Museum Hours
Hudson River Maritime Museum is open year-round to visitors.
The museum is currently operating Winter Hours, Thursday through Sunday, 11:00am-5:00pm.
Solaris River cruises, including Rondout Lighthouse House tours, operate May through October. Click here to view the cruise schedule.
The museum is currently operating Winter Hours, Thursday through Sunday, 11:00am-5:00pm.
Solaris River cruises, including Rondout Lighthouse House tours, operate May through October. Click here to view the cruise schedule.
Admission
Tickets to the Museum are available in person only and can be purchased on-site at the Museum Store. For admission questions, please call 845-338-0071.
Adults: $10.00
Seniors (62+): $7.00
Children (18 & under): $5.00
Family Rate (2 adults & children under 18): $25.00
Children 5 years & younger: FREE
Veterans & Active Duty Military w/ID: FREE
HRMM Members: FREE
CAMM Members: FREE
Guided Museum Tours are available for an additional $5. Visit the Events Calendar for dates and times.
Entry to the Museum is complimentary with the purchase of a ticket on Solaris
Seniors (62+): $7.00
Children (18 & under): $5.00
Family Rate (2 adults & children under 18): $25.00
Children 5 years & younger: FREE
Veterans & Active Duty Military w/ID: FREE
HRMM Members: FREE
CAMM Members: FREE
Guided Museum Tours are available for an additional $5. Visit the Events Calendar for dates and times.
Entry to the Museum is complimentary with the purchase of a ticket on Solaris
Visitors may purchase tickets for Solaris cruises online or in person at the Museum Store during Museum opening hours.
Special Programs
Bank of America Museums on Us
Available on the first full weekend of every month. Simply present your active Bank of America, Merrill, or Bank of America Private Bank (U.S. Trust) credit or debit card for one free general admission (cardholder only).
Blue Star Museum
Available between Armed Forces Day through Labor Day. Free admission to active-duty military personnel and their families including National Guard and Reserve.
Library Passes
Many Hudson Valley libraries offer HRMM museum passes to their patrons. Patrons can check out a pass, show it when they arrive to the museum to enjoy free admission, then return the pass to their library. Not all libraries participate, so call or visit yours to see if passes are available.
Available on the first full weekend of every month. Simply present your active Bank of America, Merrill, or Bank of America Private Bank (U.S. Trust) credit or debit card for one free general admission (cardholder only).
Blue Star Museum
Available between Armed Forces Day through Labor Day. Free admission to active-duty military personnel and their families including National Guard and Reserve.
Library Passes
Many Hudson Valley libraries offer HRMM museum passes to their patrons. Patrons can check out a pass, show it when they arrive to the museum to enjoy free admission, then return the pass to their library. Not all libraries participate, so call or visit yours to see if passes are available.
Guided Museum Tours
Gain fascinating insight into the story of the Hudson River and its rich maritime history in this guided museum tour. Join one of our expert guides, as you explore Hudson River Maritime Museum's fascinating exhibits and collections. Learn about the river's tributaries and the industries that thrived along its banks, like brick making, bluestone quarrying, and coal transportation.
Ever wondered how the New York Canal system and the steam era revolutionized transport on the river? Discover how these influences paved the way for the booming industries of the 19th and 20th centuries!
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to connect with our shared history! Tickets for the guided tour are just $5 per person*, plus admission to the museum. If you are interested in a tour for a private group, please email Education with the dates and group size to schedule.
Check our events calendar for dates and times.
* admission to the museum is charged at the standard rates.
Ever wondered how the New York Canal system and the steam era revolutionized transport on the river? Discover how these influences paved the way for the booming industries of the 19th and 20th centuries!
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to connect with our shared history! Tickets for the guided tour are just $5 per person*, plus admission to the museum. If you are interested in a tour for a private group, please email Education with the dates and group size to schedule.
Check our events calendar for dates and times.
* admission to the museum is charged at the standard rates.
Closures
Any closings notices due to holidays or weather will be posted on our homepage.
Wondering about the weather? Hudson Valley Weather has accurate, up-do-date, local weather for the entire Hudson Valley.
Wondering about the weather? Hudson Valley Weather has accurate, up-do-date, local weather for the entire Hudson Valley.
Accessibility
Most of the spaces and facilities at our campus are accessible to visitors with limited mobility. Click here to view a map of the museum.
PARKING
There are several handicapped parking spaces near our campus at 50 Rondout Landing. These are part of the street parking in front of the museum building entrance, in the parking lot next to our large gray barn, and in the municipal parking lot across the street from our campus.
