Sleepy Hollow

Founded as an agricultural center in Dutch New Netherland by Frederick Philipse. Philipse switched allegiance to England when the British evicted the Dutch, but his heirs were less astute in their political affiliations: 3rd generation Philipses continued allegiance to England during the American Revolution and were forced to forfeit their vast land holdings. After the war, the small hamlet around the Philipse's mill was renamed Beekmantown after a prominent patriot family. By 1874 the hamlet had grown into a village and incorporated as North Tarrytown. In 1996 residents of the village voted to change its name from North Tarrytown to Sleepy Hollow to distinguish it from the adjacent village of Tarrytown. Sleepy Hollow shares a zip code and a school system with Tarrytown, but the two villages are separate municipalities.
Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set here and in Tarrytown. In the story, "Sleepy Hollow" is the valley of the Pocantico River, now largely occupied by Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and Rockefeller State Park Preserve.
Sleepy Hollow Chamber of Commerce provides tourist information and descriptions of seasonal events on its web site and in its storefront window: 1 Neperan Rd, Tarrytown, +1 914 631-1705.

By plane

• Westchester County Airport

  phone: +1 914 995-4860 (airlines)
  address: 240 Airport Rd, White Plains
  The closest airport, about 20 minutes drive. Rental cars are available.

• Stewart International Airport

  phone: +1 845 564-2100
  address: 1180 First St, New Windsor
  Another alternative to the congestion of the 3 major airports, but at present offers few direct flights.
• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Newark, New Jersey, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and LaGuardia Airport: The three major international airports in the New York City area offer service to just about anywhere. Westchester-based taxi and livery cars offer regular service to and from the three internationals from most areas of the county. New York City yellow cabs will take to you Westchester in a pinch, but the fares can be exorbitant. Ask if your hotel offers shuttle service.

By car

• Sleepy Hollow is easily accessible from the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada via interstate highways such as the New England and New Jersey Turnpikes (I-95) and the New York State Thruway system. The I-87 portion of the Thruway connecting Albany and New York City crosses the Hudson River in adjacent Tarrytown on the Tappan Zee bridge as does I-287, which connects with I-95 to the east. The Saw Mill River Parkway, which runs along the village's eastern flank, connects with the Taconic State Parkway to the north (to Albany and the I-90 east-west portion of the Thruway system) and the Henry Hudson Parkway into New York City. Route 9 connects Sleepy Hollow to the major highways in Tarrytown.

By train

• Metro-North Railroad - Hudson line. Downtown Sleepy Hollow is just about equidistant from the Tarrytown and Philipse Manor (Sleepy Hollow) stations. Express service between Tarrytown station and New York City's Grand Central Terminal is about 35 minutes, about 39 minutes to Philipse Manor station. Local rail service is available between other Metro-North commuter stations. Taxis swarm the Tarrytown station at the arrival of nearly every train, but Philipse Manor does not get the same attention. On all Metro-North trains on-board fares are subject to a stiff surcharge, so buy your tickets at the station or at the vending machines located on the southbound (to New York) platform at the Tarrrytown station. Metro-North's "One-Day Getaways" discount package is available to Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate. Zipcar has a rental car at Tarrytown station into Spring 2008, after which Enterprise will have the franchise for Metro-North stations.
• Amtrak. Long distance connections are available in New York City's Penn Station and at Metro-North's Croton-Harmon station. Amtrak connections available to VIA Rail Canada.

By boat

• NY Waterway

  phone: +1-800-53-FERRY
  Runs seasonal, weekend trips from Manhattan to Sleepy Hollow. Packages deals are available to Historic Hudson Valley properties Philipsburg Manor and Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate.

By bus

• Bee Line System. Westchester County's bus service provides access to White Plains and other locations in the county. Schedules and route maps are available on-line and at the Tarrytown and Philipse Manor (Sleepy Hollow) train stations.

