With a lot of travel planned for this fall, I decided to have a low-key summer in the city, opting to treat holiday weekends for Memorial Day and Fourth of July as staycations.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, I checked something off my NYC to-do list that’s been on there for quite a while- a day trip to Dia:Beacon.

On the banks of the Hudson River, Dia:Beacon is art exhibition housed in a former Nabisco box printing factory. The space itself is stunning, and massive- it’s bigger than the Guggenheim, Whitney and MoMa combined.

Each gallery is designed specifically for the presentation of the artist’s work. Artists exhibiting at Dia:Beacon, Louise Bourgeois, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Richard Serra, etc., choose to show their work there for a reason- they’re more inspired by the American landscape and spirit than the SoHo art scene.

On our visit, I was particularly pleased with the amount of Flavin work on display- love neon.

The museum’s lush surroundings are the perfect place to enjoy a picnic lunch- we packed spiralized zucchini salad and watermelon, and grabbed iced coffees from the museum’s cafe. And although, we opted to come back to the city for happy hour drinks and dinner, the town of Beacon is walking distance from the train station and home to numerous galleries, shops and cute bistros.

Picnic photo via my travel companion @ames984

Extra Know Before You Go Info

• How to Get There: If you’re not driving, take Metro-North’s Hudson Line from Grand Central Station or Harlem’s 125th Street Station- leaving from GCT, it’s a 90-minute ride. Once you arrive in Beacon, it’s a short walk (~5-10 minutes) to the museum.
• Admission: Price to enter the museum is $15 for adults. If you take Metro-North, book one of their package deals when purchasing tickets for a discounted rate- $35 round-trip for the train and admission.