View of the Hudson River from Highland Falls. Photo by Kelly Carroll
Ok, maybe not the world, but my hometown recently graced the pages of Hudson Valley magazine as one of the Top Ten Towns in all of the Hudson River Valley.
While I completely agree with this assessment, I do have a bit of a bone to pick with the blurb. Highland Falls, a village surrounding the United States Military Academy, has many more redeeming qualities than just being the gateway to West Point. It has a small community feel, families who have lived there for generations, breathtaking views of the Hudson River and Bear Mountain, and a kick-ass, three-day 4th of July celebration (complete with a parade, bed races, and a whole-town electric slide. I’m not kidding.) It’s also the place that inspired Billy Joel to write those iconic words: “Our reason coexisits with our insanity,” which I’ve always thought should be the Highland Falls motto.
So Highland Falls, congratulations. We always knew you were great and now so do the 20-plus people who will read this blog today!
NoMad Blogger 
Holy Moly!
I can’t believe HF is in the same article as Red Hook, Pawling, Hurley, New Paltz, Hudson, Windham, Washingtonville, Pearl River, and Garrison.
Did you notice that the picture shown for HF was of West Point? All the other communities had picture of a venue of their own. The article sounded like HF and WP are soooo close, and really “one”…..I wish that was true.
But hey, maybe this will motivate more people to move to HF ….there is a nice house on 12 Knox Rd that’s for sale….. 🙂
Not even close to greatest in the world or even New York, maybe palatable as small, worn out villages go with a few well maintained properties. Many streets are in need of repair and Main St is a hodge-podge of nearly a dozen empty storefronts and others being mainly services and a few local beauty establishments and a few eateries.
As for being in the”10 best” the article barely mentions the village and instead focuses on the campus of West Point which has no connection, but geography, to the village and its civilian residents.
Want to know a bit about the deep-down history and the people of Highland Falls (as well as the Town of Highlands) … go to http://www.buttermilkbrook.com
….and start digging. If you have anything to add, please send it. No ads, no agenda, and nothing is asked of visitors other than to enjoy and remember the wonderful village and people.