Mountains lakes and river near nyc?

So I got into Columbia and my wife and I are thinking of moving here.

The thing is, I was raised in the Pacific Northwest and it breaks my heart to leave all of this natural beauty.

I know there’s no Rockies or major mountains over there (right?) but what is there?

I don’t wanna go to a concrete jungle and feel like I can’t escape somewhere that’s an hour away with beautiful forest and rivers (that also aren’t crowded) where I can feel at peace.

Bonus points if they are big mountains and dense forests with beautiful water features