New York's Most Enchanting Ranch Is Among Lush Orchards With Cozy Safari Tents And Friendly Farm Animals

So much of travel relies on speed: getting in as much sightseeing as possible, moving between destinations quickly, and doing rapid outfit changes between daytime and dinner. But one of New York's Hudson Valley getaways asks you to take a breather and enjoy a slower pace. At Gatherwild Ranch in the village of Germantown, the only things on your schedule might be feeding goats or watching stars around a fire pit. While this kind of escape-to-nature experience has a rustic ring to it, it's combined with luxury, where guests stay in glamping tents and have access to a sauna.

Gatherwild Ranch is about a two-hour drive from Midtown Manhattan, making it an easy place to go and unwind after bouncing around New York City's iconic movie spots and flying in to one of the city's three major airports. It's also just 15 minutes from the beautiful and trendy small city of Hudson, which is a convenient stop on the Amtrak from New York City. Once you arrive at the ranch, you'll be greeted by the scene of a former orchard, surrounded by bleating goats and clucking chickens, where you can settle into a safari-style tent designed "to surprise and delight when you enter," as Laura Sink, one of the ranch's creators, described in Main Street Magazine.

Like many who find themselves in the Hudson Valley, Laura Sink and Paul Jacobsen were looking for a way to reconnect with nature after living in New York City for years. They decided not only to move upstate, but also to provide an opportunity for others who wanted an escape, if at least temporarily. "The natural world is getting harder to access and that's a big reason why we're here doing what we're doing," Sink said in Main Street Magazine. Their ranch is spread across 15 acres of what used to be an apple orchard, with a layout that traverses paths lined with greenery and gently rolling hills.

There are eight lodging options in total at Gatherwild, each spaced out enough around the orchard to provide some seclusion. They include upscale tents, an A-frame mini cabin, a couple traditional bungalows, and a vintage camper. The lodgings all come with sizable beds, a picnic table and firepit, Adirondack chairs, and solar electricity. They share a bathhouse (with chic, Moroccan-tiled showers and flushing toilets) and an outdoor kitchen. Around the property you'll also find hammocks, a duck-filled pond, and mushroom sprinklers to cool off in.

Itineraries aside, your stay at Gatherwild doesn't have to be uneventful. The ranch has plenty of amenities and nature-oriented activities to fill your days. In 2024, they built a sleek, cedar-lined sauna, which includes a cold plunge. There's a flower and vegetable garden, quiet walking paths, and a couple of mobile pastoral touches: roaming goats and chickens (which guests are able to collect eggs from each morning).

The activities at Gatherwild can be solitary undertakings, but they also don't have to be. There's an element of relaxed, spontaneous community guests often find themselves a part of. "We find the casual meetings of a few guests throughout the property are more ideal than planned group events. The community element happens rather organically," Sink told Main Street Magazine. You might find yourself sharing stories with your neighbors around a firepit, collecting eggs together, or playing ping-pong with strangers at the ranch's game room.

Finally, look into Gatherwild's calendar of events and uniquely themed retreats. The ranch has hosted everything from art workshops to reading clubs, spiritual excursions to yoga outings. Not to mention, you can borrow a bike at the ranch and explore the nearby Germantown community or ride the connecting Hudson River Valley Greenway Trail, one of the breathtaking trails that every biker should visit at least once.