What is there to do on weekends in and around Carmel Hamlet?

I like many of the previous suggestions. I'd like to add a visit to the Chuang Yen Monastery as a recommendation - it is a special place and you don't have to be feeling spiritual to go there! With the largest indoor Buddha in the Western Hemisphere, you'll definitely remember your visit here. I think it is a unique opportunity and well worth it if you're in the Carmel area.

There is a bowling alley in Carmel, and a small movie theater if you head up Route 52. Now that the weather's nicer, there are many areas where you can access the Putnam Trailway, which cuts through Carmel.

There is also the lovely Putnam County Park which has hiking trails, camp grounds and a lake for both swimming and ice skating.

If you take a short trip down 301 into Philipstown, you can enjoy a beautiful lunch on the Hudson River or spend some time in Clarence Fahnestock State Park. There's hiking, fishing, boating and swimming.

It's a bit of a drive from Carmel but Boscobel in Garrison is a beautiful estate with hiking trails over-looking the Hudson Valley. They have an event calender full of concerts, plays and all sorts of other things. Best of all, Saturdays there's no entrance fee!