MUSEUM
The museum store and West Gallery may be accessed via ramp on the street side of the building. In order to visit the East Gallery and Green Room, guests must exit the building through the gift shop and continue up the ramp to the back entrance. A staff member or volunteer will be happy to meet you at that door. Those walking with a cane or walker may also want to consider this route as there is a short flight of three steps from the West Gallery to the hallway that accesses the rest of the museum.
SOLARIS
Solaris is a small vessel, and thus is not universally accessible. Due to the constraints of space and design, steps are required to board and disembark the vessel, as well as crossing an 8-12 inch gap between the dock and the vessel. Crew are present to assist in boarding and assure passenger safety. We have had passengers aboard with canes, walkers, and wheelchair users who were able to ride up to the boat and walk aboard with some assistance. At this time, Solaris is not accessible for passengers who need to board in a wheelchair due to the requirement for stairs and absence of a gangplank.
The HRMM docks are similarly accessible. There are available ramps to access all docks, however, due to the tidal nature of the Rondout Creek at the museum's location, all docks are floating. Depending on the tides, the ramps are more or less steep, and docks move slightly as people travel along them. Docks and ramps are made of wood and aluminum, and can become slippery when wet. Ramps are only 24 inches wide in several cases due to space constraints. Any prospective passengers with questions about accessibility can reach the museum by calling 845-338-0071.
SERVICE ANIMALS
Working animal companions, when identified as such, are allowed throughout the campus and buildings.
PARKING
There are several handicapped parking spaces near our campus at 50 Rondout Landing. These are part of the street parking in front of the museum building entrance, in the parking lot next to our large gray barn, and in the municipal parking lot across the street from our campus.
MUSEUM
The museum store and West Gallery may be accessed via ramp on the street side of the building. In order to visit the East Gallery and Green Room, guests must exit the building through the gift shop and continue up the ramp to the back entrance. A staff member or volunteer will be happy to meet you at that door. Those walking with a cane or walker may also want to consider this route as there is a short flight of three steps from the West Gallery to the hallway that accesses the rest of the museum.
SOLARIS
Solaris is a small vessel, and thus is not universally accessible. Due to the constraints of space and design, steps are required to board and disembark the vessel, as well as crossing an 8-12 inch gap between the dock and the vessel. Crew are present to assist in boarding and assure passenger safety. We have had passengers aboard with canes, walkers, and wheelchair users who were able to ride up to the boat and walk aboard with some assistance. At this time, Solaris is not accessible for passengers who need to board in a wheelchair due to the requirement for stairs and absence of a gangplank.
The HRMM docks are similarly accessible. There are available ramps to access all docks, however, due to the tidal nature of the Rondout Creek at the museum's location, all docks are floating. Depending on the tides, the ramps are more or less steep, and docks move slightly as people travel along them. Docks and ramps are made of wood and aluminum, and can become slippery when wet. Ramps are only 24 inches wide in several cases due to space constraints. Any prospective passengers with questions about accessibility can reach the museum by calling 845-338-0071.
SERVICE ANIMALS
Working animal companions, when identified as such, are allowed throughout the campus and buildings.
Pets
We welcome pets to the museum’s campus. Animals must be controlled at all times and on leashes that are no longer than 6 feet. Pets are not permitted in buildings or in any area that is designated as closed to pets. Owners must pick up after their pets and dispose of pet waste properly.
Directions
NYS Thruway (I-87) Take Exit 19. At traffic circle take the third exit for Route 587 South to the traffic light. Go straight for Route 32/Broadway South (straight). Keep going straight to stay on Broadway. You will enter a residential area and go down a hill. Broadway takes a sharp left turn at a traffic light to go down to the Rondout District. Follow Broadway to the bottom of the hill. Bear left. The museum will be on your right.
Route 9W from the South (Poughkeepsie, New Paltz, Mid-Hudson Bridge) Cross bridge over Rondout Creek from Port Ewen. At the bottom of the hill turn left at the traffic light onto Garraghan Drive. At the next traffic light (Broadway) turn left, follow to the bottom of the hill. Bear left. The museum will be on your right.
Route 9W from the North (Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge) Take the first exit after the bridge. Turn left at the end of the ramp onto Rt. 32, following Rt. 32 South until it intersects with Rt. 9W (traffic lights). Turn left onto Rt. 9W South, following to the second traffic light. Turn right onto Garraghan Drive at the traffic light. At the next traffic light (Broadway) turn left, follow to the bottom of the hill. Bear left. The museum will be on your right.
