Weekender's Guide: Catskills, NY (Summer!)

The Catskills have become one of my favorite places and I never saw it coming. Meeting Adam who lived in Fairfield County (the insanely busy part of Connecticut that touches New York basically) sort of changed things, putting the Catskills that much closer.

In my Rhode Island Weekender's Guide, I talked about how Jamestown was like Newport in miniature. Well, the Catskills are that for the Adirondacks. The Catskills are a smaller less populated version and while you don't have the Adirondack High Peaks and famous lakes, you have some amazing hiking, stunning vistas and the scenic Esopus Creek. It's also a much easier drive as the Catskills are about 3.5 hours closer than the Adirondacks for us in coastal Connecticut, only 3ish hours from home. Adirondacks are beautiful but pretty far for just a weekend but the Catskills? You can leave on a Saturday morning if you wanted to avoid the traffic. The Catskills are a popular spot for city dwellers as it's also a 2 hour drive from New York City, making this the perfect weekend getaway for New Englanders and New Yorkers alike.

Wittenberg Mountain - Phoenicia - Catskills, New York

Adam and I have been trying to balance our love for the outdoors with our need to finish this damn house. If you are new to KW, we bought a complete fixer-upper in May and have spent the last 6 months taking down walls and rebuilding them back up. In all honesty, it was well-timed with the virus and everyone being homebound but it has also been a strain on my love of the outdoors and long weekends in the mountains.

We made a fair compromise with the trails and our renovation when we decided Saturday would be spent in the Catskills (close enough for a day trip, far enough to be in mountains) and work on the house Sunday (Garage/Basement cleanout day!)  We left early on Saturday morning armed with coffee and packed sandwiches, excited to spend the day in the Catskills, and enjoy a new hike on new trails.  I did some quick research online looking for a medium level hike between 4 and 10 miles with some decent elevation gain (and a view!) and stumbled on Wittenberg and Cornell Mountain.  

Hunter Mountain Scenic Skyride - Catskills, New York

I've spent a lot of time on ski lifts.  From the mountains of Massachusetts to the peaks of Utah, summits in Wyoming and slopes of Colorado, I have seen a lot of different chairlifts in my day.  But a chairlift in the summer?  This was a first.  

It was the first time I walked right onto a lift in a summer dress and a flip flops with a tan and a smile instead of my winter coat and skis.  The prognosis? it was absolutely lovely to be on a lift not freezing my buns off.  So let's just say that my (new) favorite way to get up a mountain is on a perfect sunny summer day, sitting on a chairlift and enjoying the breeze and the views below.  

Kaaterskill Falls (summer) Hike - Catskills, New York

The first time we hiked Kaaterskill Falls was late March.  Snow fell on the higher elevations overnight and when we walked to the trailhead, there was a perfect white coating of snow on the ground.  We had microspikes and beanies, layers and gloves as we made our way along the trail and up to the top of the icey falls.  It was also just a few weeks into knowing Adam, less than a month when I casually suggested I had a weekend booked at a dog-friendly tiny house in the Catskills and if you wanted to come, you know, it could be fun (or weird, who knew). 

Giant Ledge Hike - Catskills, New York

The Catskills have become my calming place. An escape when I need to feel the quiet of the woods and the trail without journeying too far away from home. A place where there are more trees, fewer people and things slow down a little bit. A place where I spend time with a handsome dark-haired man and our two dogs, making summer memories in the mountains. 

My summer has revolved around work and two crazy jobs so by the time Friday rolls around - I am wound.  Wound up in meetings and emails, commutes and phone calls, days managing projects in the field and nights behind the bar.  I am short on sleep and time and certainly short on patience.  Adam had a rough July as well, recovering from a sinus infection, wisdom teeth surgery, and then another surgery on his nose.  We were mentally (me) and physically (him) wounded.  I knew the solution for me: get in the car and drive north.  It was a little tougher for him (wisdom teeth extraction and nose surgery) but we seemed to find a casual compromise between my need for peaks and his limitations post procedures.  

Our compromise was the Catskills: no backpacking, smaller hikes, and a quiet evening of camping.  

Weekender's Guide to: CATSKILLS NY (winter)

There is nothing better than having an open weekend in a new place. The modus operandi of the weekend was wake up, go out for a hike, come back and jump in the shower, and then spend the rest of the day exploring some of these quaint New York towns. It's the perfect way to spend a winter weekend, really. If you only have a few days, you can easily hike up one of New York's tallest waterfalls, visit abandoned hotel ruins, stop by a lighthouse, walk the streets of an artsy quaint little town and have some amazing meals with a view. Grab some extra layers and head to New York - it's the winter getaway you never knew you needed. 

