It will be hard to find something near without renting a car.

You can check out if there's anywhere that catches your eye along Amtrak's Pennsylvanian (west of Philadelphia) or Vermonter (north of Hartford) trains.
I know you mentioned you'd rather not take another flight, but that might be one way to avoid having to rent a car. To give another option, you can fly somewhere like Burlington VT. You could split your time at a place like Shelburne Farms (which I really like) and an inn around Stowe.

Regarding noise in NYC, if you stay in a high-rise hotel above the 25th or so floor, it's quiet enough.

I hope people add more ideas, gives me ideas too