Look for the grey and dark green Kingston Home Port and Education Center and the 1898 black and red steam tug Mathilda dry-docked within the museum courtyard along the Rondout Creek. The museum is the two story brick building adjacent to the courtyard and the entrance is through the museum gift shop on the street side of the building.
Look for the grey and dark green Kingston Home Port and Education Center and the 1898 black and red steam tug Mathilda dry-docked within the museum courtyard along the Rondout Creek. The museum is the two story brick building adjacent to the courtyard and the entrance is through the museum gift shop on the street side of the building.
Parking
Free parking is available in the municipal parking lot across the street or you may use the metered street parking in front of the museum. Metered parking is free after 6 pm and on Sundays.
Historic Rondout Waterfront District
The Hudson River Maritime Museum is located on the Rondout Creek in the Rondout area of the city of Kingston, New York. Rondout was formerly a village separate from Kingston and the most important port between New York and Albany in the 19th century during the heyday of the Delaware & Hudson Canal from 1828 to 1898. Coal was brought to Rondout from Honesdale, Pennsylvania 108 miles over the D&H Canal. The coal was transferred at Island Dock on Rondout Creek into larger boats and towed down the Hudson to New York City and other ports. Coal was the fuel of choice in the steam era of the 19th century, powering everything from factories to steamboats.
Many immigrants flooded into Rondout after the opening of the D. & H. Canal to work on the canal, the coal depot, the boats, and in supporting industries. The immigrants, mostly German and Irish, quickly set up a busy community with homes, churches, schools and businesses of many kinds. Among the supporting industries was the Cornell Steamboat Company, consisting of up to 62 tugboats at one time. This large fleet towed barges of coal and many other materials on the Hudson River to New York and other ports. Eventually Cornell had a virtual monopoly of towing on the Hudson River and employed hundreds of workers on their boats and in their workshops along the Rondout Creek.
Hudson River passenger steamboats docked at Rondout and some, like the famous Mary Powell, the Queen of the Hudson, called Rondout their home. A ferry crossed the Rondout to Sleightsburg, and another left Rondout to cross the Hudson to Rhinecliff.
Prosperity continued in the Rondout area through the 1920s, but began to decline in the Depression of the 1930s. Boatbuilding of naval vessels for World War II greatly revived the Rondout area in the 1940s as three shipyards operated with large work crews.
The real decline set in during the 1950s with industries closing and businesses moving elsewhere. During the late 1960s the rundown waterfront area of Rondout was subject to the destruction of an Urban Renewal project leaving a mostly empty neighborhood.
Around 1980 a renaissance began with new businesses, including the Hudson River Maritime Museum, coming to Rondout. Slowly new homes were built in historic style and the neighborhood revitalized.
Today that renaissance continues and visitors, many on boats, come to enjoy the waterfront of our historic neighborhood. We hope you will enjoy your visit to our picturesque waterfront.
Many immigrants flooded into Rondout after the opening of the D. & H. Canal to work on the canal, the coal depot, the boats, and in supporting industries. The immigrants, mostly German and Irish, quickly set up a busy community with homes, churches, schools and businesses of many kinds. Among the supporting industries was the Cornell Steamboat Company, consisting of up to 62 tugboats at one time. This large fleet towed barges of coal and many other materials on the Hudson River to New York and other ports. Eventually Cornell had a virtual monopoly of towing on the Hudson River and employed hundreds of workers on their boats and in their workshops along the Rondout Creek.
Hudson River passenger steamboats docked at Rondout and some, like the famous Mary Powell, the Queen of the Hudson, called Rondout their home. A ferry crossed the Rondout to Sleightsburg, and another left Rondout to cross the Hudson to Rhinecliff.
Prosperity continued in the Rondout area through the 1920s, but began to decline in the Depression of the 1930s. Boatbuilding of naval vessels for World War II greatly revived the Rondout area in the 1940s as three shipyards operated with large work crews.
The real decline set in during the 1950s with industries closing and businesses moving elsewhere. During the late 1960s the rundown waterfront area of Rondout was subject to the destruction of an Urban Renewal project leaving a mostly empty neighborhood.
Around 1980 a renaissance began with new businesses, including the Hudson River Maritime Museum, coming to Rondout. Slowly new homes were built in historic style and the neighborhood revitalized.
Today that renaissance continues and visitors, many on boats, come to enjoy the waterfront of our historic neighborhood. We hope you will enjoy your visit to our picturesque waterfront.