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Perched on the Hudson River at the Saugerties Lighthouse

Visiting in winter generally means you get to move at a slower pace. The days are shorter and you can't plan to "do it all". My perfect day starts with a hike, and then taking it slow, enjoying the simple act of walking down a different sidewalk hand in hand, reading menus until you find a good spot for lunch.  After lunch, grab a coffee and some chocolates at one of the local stores and maybe do a little bit more walking.  Wrap up the evening with some kind of cool local/iconic tourist stop before finding a good local bar or brewery.  Picture perfect weekend, right?  It's how I like to wander - a mix of a nice hike, cute town, and gooood food. 

Hiking Recap Video 

Before we get too far into my "you need to eat here" rant, let's clear up some confusion. You are visiting the Catskill Mountains (known as the Catskills), Catskill itself is a town, and when I say "The Catskills " I am generally referring to this area (see map above). The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. Catskill Park in the Catskill Mountains covers 700,000 acres. So let's go through some of these famous towns in the Catskills, where I stopped, what I ate, and what you can do if you find yourself in the Catskills of New York.

We drove through Catskill on our way to the Tiny House Resort on Friday evening.  We stopped at Creekside for dinner (sort of old-school american) and were impressed with the food at this quaint unassuming restaurant right on the creek.  I had the crabcakes and a salad (fried goat cheese - important detail) and Adam had the steak.  My previous visits to the backwoods of New York taught me that good food can be hard to come by but this meal was a good one and had us impressed as we left Catskill behind to head to the Tiny House Resort. There doesn't seem to be much to do in the Town of Catskill, but we had a great meal on the creek before launching off to a few of the iconic towns in the area. For lunch (and breakfast one day) we stopped at Two Mama's deli and mart in Catskill to pick up deli sandwiches and a few last minute supplies before hitting the trails - delicious and thoughtfully made and perfect for a breakfast on the go or lunch on the trails.

Main Street Hudson, New York

I was surprised how much I adored this quaint little town.  SO what I am saying is you need to make the time to cross the Hudson and spend some time in this trendy little town. We just walked up and down the mile-long main drag (Warren Street), popping in and out of adorable shops and stopping to read the menus of some amazing restaurants.  It's been called "Brooklyn North" and I can totally see why.  You know I love a good bar/bookshop and the cutest stores which allow for ample window shopping. Stop and eat at some highly rated restaurants.  We did a lot of menu reading and were pretty bummed when we didn't make a reservation on a Saturday night (busy, even in March!).   

Antique or art lover?  There are plenty of galleries to stop in and there is the famous Olana State Historic Site the one-time home and studio space of Frederic Edwin Church (19th-century Hudson River School of American landscape painter).  Traveling with kids?  Check out the FASNY Museum of Firefighting (complete with firehouse poles to slide down and ladders to climb).

View from the Kaaterskill Falls overlook

As you make your way from the towns on the Hudson and head into the woods, you find towns like Hunter and hamlets like Haine's Falls. The drive up Route 23A to Kaaterskills Falls and Hunter Mountain is a stunning winding road up the mountains along Kaaterskill Creek.  You have to remind yourself you are still in the Northeast and just a few hours from the Connecticut border. 

Check out Hunter Mountain (ski resort) and snow tubing park. It's a smaller mountain but the perfect spot to do some skiing or tubing with the kids. If you want to lace up your hiking boots (as you should, you are in the Catskills!) this is the perfect spot.  In this area of the Catskills, you can Hike Kaaterskill Falls (winter guide) (and here is the summer guide to this gorgeous iconic 260' tiered waterfall) or Hike North-South Lake (a pretty lake with a campground and hikes offering sweeping views of the mountains from the escarpment).

Viewpoint on our North South Lake hike

Walk out to Saugerties Lighthouse

A horse show town for a few weeks in the summer, a Main Street with cute shops and restaurants, and a quick quiet hike to the lighthouse. Add in views of the Hudson, shopping and antiquing, and you have Saugerties. We started our stay in Saugerties with a quick walk out to the Lighthouse (1/2 mile walk each way, dog-friendly). After our walk, we had a delicious lunch at Rock Dah Casbah off Main Street (very cool interior, New American style food - great vegetarian/vegan options). We had awesome salads and split a fantastic mushroom appetizer. There is a nice little main drag to walk and we popped in and out of stores, coffee houses and chocolate shops. For dinner, we ate at the Red Onion and again were impressed with the quality of restaurants in this area. We started off with grilled Spanish Octopus; Adam had the risotto and I had the squid ink pasta with grilled squid. We ate, we walked around, we saw the lighthouse, and left quite content.  Need more Saugerties travel inspiration - check out this Weekend Escape Plan.

