The Northeastern Catskills have been close to our hearts for a long time. We’ve enjoyed the forests here during all four seasons. We’ve hiked, camped, birded and foraged. We’ve savored food and drinks at several establishments, and have even more restaurants on our to-do list. We’ve also discovered a variety of cool spots to check out.
We encourage you to explore and experience, and we hope you love this region as much as we do. Here are some of our recommendations and places we have bookmarked for the future.
(This list is a work in progress; we’ll be adding more to it over time)
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Food
This intimate countertop space inside Made X Hudson prepares beautifully plated, seasonal, locally-sourced bento boxes featuring healthy, lesser-known Japanese foods. Pick up your meal to go or sit down for a delicious bite to eat.
This hippie cafe/juice bar goes beyond the basics. They’re definitely granola, but it’s black sesame granola with cacao nibs.
Casa Susanna serves modern Jaliscan food, featuring interesting ingredients and homemade tortillas. It’s in Camptown Lodge, a restored motor inn, and it leans into the modern retro aesthetic.
This bakery specializes in breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch. Don’t let the deceptively simple menu fool you; even the most basic things are outstanding.
Kitty’s is a low-key place to get excellent food. There are plenty of delightful surprises in their menu, but even their “basics” impress. Their green juice is out of this world!
We’re experimental ice cream fiends. Culture Cream makes delicious probiotic-laden ice creams and sorbets from ferments like kombucha and kefir. Thrilling flavor combinations abound. Christine is wild about their vanilla cardamom kefir ice cream.
This unassuming diner makes all sorts of surprisingly inventive and delicious dishes. The bourbon milkshakes aren’t half-bad, either!
You won’t miss this uniquely-painted building in Tannersville on route 23A. Inside is a colorful ’70s aesthetic, a fireplace, huge windows and a game room with ping pong, pool and arcade games. Outside is an expansive patio, fire pit and mountain views. American classics predominate along with some fun twists like crabmeat rangoon dip.
A walk-up ice cream counter in Saugerties. Out of their intriguing selection of flavors, we recommend the thai tea cookies and cream.
Drinks
This craft brewery’s taproom sits right on Catskill Creek. They don’t have a kitchen of their own, but outside food is encouraged and in the summer, food trucks park right on the patio.
Subversive makes their own malts and brews beer with 100% local grains. If you’re looking for a beer flight and some burgers, this is your spot.
This brewery produces fascinating small-batch ciders, meads and other fruit ferments.
Walks, Hikes and Views
A $5 suggested admission arboretum featuring curated gardens and forest trails. A fantastic collection of plants with lots of educational material available on pamphlets and online. It’s a beautiful place to spend an afternoon or go birding. There’s a good chance you’ll cross paths with deer here. If you’re looking for a quiet spot to appreciate nature, you’ll enjoy the short hike to the Hidden Marsh.
This challenging trail is our favorite in upstate New York. It features scenic mountain views, gorgeous forests and lots of rock scrambling. Unless you’re ready to camp out, we’d recommend tackling sections suitable for a day hike.
A fantastic, 260-foot, double cascade waterfall that is among the tallest on the East Coast, reachable with an easy 0.6 mile round trip hike. Pay careful attention to the address you enter into the GPS to reach the correct parking lot. It’s a popular spot, so take care on the winding roads in the area, as there can be lots of pedestrians.
On a clear day, you can see the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Green Mountains of Vermont, the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Helderberg Mountains of New York, and the Connecticut Valley.
A public recreational area with fishing, canoe/kayak rental, and access to great hiking. A short trek will take you to the the ruins of two old Catskills hotels, and a longer one will bring you up to the wreckage of a forty-year-old plane crash.
A lovely waterfall under a wooden bridge on the grounds of the Winter Clove Inn in Round Top. It’s a short walk from the parking areas, but the dense forest and cliffs feel a lot further into the woods. The path connects to a trail network that takes you by creeks, waterfalls and cascades.
Other Points of Interest
A buddhist temple featuring beautiful buildings and grounds. The property is generally open to the public. You can even stay on the grounds in an Airbnb!
A former quarry, turned into a unique multi-acre environmental sculpture.
The old estate of a landscape painter of the Hudson River School. The obvious draw is the mansion, designed in a striking fusion of Victorian and Middle Eastern styles, but equally remarkable are the landscape views on the grounds, carefully planned by the artist.
This museum features collections and equipment from the 1700s to the present day!
Converted from an old farm silo, this kaleidoscope is certified by Guinness as the world’s largest.
A beautiful church, built with traditional all-wooden joinery. This fascinating style of achitecture is a rare find in the US.
