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In the latest Hudson Valley Word of Mouth segment, Julia Joern interviews historian Seth Kamil about his new venture, Hudson Valley Rover Tours. 

Kamil is the founder of Big Onion Walking Tours, which has offered comprehensive guided tours throughout New York City for the past thirty years. With a focus on architectural history and the built environment, he and his team of educators and graduate students explore how the city’s roots — from immigration, race, ethnicity, and gender — have shaped the Big Apple’s social, economic, and cultural identity.

Big Onion made its way to upstate New York and in 2018 Kamil began organizing walking tours of historic Hudson. These tours explore both the city's important and lesser-known sites, while weaving together stories of United States presidents, famous literary figures, locations associated with the Underground Railroad, the evolution of different types of architectural styles since the late 18th century, and plenty of corrupt figures during Prohibition.

Taking his knowledge of the region even further, he launched Hudson Valley Rover Tours in 2021. These half-day and full-day excursions occur in a restored 1994 Land Rover Defender, where Kamil is the one doing the driving. His customized tours offer everything from traveling to the actual locations painted by artists of the Hudson River School, to personalized visits with owners of local distilleries, breweries, and farms.

Links for the past two interviews with Kamil: Historic Hudson (April 14, 2021) and the history of alcohol in the Hudson Valley (April 21, 20121).