Skydive The Ranch: What to Expect and Where to Go After
A first-timer's guide to jumping at Skydive The Ranch in Gardiner: how the day runs, what the weather does to it, and where to land afterwards.
The Farmers Choice Team
The people behind the counter at our Fishkill and New Paltz stores. Between us we've guided thousands of Hudson Valley shoppers through their first (and thousandth) visit, and we write these guides the same way we talk on the floor: plain, honest, and never pushy.
Recent posts
Hiking Mohonk Preserve? How to Make a Full Day of It
A full-day plan for Mohonk Preserve: the right trailhead, when to arrive, where to eat in New Paltz, and the farm-stand stop that finishes the day.
Twin Star Orchards and Farmers Choice: Two Reasons to Love New Paltz
Twin Star Orchards and Farmers Choice sit two miles apart on the same New Paltz road. Here is how locals turn the orchard and the farm stand into one perfect outing.
Hudson Valley Summer Bucket List 2026: Start in New Paltz
Eleven summer things to do in the Hudson Valley, sky-lake swims, rail trail rides, orchard pizza nights, and river sunsets, all an easy drive from New Paltz.
Farmers Choice Sponsored the 2026 New Paltz Fireworks
Farmers Choice was a proud sponsor of the 2026 New Paltz Fireworks Celebration. A thank-you to the organizers, the volunteers, and every neighbor who looked up.
The Ultimate Hudson Valley Road Trip: Trails, Wineries & Outdoor Adventures Around New Paltz
New Paltz is a perfect Hudson Valley basecamp, cliffs, sky lakes, wineries, and a rail trail within a short drive. Here are 10 trails and outdoor stops to build your route around.
New Paltz Hosts Keith Haring & Alex Katz Art for Upstate Art Weekend
Upstate Art Weekend runs June 25-29, 2026 across the Hudson Valley, with Keith Haring and Alex Katz works on view in New Paltz. Here's what to see and where to stop.
New Paltz's Favorite Summer Tradition Returns: Robibero Winery Sangria Festival
The Robibero Winery Sangria Festival returns to New Paltz June 27-28, 2026, free admission, handcrafted sangria, food, and vineyard views. Here's what to know.
Who writes for Farmers Choice
Everything published here is written or reviewed by people who work our counters in Fishkill and New Paltz. The Farm Hands are the ones fielding the questions every day, so they set the topics, and nothing goes up that they would not say to a shopper standing in front of them. Where a piece touches New York rules, we check it against the Office of Cannabis Management guidance in force at the time and date the update on the page. When the rules change or the shelves change, we come back and revise rather than leaving a stale post sitting there.
How we handle facts and sources
Guides cite their sources at the bottom, and store facts like hours, addresses, and license numbers come from one internal record so the same number appears everywhere on the site. We do not publish medical guidance of any kind, because that is a conversation for your physician and not a retail counter. What we do write about is what we actually know: what is on the shelf, how it is grouped, what the labels mean, what a first visit looks like, and what is happening around our towns this month.
Ask us directly
If a guide left something out, the fastest answer is still a person. Call the Fishkill farm stand at 845-440-3647 or the New Paltz barn at 845-419-2420 during open hours, or come visit either store and ask at the counter. Fishkill runs 8AM to 10PM Sunday to Thursday and 8AM to 11PM Friday and Saturday. New Paltz runs 8AM to 10PM daily. Questions that come up more than once tend to become the next guide on this site.
Two farm stands behind the byline
Farmers Choice runs two licensed adult-use stores in New York, and the writing here comes out of both. The Fishkill farm stand, at 18 Westage Drive in Dutchess County, is the original and the one that set the tone: fresh picks up front, plain answers at the counter. The Barn in New Paltz, at 1 Old Route 299 at Thruway Exit 18 in Ulster County, is the flagship, with the Shawangunk Ridge behind it and a 360 tour on its page. Between them they serve most of the mid-Hudson region, from Poughkeepsie and Beacon on the Dutchess side to Kingston, Highland, and Gardiner on the Ulster side. That is the map the blog and the guides follow, because it is the map our customers actually drive. Cannabis dispensary like no other.