complimentary toasts of Lasting Joy's Like It Local Lager or Samascott Orchard’s Sparkling Apple Cider for all guests during the ball drop, and seasonal food and drink specials all day long.
Mahoney’s invites 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 at 8 p.m. for the New Year’s Eve Gala and Comedy Show featuring comedians Rich Shultis, Michael Agunbiade, Anthony Zenhauser, Dave Stickle and Elizabeth Becz. Enjoy a delicious buffet dinner, champagne toast, balloon drop and party favors. Stick around for the after-party until 4 a.m. with DJ Parag. Mahoney's is right next to the Poughkeepsie train station, which offers Metro-North and Amtrak service, so getting there and getting home is a snap!
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 hosted by illusionist Ryan Dutcher! Enjoy a delicious hot lunch buffet, appetizers, desserts, games 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.
Book the Winter Wellness Escape Package and treat yourself to lavish overnight accommodations for one evening at this Forbes Four-Star-rated inn and spa, along with $50 toward dining per person at Willow, Mirbeau’s elegant on-site restaurant, and 15% off the Fire & Ice Massage. This seasonal treatment is designed to ease tension and nurture body, mind, and spirit, and comes complete with a calming Mirbeau Botanicals Warming or Cooling Balm to take home.
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 4.25-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.”
Say goodbye to '25 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 desserts. 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.
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The iconic Towne Crier presents its 54th consecutive New Year’s Eve celebration featuring powerhouse performances by the Beacon-based charismatic pop/rock duo Boom Kat; award-winning blues artist Gabe Stillman and his band; and the Kelli Baker Band, led by electrifying vocalist and songwriter Kelli Baker. While you're there, enjoy a delicious meal cooked up by executive chef Daniel Gugliuzza and pastry chef Mary Ciganer. Tickets include 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.
Step into 2026 with clarity and grace with an overnight wellness experience led by renowned meditation teacher Gemma Gambee Lewis. Titled “The Art of Becoming: A New Year’s Ritual Retreat,” this two-day getaway includes an elegant dinner on New Year’s Eve luxurious lodging at the Michelin Key-awarded hotel, a meditation session, refreshing nature walk, time in either the infrared or traditional sauna, and more. 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.
Celebrate “Capodanno at the Villa: An Italian New Year’s Celebration” and ring in the New Year with style. There will be passed hors d'oeuvres and plenty of delicious appetizers during the cocktail hour, amazing dinner stations, a Viennese dessert display, a DJ and live music, a photobooth, party favors, and, of course, a Limoncello toast at midnight. The Villa Borghese and the Porco Family have been providing fine catering and a wonderful event and wedding venue since 1970.
Welcome the new year with DJ Tekwun and DJ Paulie Feva at the New Year’s Eve party at The Vinyl Room, which features an in-store record shop and a bottom-floor speak easy and arcade, and offers crafted cocktails, curated craft beverages, and tasty tapas.
