Cruises Onboard Solaris--our solar-powered boat!

Our peaceful, 100% solar-powered cruise boat, Solaris, allows you to enjoy the area's wildlife, historic Hudson River lighthouses and unique views of the Rondout Creek and Hudson River as you glide silently through the water. 
Solaris operates from mid-May through the end of October. Cruises leaving from our home port on the Kingston Waterfront operate Thursday through Sunday at 1pm, 2:30pm, 4pm, 6pm, and 7:30pm, with an additional cruise on Sundays at 10am. ​All boat cruise tickets include free admission to the Hudson River Maritime Museum (our summer hours are Wednesday-Sunday, 11am to 5 pm).

Calendar

​If you have questions about Solaris tours, the boat or accessibility, you can read more here​ or reach out to us directly at  [email protected].

Cruise Descriptions

Rondout Lighthouse Tour

Take a guided tour of the historic Rondout Lighthouse, accessible only by boat. Built in 1915, the lighthouse is one of only seven remaining on the Hudson River. Led by our experienced and knowledgeable tour guides and crew, passengers are ferried to the lighthouse aboard Solaris and disembark to explore the lighthouse's interior, a unique way to experience first-hand the lives of its keepers. The tour culminates in an optional climb to the top of the tower and onto the observation deck! Enjoy stunning views of the Hudson River, the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge and, on a clear day, the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse in the distance. ​

Dual Lighthouse Cruise

Experience stunning views of the Esopus Meadows and Rondout Lighthouses on the Hudson River during this popular two-hour cruise each Sunday morning! Marking the entrance to Rondout Creek (Kingston, NY), the Rondout Lighthouse is a beautiful yellow brick structure. Completed in 1915, it is still a working navigational light. Located off of Black Creek in the Town of Esopus, the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse warned mariners away from the "Esopus Meadows," a shallow marshy area that the lighthouse is named after. Finished in 1871, it is the only wooden lighthouse left on the Hudson River. These are two of the remaining seven lighthouses on the Hudson River. Each has a long history as a beacon of light for mariners and home to lighthouse keepers and their families.


Please note: On this sightseeing cruise, Solaris does not stop at either lighthouse. To visit the interior of the Rondout Lighthouse, please register for the Rondout Lighthouse Tour.
“We took a lighthouse tour on the Solaris that was so brilliant we booked another one! The first trip took us out to the Rondout Lighthouse. The boat trip itself was beautiful, and our guides were friendly, funny and knowledgeable about the river's history. Their love of the region & for the environment was palpable...

Frankly, I think the price is a real bargain, as you get hours of entertainment and a unique experience. Highly recommend.” 

Live Music Cruise

Join us for an evening of live music with a wide variety of performers on Thursday evenings throughout the summer. The solar-powered electric motor of Solaris is extraordinarily quiet, allowing the music of the Hudson Valley to take center stage on this floating music venue. The intimate environment of Solaris provides the opportunity to chat with local musicians between songs and experience a one-of-a-kind performance of indie rock, sea shanties, folk, soul, and more. Passengers are invited to bring their own beverage (alcohol included).

Elements of Taste
In association with Kingston Wine Co.
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Led by Kingston Wine Co.'s knowledgeable staff, these cruises cover wine, hard cider, and other beverages  - complete with tasty samples! Each cruise is themed.

River Gong with HariPrakaash

Bliss out aboard Solaris as you immerse yourself in the healing sound vibrations of the Gong. Led by Hudson-based Kundalini Yoga, Meditation and Gong Sound Healing teacher and guide, HariPrakaash, you are invited to participate in a short meditation as you float along the river at sunset.

Hudson River Sunset Cruise

Cruise into the beautiful end-of-day sights and sounds on the Hudson River and feel free to bring your own beverage (alcohol included) to relax fully. Enjoy the stunning scenery of the Catskill Mountains as they loom over the shores of Kingston and Sojourner Truth State Park. This tour cruises north on the Hudson River, culminating with a spectacular view of the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge as the sun sets on the horizon. ​

Rondout Creek Sightseeing Cruise

As we cruise up Rondout Creek, passengers explore the industrial history of the area and view historic structures including Island Dock, the Wurts Street suspension bridge, the Wilbur Train Bridge, and the remains of cement and bluestone industries. The trip culminates at the former Lock 1 of the Delaware and Hudson Canal by the Eddyville Bridge. Don't miss this opportunity to see this historic river port and canal terminus from the water!

Hudson River Sightseeing Cruise

​Enjoy the sights of the Hudson River on a cruise that departs from the Rondout Creek, skims past Port Ewen Bay, and brings passengers to Sturgeon Point, where Vanderburgh Cove extends to the southeast. This tour cruises south on the Hudson River, including views of the Rondout Lighthouse, the Rhinecliff waterfront, and a glimpse of Esopus Meadows Lighthouse in the distance

Wrecked and Abandoned Tours

For most of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the village of Rondout boomed with barges, passenger steamboats, tugboats, and shipbuilding yards. Even during World War II, military vessels were built on Rondout Creek and sent off to war. Today, the Rondout Creek dominated by personal pleasure craft is almost unrecognizable from the industrial hub of the past, but the wrecked and abandoned vessels that line the creek or lay at the bottom of the river are archaeological evidence of the area's impressive history. Passengers will explore sunken vessels such as the steamboat Mary Powell and see for themselves the ribs of wrecked vessels surfacing at low tide!

The River People: Historic Lenape Lifeways with Justin Wexler

For countless generations, the Lenape People relied on the Hudson River and its tributaries for their survival. Drift with us into the past on a tour led by ethnoecologist Justin Wexler to learn about the day to day life of local native peoples five centuries ago.

Justin Wexler of Wild Hudson Valley is an independent scholar who has studied Hudson Valley indigenous culture, languages, and history for over twenty years. He regularly works with members of their displaced federally-recognized communities, hosting tribe members on visits to their ancestral homeland and helping to connect the past with the present.

D&H Canal History—A Conversation with Bill Merchant

Join D&H Canal Historical Society Historian and Curator Bill Merchant for an engaging conversation about the history of the Delaware & Hudson Canal and the industrial port of Rondout. Bill will bring a different historical artifact from the D&H Canal Historical Society collections for discussion on each trip. Quiet and comfortable Solaris will take you up Rondout Creek to Lock No. 1 at Eddyville - the first lock and weigh lock on the D&H Canal.

​Lenape History with Harv Hilowitz

Did you know the Hudson Valley has been inhabited for over twelve thousand years by Native Peoples? While on the Mahicannituck (Hudson River), passengers will learn about the Indigenous Lenape people, their ancestors and history, and how they interacted with the landscape and with other tribes. Scholar Harv Hilowitz leads guests through the history of what happened after first contact with the Europeans, the journey of the Lenape diaspora, and their presence here now. Questions and conversation are encouraged.

Harv Hilowitz is a historian of Indigenous and Hudson Valley history and a Contributing Scholar to the Hudson River Maritime Museum.