If arriving by train from New York City and planning only a day trip within the central business district, you can get about on foot or by local taxi. NY Waterway tours have their own bus transportation between destinations. If you stay in local hotels or motels, a car becomes something of a necessity. Broadway (aka Route 9) is the main north to south route through the village.

The main attraction is Sleepy Hollow's association with Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", so visit the old churchyard where the Headless Horseman purportedly rests. If you look hard you might find the headstone of Catriena Ecker Van Tessel whose anglicized name, Katrina Van Tassel, appears in Irving's story.

• Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground

  address: 430 N Broadway
  The church has been in continuous use since around 1690, except for a few years during the American Revolution. Free guided tours of the burying ground from Memorial Day Weekend through the end of October, Sundays at 2PM. Self-guided tour book Tales of the Old Dutch Burying Ground is sold at the Philipsburg Manor museum shop. This is the spot where Ichabod Crane sought sanctuary from the Headless Horseman. If you happen to be here after dark, keep in mind that ".the Headless Horseman. it was said, tethered his horse nightly among the graves in the churchyard." Park inside adjacent Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

• Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

  phone: +1 914 631-0081
  address: 540 N Broadway
  Pay a visit to Washington Irving, Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, William Rockefeller, and Elizabeth Arden in their final abodes. The style of architecture ranges from Victorian rural at the cemetery's south end to grand neo-classical mausoleums at the north end. Free maps are available in literature boxes at the cemetery office and at the cemetery's south gate.

• Philipsburg Manor Upper Mills

  phone: +1 914 631-3992
  address: 381 N Broadway
  Historic Dutch manor and mill restored to its appearance in the late 17th/early 18th century. In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", Ichabod Crane saunters beside the manor's millpond with the "country damsels" of the neighborhood. This is also the departure point for tours of Kykuit.
• Visit the Rockefeller estate Guided tours of the main house, Kykuit, and its gardens and art galleries, are available through Historic Hudson Valley. Open mid May through the beginning of November, weekdays 10AM-3PM, weekends 10AM-4PM. Closed Tu. adults $22, seniors $20, children under 17 $19 (no children under age 10). All Kykuit tours depart from Philipsburg Manor, 381 N Broadway.

• Union Church of Pocantico Hills

  phone: +1 914 631-8200 (tour info), +1 914 631-2069 (info on services)
  address: 555 Bedford Rd
  The stained glass windows by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall were commissioned by members of the Rockefeller family. The rose window was the last work by Matisse before his death. Self guided and guided tours.

• Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

  phone: +1 914 366-6200
  address: 630 Bedford Rd
  Formerly part of the Rockefeller estate, promotes regional agriculture through its educational programs and its demonstration gardens and greenhouses, Pocantico Hills (Sleepy Hollow)

• Follow Ichabod Crane's routeFans of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" can follow the route of Ichabod Crane from the center of adjacent Tarrytown north into Sleepy Hollow. But don't expect to find the "Western Woods" or anything else from the 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow. Tim Burton's production is only loosely based on Irving's story and was filmed largely in Hertfordshire, England. The original bridge is long gone, but there's a rustic bridge inside Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

• Sleepy Hollow Cemetery walking toursDay and evening guided tours introduce some of the famous and infamous residents of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, including Washington Irving, author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," industrialists Andrew Carnegie and William Rockefeller, and others.

• Old Croton AqueductGo hiking or bicycling on the aqueduct's trailway. The original water supply to New York City is now a walking trail that runs from Croton-on-Hudson in the north to Yonkers in the south. Notably, the trail passes through the Lyndhurst estate in the south end of Tarrytown, and very near Washington Irving's Sunnyside. Over the 180 years since it was built, portions have disappeared from the downtown areas of several river towns, including Sleepy Hollow (part of Sleepy Hollow High School is built on top of the aqueduct, forcing a detour behind the school).

