Looking for a gay getaway (not Fire Island)

I get it: Fire Island is historical and means so much (until some people) that it has its own new rom com† I know some gay guys who think the country beaches and party atmosphere are paradise.

But I’m not one of them. I don’t feel like standing in the corner on the train, bus and ferry at a gay beach party that I think I would enjoy because I’m gay and live in New York. Not interested. We exist.

So earlier this month I went in the opposite direction from Fire Island, geographically and experientially. My destination was New Hope, Pa., and Lambertville, NJ, waterfront towns separated by a bridge and state line, but linked by reputations as LGBTQ-friendly places. In March Time Out was mentioned New hope one of the “best LGBTQ+ friendly small towns” in the country.

About two hours drive from Manhattan (you can also get there by bus), New Hope has an empire history, dating from the early to mid-20th century, as a welcoming place for visual artists, writers and theater people, including queer people. In 2020, Bucks County, home of New Hope, welcomed 6.36 million people, according to Paul Bencivengo, the president of Visit Bucks Countythe official tourism office of the province.

His organization does not keep track of the number of LGBTQ visitors. But he told me that “the gay community has been part of the fabric of New Hope for a long time,” and that wherever I went in the city I would be welcome.

And on an early weekend in June, rainbow flags and pride soared through New Hope’s bustling high street, from Dunkin’ Donuts to the pig hut in the bustling Ferry Market canteen.

But the Pride decorations were seemingly outnumbered by actual gays – it was like walking the streets of Provincetown when most gays decided to stay home. (To be fair, the weekend I visited there were also Pride events in Philadelphia and Asbury Park, New Jersey) And there are no gay bars or clubs, and no more Raven, a popular gay bar resort that never happened again in 2019.

But during my visit – it was me, my partner and a friend – I found New Hope and Lambertville to be chill, cultural and vibrant cities for three gay men looking for a weekend getaway.

If New Hope isn’t as gay “as the hem of Patti LuPone’s skirt,” as Philip Kain told me, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a gay gem worth visiting. He should know: Under the pseudonym Philip William Stover, he wrote two steamy gay novels located in New Hope, near where he and his husband live when they are not at home on the Upper East Side.

New Hope “is a place where even though you may not be surrounded by gays, there is a history and a foundation you walk on,” said Mr. Kain, while we shared shortbread on Verandas on the towpath, a hidden bed-and-breakfast there. “It’s nice to be in places where the history of gay culture can be felt.”

As more of a cultural tourist than a surf-and-sand tourist, that suited me. So we took a 20 minute drive from New Hope to the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to see “Keith Haring: A Shining Legacy”, a career spanning exhibition of over 100 works by the gay painter and street artist who died of AIDS in 1990 at just 31.

The show, which runs through July 31, will be a treat for disciples and newcomers to the work of Pennsylvania native Haring. (Don’t miss the display featuring some of his middle and high school yearbooks.) Highlights include pieces featuring the radiant babyone of Haring’s most famous images and his high street tag.

Located on the site of a former flour mill, the Bucks County Playhouse has been attracting theater fans since 1939 with names such as Robert Redford, Liza Minnelli and Audra McDonald. I was too early for the production of the Tony Award-winning (and queer) musical ‘Kinky Boots’, which runs from June 24 to July 30.

But I was one of about 80 people who gathered for Playhouse’s LGBTQ+ High Tea, held on the deck of the theater every first Sunday of the month, with a breathtaking view of the Delaware River. The atmosphere was equal parts small-town dance club and happy hour, and the revelers were a mix of men and women of all colors.

There I spoke to two friends, both gay: Matthew Robertson, 32, and Barry McAndrews, 25. They told me that the typical gay visitor to the area, like me, was a Gen Xer or older, which explains why the DJ was partially on CeCe Peniston remixes and classic disco.

“There’s a lot of money here, and a lot of younger people throughout this region have been effectively discounted,” said Mr. McAndrews. Locals prefer private parties, he said, “but they’re super over the top, with ice sculptures and servants, like crazy stuff.”

While neither New Hope nor Lambertville has much in the way of Fire Island-style youth culture—fine for me—they do have some Fire Island awards, at least when it comes to accommodations. The big splurge is the River House at Odette’sa dramatic waterfront hotel in New Hope, where nightly rates this summer start at $279 and go up to $1,038 for a suite.

I chose New Hope’s Logan Innwhich reopened in 2021 after an astonishing renovation and expansion that turned the building, part of which dates back to 1727, into a boutique hotel infused with a bold design that combines butch (colonial-style wood paneling) and fantastic (my room came with a framed photo of Freddie Mercury with Elton John). The outdoor patio is made for people watching, and the location, minutes from the Playhouse and Farley’s, a bookstore with a well-curated Pride section, is primo. Rooms range from about $210 to $610 per night. (VisitBucksCounty.com) has a list of more affordable accommodations.)

In Lambertville’s many vintage and antique shops, the past makes great gifts. Standouts were: A touch of the pasta huge antique showroom and the new Form + Matter Modernwhere I had my eye on a NO Møller teak dining table.

We strolled over the steel truss New Hope-Lambertville Bridge and in Love saves the day, a lovely vintage store where I browsed old copies of Vogue and Playboy. (“Gay Stereotypes: Which One Are You?” a 1988 copy of The Advocate asked me to come this one almost buy.) The store’s popular East Village outpost, seen in the movie “Desperate for Susan,” closed in 2009and much of the merchandise traveled to New Hope.

New Hope and Lambertville border the Delaware Canal State Park, which has a nearly 60-mile towpath that runs along the Delaware River. It offers a flat path for walking, jogging, cycling and horseback riding, and access for canoeing and kayaking.

Another outdoor option is the Washington Crossing Historic Park, which spans over 500 acres and preserves the site where George Washington crossed the famous Delaware River. Popular stops include: Bowman’s Hill Towerwhich rises 125 feet and offers panoramic views, and the park’s visitor center, where you can see a replica of Emanuel Leutze’s famous painting of the crossing.

As for dining, the salt house is an intimate candlelit gastro pub in an 18th century stone building, where the four-salted eggs were my starter of the weekend. In Lambertville, it’s hard to miss the rainbow-colored tulle that wraps itself up under the moona Spanish restaurant where I got a thick slice of quiche and a sweet watermelon gazpacho.

But I really fell for Union Coffee, a charming Lambertville cafe where rainbow-colored art in the window complemented the “Trans Rights Are Human Rights!” poster in the quirky little shop at the back. My Sunday started off great when I paired a lavender oat milk latte with a ridiculously moist apple-pear turban from Factory Girl Bake Shop in New Hope.

Before I left there, I got into conversation with Marian Gaestel and Mary Lloyd. The two friends, both in their sixties, had just left Mass to… St. John the Evangelistwhich Mrs. Gaestel called “a much more open Catholic church” than the one in Flemington, the “more rural, conservative” New Jersey town where she lives.

“Coming here is a relief,” said Mrs. Gaestel. “Even if you live in Flemington, coming to Lambertville and New Hope is like leaving somewhere.”

They came looking for a place to feel comfortable with like-minded people and found it. Me too – not on a crowded beach or sweaty dance floor, but in a quiet coffee shop on the corner of Union and Coryell. The Pride colors made it easy to find.