You may hear Saugerties and have an acid flashback to the second Woodstock Festival. But this town, two hours north of the city, has left its wild days behind and now boasts some of the best (and still reasonably priced) antiquing in the Hudson Valley. Among the dozens of shops, we particularly like the Saugerties Antiques Gallery (104 Partition Street), Partition Street Antiques (114 Partition), and the eclectic Reusables (228 Main Street). For kids, there's the Beachview Carousel (61 South Partition) -- a splendid vintage carousel. A small public beach fronts the Esopus Creek (which feeds into the Hudson), and half a block away is Krause's Handmade Chocolate Shop, an old-fashioned candy shop. For dinner, reserve at Cafe Tamayo (89 Partition), which serves American fare popular with Mimi Sheraton and Bryan Miller. It's also a bed-and-breakfast, so why not stay here, too? After dinner, take in a movie at the cozy circa-1890 Orpheum Theater, or attend Donny Malone’s Saturday-night antiques auction (starts at 6 p.m.). In the morning, cruise out on the Hudson River to the restored Saugerties Lighthouse, built in 1869; the ferry runs weekends and holidays.

DETAILS Cafe Tamayo, 914-246-9371; for auction info, call 914-246-6379; for Saugerties antiques-store info, call Bill Mayer at 914-246-5816.

Related:

• Archive: “52 Weekends”
• Articles by Neil Cohen
• Table of Contents: March 13, 2000 issue of New York | Subscribe!