• Hike, horseback ride, fish, or go birdingAt Rockefeller State Park Preserve. Equestrians can park horse trailers at the park's main entrance (in case you wish to make your own horseback ride through Sleepy Hollow). Trail maps are available at the park visitor center on Route 117, one mile east of Route 9. There is a parking fee at the main entrance, but no fee if you enter trails from Old Sleepy Hollow Road (see online map) or the Rockwood Hall portion of the park located west of Route 9. The park includes portions of the valley of the Pocantico River, which is what Irving dubbed Sleepy Hollow in his famous tale.

• Take a guided kayak tour on the Hudson River. Hudson River Recreation, . Tours depart from Kingsland Point Park, Palmer Ave. Seasonal.

Annual events

The weekends prior to Halloween are filled with events that tie in to "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". If possible, make advanced reservations as most events fill quickly. Adjacent Tarrytown, setting for portions of the legend, is also home to numerous October events. To avoid disappointment, call in advance to confirm dates and times. Most events require reservations or advance tickets.

• Horseman's Hollow

  phone: +1 914 631-8200
  address: Philipsburg Manor, 381 N Broadway
  Historic Dutch manor and mill are transformed into a spooky landscape.
• Reading of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the Old Dutch Church . There's no better place to hear the story than in the very churchyard it made famous. Reserve tickets through The Reformed Church of Tarrytown, +1 914 631-4497.

• Haunted Hayride

  phone: +1 914 366-5100
  Village of Sleepy Hollow.

• Tours of the Old Dutch Burying GroundFree tours of the church on Saturdays and Sundays, June through October. The church and its 2-acre burying ground appear in Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

The central business district, encompassing Beekman Avenue and the adjacent portions of Broadway (Route 9), offers restaurants and shops.

• Philipsburg Manor Gift Shop

  phone: +1 914 631-3992
  address: 381 N Broadway
  Most extensive line of Sleepy Hollow and Headless Horseman souvenirs in the village.

• Visitor Center

  phone: +1 914 631-1705
  address: 1 Neperan Rd
  Maps and Tourist Information Available

Budget

• Hollywood North Pizza

  phone: +1 914 631-7406
  address: 109 Beekman Ave

• Ambar Restaurant

  phone: +1 914 631-6393
  address: 194 Beekman Ave
  A hole-in-the wall Dominican-American that offers good food at reasonable prices. 10AM-7PM daily, closed Tuesdays. Formerly the Cuban-American Corona's Lunch.

Splurge

• Blue Hill at Stone Barns

  phone: +1 914 366-9600
  address: 630 Bedford Rd
  Blue Hill is an upscale restaurant located at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a model farm adjacent to Rockefeller State Park Preserve. . Appropriate attire required. Prix fixe three-course dinner $65, prix fixe four-course dinner $75.

Alcohol

• J. P. Doyle's Restaurant & Public House

  phone: +1 914 631-3015
  address: 48 Beekman Ave
  Irish pub in Sleepy Hollow’s business district. Dinner daily 5PM-11PM, lunch F-Su 11:30AM-3PM.

• Bridge View Tavern

  phone: +1 914 332-0078
  address: 226 Beekman Ave
  18 flavors of beer on tap. Lunch T-Su 11:30AM-4PM. Dinner Su-Th 5PM-9:30PM, F-Sa 5PM-10PM, late night food menu Th-Sa 10PM-12AM.

Mid-range

• Courtyard by Marriott

  phone: +1 914 631-1122
  address: 475 White Plains Rd
  Tarrytown.

• Doubletree Hotel

  phone: +1 914 631-5700
  address: 455 S Broadway, Tarrytown

• SpringHill Suites by Marriott

  phone: +1 914 366-4600
  address: 480 White Plains Rd
  Tarrytown.

Splurge

• Castle on the Hudson

  address: 400 Benedict Ave
  If you have an ample wallet or a generous expense account the views are spectacular and the food at Equus, the restaurant on premises, is magnificent. Almost a destination in itself.

• Marriott

  phone: +1 914 631-2200
  address: 670 White Plains Rd
  Tarrytown.

Dial 911 from any telephone for emergency police, medical, and fire services.

In adjacent Tarrytown, visit sites related to "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow " and browse the numerous antique shops.