Picnic Spots in Westchester and the Hudson Valley Michael Kirby Smith for The New York Times NO-FLY ZONE, THEY HOPE Picnickers at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, N.Y. A GOOD picnic is a challenge. It can be done, but like tying a bow tie or driving a tractor, it doesn't come naturally. A picnic sounds wonderful, but somehow, when the blanket is spread over rocky, wet earth, and the warmed potato salad is opened up like an invitation to the flies, when the sea gulls surround you, when you drop your sandwich in the grass, or lightning crackles overhead, the whole thing sours. Picnic Provisions The Garrison Cafe, 1135 Rt. 9D, Garrison, N.Y. garrisoncafeny.com; (845) 424-8300. The Hawthorne Valley Farm Store, 327 County Route 21C, Ghent, N.Y. hawthornevalleyfarm.org; (845) 672-7500. The Red Lion Inn, 30 Main Street, Stockbridge, Mass. (413) 298-5545; redlioninn.com. Elm Street Market, 4 Elm Street, Stockbridge, Mass. (413) 298-3634; elmstreetmarket.com. Picnic sites Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Hyde Park, N.Y. nps.gov/vama/index.htm. Little Stony Point Park, 3011 Route 9D, Cold Spring, N.Y. littlestonypoint.org. Poet's Walk, River Road, Red Hook, N.Y. scenichudson.org/parks/poetswalk. At Garrison's Landing in Garrison, N.Y. The Garrison Cafe has a fine selection of sandwiches and a small array of cheeses, suitable for an outdoor feast. But the idea remains enticing. Is there a better place to eat with children than outdoors? The pace of a picnic - picnics are meant to last - lends itself to wooing. In the Hudson Valley, I found ideal places to picnic, and, after some experimentation, I honed what to take along. The secret: simplicity and luxury. I went on a few research picnics, and my first attempts were disappointing: I wrapped a bunch of homemade burritos in tin foil and brought them to Garrison's Landing, a nice public space with a good view of West Point across the river, and some benches. The location was lovely, but the food wasn't quite right. There was something brutal about the practicality of it. Shortly thereafter, while fishing for stripers at the Cold Spring waterfront, I brought a picnic of small sandwiches, mostly to distract the children and buy a little more time for throwing in my line. We had cured ham with clothbound aged Cheddar from Hawthorne Valley Farm (about which more in a moment) and mustard; and thinly sliced radishes on good bread with butter and cracked pepper and Maldon salt. The radish sandwich is a wonder, but it's a hard sell to a bunch of children. Again, it lacked something. It wasn't a proper picnic, it was just sandwiches we'd brought. A picnic should be more. On the next attempt, my wife and I parked at the apex of Storm King Highway and sat on the rocks. We brought crusty bread we could tear and a stick of dry sausage, some Spanish ham, and a tiny terrine, Stilton, a San Marcellin, and olives. We had a bottle of fizzy water, a couple of tin cups, and a few airplane bottles of bourbon. This was a marked improvement on previous picnics, and the view was stunning: the highway is cut into the granite face of the mountain, and looks out over the most vertical bit of the Hudson Highlands. We lingered and talked. We looked at the river and listened to a hawk. There are plentiful locations for excellent outdoor eating, and many an establishment ready to furnish you the necessary goods. The Vanderbilt Mansion, in Hyde Park, offers superb picnicking spots. The massive Beaux-Arts robber-baron estate is perfectly situated on 211 acres, and entrance to the grounds is free. There are even public restrooms in the visitors" center, which is open until 5 p.m. One could pick up provisions for a picnic on the fly at the newly reopened Garrison Cafe, on route 9D in Garrison. It has a fine selection of sandwiches and a small, well-curated array of cheeses. There is homemade foie gras pâté in cute porcelain terrines and you can even get a good wood-fired pizza. Bring a box and pack it all in, with a couple of brightly colored cupcakes, and you're set to go. Drive 25 minutes north on 9D and you'll come upon Little Stony Point. This park has no amenities to speak of, but it does have a bridge across the railroad tracks and a walk down the path, staying to the right, leads to Sandy Beach. It can be crowded on hot days, with motorboats zipping around just off shore, and lots of families ignoring the signs that suggest you might not want to swim. Further north, there is Poet's Walk, off River Road, just outside of Rhinecliff. Laid out over 120 acres, it is cut through with lovely trails and dotted with benches and follies. Hans Jacob Ehler designed the grounds in the 1840s, creating "outdoor rooms," each intended to evoke emotional reactions. If I were you, I'd look for the one that inspires elation, and pass on the area designed to evoke foreboding. A picnicker could fill a basket for a trip to Poet's Walk quite well at the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store, about an hour away, in Ghent. This 360-acre biodynamic farm is on a bucolic road, and is, itself, a worthy destination. The store is stocked with cheeses, including their own phenomenal Clothbound Cheddar with which I made those ham sandwiches we took fishing. They have many fine things to take away, a steam table with a changing menu, and an excellent selection of breads and pastries and organic local fruits and vegetables. The luxe version of all this can be found a little farther afield, in the very capable hands of Brian Alberg at the Red Lion Inn, in Stockbridge, Mass. He also oversees the Elm Street Market there. Mr. Alberg is a man who understands what a picnic can, and should, be. In an e-mail, he wrote that the Red Lion Inn and the market offer "an array of picnic-basket options. Something as simple as finger sandwiches with house-cured and roasted meats, to smoked salmon and caviar with sweet corn blinis. The baskets range from $17 to $50 per person, and they'll create one to suit your taste. Mr. Alberg described the perfect picnic, with very little prompting, as "Eating with your fingers and sharing great charcuterie and local gooey cheeses with artisan breads." My advice is to leave the potato salad at home. Deviled eggs are great, but unless you lug that dish that holds them upright out into the field - and why would you? - they'll all topple into each other and make egg salad. Keep it simple, keep it rich, and eat with your hands.