Stanford has long been that place you drive past on the way to Milbrook. Well, nothing stays undiscovered when it’s close to two top destinations—the other being Rhinebeck—and New Yorkers have been taking notice. Second homes are selling well—brokers say it’s been a sleeper hit this year—and its slight remove from the hot spots means that you can, say, go into Rhinebeck for weekday antiquing while ducking its weekend traffic. Proximity aside, Stanford has its own funky town center (in the hamlet of Stanfordville), a rec center with a pool, and small-town summer programs like Wiffle Ball games and arts-and-crafts days. The biggest draw, though, is simply “the beautiful countryside,” says longtime resident Suzanne Roemer.
What’s New
It’s still early in Stanford’s upswing, so not much. But a new Mexican restaurant is rumored to be coming in, joining popular spots like the Bangall Whaling Company.
Rental Listings
An architect-owned two-bedroom bungalow (pictured above).
Cost: Month: $7,000; Season: $19,000
Pluses: There’s a separate sleeping cabin for guests, plus two terraces and a porch on 28 acres with two ponds and a 20-by-40-foot solar-heated swimming pool.
Minuses: Only one bathroom.
Agent: Kim Lane, Houlihan Lawrence (houlihanlawrence.com); listing No. 304419.
A 480-square-foot log cabin.
Cost: Week: $1,400
Pluses: Glorious seclusion on 85 acres, with a private three-and-a-half-acre lake.
Minuses: No separate bedroom, and it sleeps only two.
Agent: The Sergio family (hudsonvalleycabin.com).
A Perfect Day
Start with a power breakfast at Red Devon, voted “best green restaurant” by Hudson Valley magazine, whose kitchen uses almost exclusively local ingredients. Then drive five miles north and hike to the fire tower atop Stissing Mountain for a 360-degree view. You can cool down while spotting birds at the Buttercup Farm Audubon Sanctuary. You’ll be hungry, so stop in at Home Plate for grilled cheese and ice cream or at Stanford Pizza for a slice. Then meander your way through the nearby Ole Carousel, a big antiques market nearby. If you’ve signed up for a summer-season CSA share at Sister’s Hill Farm, you can go pick up your harvest and make dinner.