Landers-Delaware © Courtesy of Sullivan Catskills
How do you like your summer? Wet and wild? Relaxing and refreshing? Hot and hip? Cool and comfortable? Sports and shorts? Wining and dining? All the above and more? The Sullivan Catskills has your summer.
You’ve Got Kids—Bring them for the Fun
They may even put away their phones. Splash down in the Delaware River with rafting and tubing. There are canoes and kayaks, too, at a half-dozen liveries. Take a short or all-day journey through scenic splendor and foamy rapids. Get an eagle’s eye view soaring through the sky at Kittatinny Zip-line, and you may find one of our eagles flying in formation.
Everyone loves a parade. The villages here love putting them on, and they’re special. Livingston Manor hails its world-famous history of fly fishing with an annual Trout Parade. It’s a march, a street fair, and a celebration. You don’t have to know the difference between an International Harvester Cub and a John Deere Model 60 to enjoy the machinery rolling down Callicoon’s River Road at the Tractor Parade, with lots to do in town before and after. Everyone loves July 4th. Come watch the skies of the Sullivan Catskills light up with fireworks and celebrations all over.
If the tractors got you hankering to visit the barnyard, you could spend a few hours or a few days down on the farm— agriculture is the second biggest business here— from an alpaca ranch where you can meet the herd and buy cozy apparel to a working farm where your family can learn all about where your food comes from.
If the forecast calls for rain, you can still swim (and dine) at the Kartrite Indoor Waterpark Resort—New York’s biggest—for a day or a stay.
Take A Hike—Climb Every Mountain
Hiking boots? Check. Backpack? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Whether you’re up for a stroll or a scramble, you can put your foot down on the trails.
The Sullivan O&W Rail Trail follows the route that brought visitors here for almost 90 years. The Hurleyville segment is ADA-compliant, and you can almost hear the locomotive whistles echo in the rock cuts.
The D&H Canal Linear Park parallels the route that once transported regional coal and other products toward New York City.
Up for something a little more challenging? The Tusten Mountain Trail is a moderately challenging 2.9-mile loop trail. This hike is best from spring through fall, and your four-legged friend will like it too, but it must be leashed.
The Play’s the Thing—It’s Groovy, Man
Talk about a big song and dance! The Sullivan Catskills continues to entertain.
What says Summer better than a show in a historic barn with a pre-show dinner? The Forestburgh Playhouse has been raising the curtain for 76 seasons. This year includes seven productions and (since Summer isn’t over until September 23) the In the Works in the Woods Festival.
The Shandalee Music Festival celebrates 30 years with Sunset Concerts featuring chamber music, piano and jazz.
Find a friend with a micro-bus, break out your tie-dye, and go to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts at the 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Festival site. Take a virtual reality festival field tour and learn about Hendrix and Joplin in the Museum. Then see James Taylor or Shania Twain in the Pavilion.
Hungry?—Here’s Food for Thought
Foster Supply Hospitality has been nominated as a “2023 James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards Semi-Finalist, Outstanding Restaurateur.” Their five restaurants feature everything from a 12-course tasting menu to pop-ups in a historic inn’s two-lane, hand-set bowling alley.
Game for something different? Head to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on May 13 for Catskill Cuisine. The food will be plentiful, the brews will be pouring, and the music will be pulsing. Visitors can immerse themselves in gourmet goodness, celebrity chefs, music, cooking demonstrations, a marketplace, and more. Participating celebrity chefs include Alton Brown, Scott Conant, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marcus Samuelson, and Geoffrey Zakarian. Other acclaimed chefs include Melissa Ben-Ishay, Cesare Casella, Ayesha Nurdjaja, Saul Montiel, Dale Talde, and Bethel Woods’ Executive Chef, Joel Trocino. The festival promises to seamlessly blend cuisine, music, and family-friendly entertainment throughout the iconic grounds, including The Event Gallery at the Museum at Bethel Woods, the Market Sheds, Festival Tents, Terrace Stage, and Concourse Walkway with tastings, demos, pairings, shopping, and entertainment– all representing the Sullivan Catskills diverse and delicious bounty. There will also be an educational portion for children to learn about local cuisine.
The following weekend, May 20 & 21, TAP New York— one of New York’s largest and longest-running craft beer festivals— will showcase 100 breweries from across the State and feature unlimited sampling from more than 200 carefully-crafted beers. The legendary Wailers will hit the Festival music stage on Saturday, and Blues Traveler will play on Sunday. A food court will celebrate staple foods from every region of the State.
It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere—Fill Your Flutes, Coupes, and Belgian Tulips
Vintages are best in the vineyard. Named for the ecological marvel where it is located, Bashakill Vineyards is a wine-lovers paradise. Watch the eagles and sip a Black Bear. Smell the pines and sample a Wood Duck. Samara learned to cook in Italy. Try her Truffle Cheese and Mushrooms.
When you keep bees and distill spirits, you open Catskills Provisions in Callicoon and serve spirits with honey. It makes for a signature Bloody Mary and smokey Bonfire Rye. The food here is sourced locally, and make sure you take home some of their honey candy and ketchup. Do Good Spirits in Roscoe does you good with unique vodka, gin, bourbon, cocktails, and snacks.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Especially if it has been pressed and fermented. Conde Nast Traveler says Seminary Hill Cidery in Callicoon is, “James Fenimore’s America with a dash of Tuscany.” The ciders are first-rate, and the Sourdough Bread with Cultured Butter and Whipped Chicken Fat is to die for.
Hold my beer while I list the breweries. There’s 17 West, Callicoon, Catskill, Roscoe, Russian Mule, Shrewd Fox and Upward. Each is foamy, friendly, and fun. Want to try them all? Get on the Craft Beverage Trail.
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
The “In” places are our Inns. Rest in a resort, curl up in a campground, beauty sleep in a B&B, or meditate in a motel. A bed for every head, taste, and budget. Sleep well—it’s another big day tomorrow in the Sullivan Catskills this summer.
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Our peaceful, legendary vacationland is just 90 minutes from new york city and is full of simple country pleasures. Bring your family and friends.