1869 Saugerties Lighthouse signage

Boots to borrow on your hike out to the Lighthouse

Rock Dah Casbah - Saugerties

I am sure you have heard of the famous Woodstock, New York.  You are probably thinking of a lot of peace and love, tie-dye and hippies. That whole music festival? Yeah, it wasn't actually here, it was in Bethel, which is about 1.5 hours southwest. BUT, you can still get that vibe that Woodstock was famous for, walk along Main Street, do some shopping, grab a coffee, and enjoy a good meal.  You can also go on a pretty epic hike to Overlook Mountain (I did it in the summer but I'm sure you can hike it in the winter too) where you can see abandoned hotel ruins and climb one of the Catskills fire towers.  Views, history, hotel ruins, and a fire tower wrapped up into one great hike. 

Overlook Mountain Ruins, Woodstock

These towns are relatively close to each other, easy to get to, and all have their own unique identity and charm.  In just about every town you are guaranteed to find some great hiking and good food.  This trip was an excellent reminder that adventures do not always require a plane ticket or a drive to a famous national park.  Sometimes the weekend you need and the adventure you crave is just a 2-hour drive away.  If you want some more information and more towns to visit, check out this guide.

Happy Wandering, 

North-South Lake Hike - Newman's Ledge and the Catskill Mountain House Site

It was the last day of the Catskills getaway and I had one more hike in mind before packing up the Tiny Home and the dogs to tour through a few Hudson Valley towns before heading home.  This particular hike was close to where we were staying, featured a pretty lake, scenic views of the Hudson Valley and history on one of the Northeast's many Mountain Houses.  

Saturday was an easy hike at Kaaterskill Falls and the plan for Sunday was to be up early, pack the car and head to North-South Lake campground (about 25-minutes away) in Haines Falls, New York.  While both of our dogs are up to date on all their shots, I had read that proof of rabies (written proof, like the actual form, the tag is not good enough) was required and I forgot to mention this important detail to Adam.  However, it was early March and the campground was closed so I was really banking on sneaking through, sans paperwork.  And yes, we did. 

Kaaterskill Falls (winter) Hike - Catskills, New York

It was a crisp Saturday morning in South Cairo, New York at the Tiny House Resort.  As I opened the shade of "The Mocha" with a full day open for hiking and adventures in the Catskills, I saw a fresh coating of snow covering the ground.  Just an inch or two down at the resort but I knew the mountains would have a thicker coating of snow at higher elevations. So early Saturday morning after making coffee and walking around the resort with the dogs, we packed our bags for a morning hike.  I wasn't sure how much snow there was in the mountains so I decided an easy trip up to one of New York's most famous waterfalls would be the perfect way to start the weekend.

Frozen blue ice at the base of the falls

Kaaterskill Falls is one of the Catskills most famous and frequented destinations.  It is just a mile(ish) hike off of Route 23A making it an easy trip to one of the highest waterfalls in New York.  A three-mile hike will take you from the parking lot, to the base of the falls, up to a viewing platform above the falls and back.  A trek to this two-stage waterfall which cascades 260 feet is referred to as one of America's "oldest tourist attractions" and standing at the base of the falls or on the platform above it's easy to see why. 

A Tiny House Resort - Catskills, New York

Life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated.  

Isn't that the truth?  

I am always reminding myself of the beauty of simplicity, of being happy with less, of clearing the clutter and keeping things simple.  You know the old adage, less is more.  Well, this wanderer fully believes in that philosophy.

Spring is starting to slowly show up here in New England and with the longer days and melting snow, I was staring at my hiking boots with that lusty longing look that hikers get as the winter starts to fade.  I had a taste of the Catskills when Rob and I hiked Overlook Mountain and stopped at a few breweries, drinking our way back home.  I don't know if it was the perfect summer day, the good company or the abundance of beer but I left smitten with this new-to-me part of New York and vowed to be back soon.  

Overlook Mountain Hike - Ruins, Fire Tower, and a View - Catskills, NY

By the beginning of the summer of 2018, I had finished my New England High Peaks and I vowed to venture out of the six states we refer to as New England.  Until this summer, I paid little attention to the Empire State outside of trips to New York City, days spent watching the horses race at the Belmont, or to spend some time at the beach in the Hamptons.  When July rolled around, I wanted to spend some time in the woods of New York - I wanted to soak in the streams, float in the lakes, hike wooded trails, and drive through those quiet back roads.  Dreamy, right?

 It all started with the Adirondacks as I convinced my parents that this part of New York was worth four days during fourth of July.  They enjoy anywhere with a 50 amp service for their RV, so off to Ausable Chasm in New York we went.  We spent the holiday hiking, eating, camping, rafting, biking, drinking, and swimming through northern New York.  After this trip outside the city and Long Island limits, I was hooked. 
Gimme all those mountain views and lazy streams.