The Best Summer Activities in Dutchess County – 2025

Dutchess Fair
August 19 – 24, 2025
https://www.dutchessfair.com/
The Dutchess Fair happens at the end of summer, but we just have to list it first. This classic event is a must-do. Enjoy food, rides, livestock, entertainment, games, artisans, and more at Rhinebeck’s county fairgrounds. Hot tip: buy your tickets online to get a discount and avoid long lines at the ticket booths. If you or your kids love the rides, invest in a ride-all-day wristband for $40.

Taconic State Park
https://parks.ny.gov/parks/taconiccopake/
Taconic State Park, near the borders of Massachusetts and Connecticut, offers both Copake Falls and Rudd Pond for summer fun. There’s a campground with tent sites, trailer sites, and cabins, as well as great swimming spots like Ore Pit Pond. Hike to Bash Bish Falls or up Brace Mountain, the highest point in Dutchess County, or visit the Copake Iron Works Museum to learn about the iron industry at the former site of Copake Iron Works, established in 1845.

NY Stage and Film Summer Season
July 11 – August 3, 2025
https://www.newyorkstageandfilm.org
No need to go to Manhattan to catch the hottest up-and-coming stage plays and musicals. This year, the NYSAF comes to Marist College with public performances and readings.

Hudson Valley Renegades
Home games run through September 7, 2025
https://www.milb.com/hudson-valley
Now a New York Yankees High-A affiliate, the Renegades bring family fun and local flavor to Minor League baseball action at Fishkill’s Dutchess Stadium (aka “The Dutch”). Several home games feature fireworks or Friday night “light shows,” and the calendar is full of special promotional events such as Marvel Night, Star Wars Night, and Halloween in July. Regardless of the final score, everyone wins a great time.

Hudson Valley Hot Air Balloon Festival
August 29 – 31, 2025
https://www.dcrcoc.org/balloonfesthv.org
At this memorable and unique Dutchess County tradition, hot-air balloonists from all over the U.S. participate in 100 scheduled ascensions over the course of three days. Highlights include the evening Majestic Hot-Air Balloon Illumination Moon Glow, fireworks each night, tethered hot-air balloon rides, full hot-air balloon flights, helicopter rides, live music and entertainment, food trucks, family activities and more. Tickets are only sold online in advance.

Splashdown Beach Water Park
Open through September 1, 2025
https://www.splashdownbeach.com/
Splashdown Beach calls itself “America’s Biggest Little Water Park,” and this summer mecca located in Fishkill definitely lives up to the name. Featuring 15 wonderfully wet water slides, rides, and play areas, Splashdown was recently named a “Top 10” U.S. water park by TripAdvisor.

Bard College SummerScape
June 27 – August 17, 2025
https://fishercenter.bard.edu/summerscape/
Located on the idyllic campus of Annandale-on-Hudson’s Bard College, SummerScape is back in 2025 for its 212nd season of live music, dance, opera, and performance. SummerScape always combines the best of arts and the Hudson Valley’s stunning natural backdrop into cultural experiences to remember.

Barton Orchards
https://www.bartonorchards.com/
Barton Orchards is known throughout Dutchess County as a go-to spot for fall apple picking, but you can also find homegrown fun there all summer. The farm stand, tap room, ropes course, and daily activities are open seven days a week, and the calendar’s full of special events like the Hudson Valley Food Truck Festival, Car Show, and the Sunflower Festival.

Here are some other items to help complete your calendar of things to do in Dutchess County throughout the summer of 2025:

• See movies by the carload at the Overlook Drive-In.

• Savor soft-serve ice cream and other cool treats at our neighbor Zoe’s Ice Cream Barn.

• Dine on the waterfront at Shadows on the Hudson or The Governess, or check out our picks for the best outdoor dining spots in Dutchess County.

• Check out a concert or classic film at The Bardavon in Poughkeepsie.

• Entertain the kids while celebrating your inner child at Legoland NY.

• Enjoy the world-class performances of the Summer Dance Festival at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Rhinebeck.

• Bike and hike on the Dutchess Rail Trail.

• Wander through the jaw-dropping scenery at Innisfree Garden.

• Go wild at the Trevor Zoo at Millbrook School.

• Pair sonnets with sunsets (and picnics) at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

• Stargaze at Walkway at Night events on the Walkway Over the Hudson.

Here’s to summer! We hope yours is full of your favorite things.