Weekend itinerary: Go off-the-grid in the Catskills

For decades, travelers have been escaping to the Catskills — a mountainous region in upstate New York — whenever they’ve needed a reset. So much so that Washington Irving’s legendary character, Rip Van Winkle, chose this locale for his 20-year nap. While we all wish we could capitalize on those #napgoals, most people don’t have that kind of time. So we’ve got a more succinct, yet restorative, weekend getaway.

Here’s the first thing to know: The Catskills is a huge region, stretching across thousands of acres and multiple counties. In future episodes of The Weekender, we will certainly revisit some of these parts, but for this weekend’s trip, we’re focusing on the Great Northern Catskills. That’s Greene County, to be exact, which surrounds the previously overlooked Hudson River town of Catskill.

Few options are as COVID-safe as taking to the woods, and the appeal of the Great Northern Catskills is that you can toggle between going off-the-grid and civilization. (We get it, unplugging is hard.) Check out up-and-coming towns like Athens, Palenville, and Tannersville, where locals and transplants are delivering key upgrades while paying tribute to the past. Then hit the trails and breathe deep — now you’re really living.

Back in the 1800’s, Athens was a thriving industrial center known for shipbuilding, brickworks, pottery, and ice-making. As you stroll its tree-lined streets, you’ll get glimpses of the town’s former wealth through its rich architecture. Case in point: The Stewart House, in a yellow-brick Italianate-style building right on the river. One of the oldest hotels in the Hudson Valley, The Stewie (as it’s called) opened in 1883 as a boarding house. Fast forward 137 years, and today you’ll find suites with velvet headboards and clawfoot tubs, a tavern with an Art Deco bar and pastoral murals by a local artist, and a riverfront restaurant set under a giant weeping willow tree.

Must Order: The hotel’s chef, Bob Turner, is a graduate of the nearby Culinary Institute of America, turning out sophisticated dishes like a salmon salad topped with kale pesto yogurt — but the fan favorite is his cheddar cheeseburger, made with beef from a local fifth generation farmer and cooked to perfection with just one flip.

For Glampers: Treetopia Campground. Well-priced retro-futuristic Airstreams and canvas platform tents just outside the town of Catskill.

For Campers: Whip-O-Will Campsites. Bring your own tents and rough it at this budget spot set by a seven-acre lake near Cairo.

For Couples Who Are Really in Love: Gather Greene. Tiny houses with a glass wall, a king-size bed, a bathroom — and loads of photo ops — in the woods outside Coxsackie.

For Instagrammers: Scribner’s Catskill Lodge. A converted 1970s ski chalet near Hunter. Some of the 28 rooms have fireplaces; most have mountain views.

This area has a long relationship with the arts going back as far as the 1800s when Thomas Cole founded the Hudson River School art movement. (It’s easy to see what inspired his paintings full of bucolic forest views and cloud-diffused light.) These days, the modern vanguard gathers and exhibits their work at HiLo, a combination café, bar, art gallery, and performance space in Catskill.

Listen up, campers. When it comes to COVID-safe activities, you can’t beat hiking, but there are still things to consider. Like crowds. (You’re not the only one who has this idea.) Greene County’s legendary Kaaterskill Falls — the highest cascading waterfall in New York State — is more jam-packed than ever, so this is an experience to save for a later trip. Our advice: Check out one of the lesser-known hikes like Glen Falls, which has multiple easy trails leading to three smaller waterfalls.

Catskill Mountain House: Views of the Hudson River on a short walk that starts near the North/South Lake Campground. Hiking level: moderate.

Mountain Top Arboretum: Mountain top public garden with gentle trails snaking through meadows and forests and over boardwalks, too. Hiking level: easy.

Kaaterskill Rail Trail: A flat walk that follows an abandoned railroad bed. Hiking level: as easy as it gets.

You could call John Henry Boehm — founder of Boehm Farm — the original Johnny Appleseed. In 1903, this New York City dweller fell in love with Greene County, bought an old limerock quarry about 20 minutes from Catskill in the town of Climax, and started planting apple trees. These days, four generations of Boehms still run the place, where you can pick your own apples, peaches, and pumpkins. Don’t miss the apple cider donuts — the farm’s claim to fame.

Story Farms: On the outskirts of Catskill, it has a farmstand and an impressive pumpkin crop just in time for spooky season.

Windham Farmer’s Market: Where you can meet area farmers and listen to local musicians. Open on Saturdays from 9 am - 1 pm through October 10.

In business since 1908, Palenville’s Circle W is your destination for low-fuss picnic supplies and winning Instagram shots on the old-school porch. Grab the Kaaterskill sandwich, loaded with Black Forest ham, cheddar, and fruit chutney, and try local pastries from Catskill Bread Co. and See and Be Kitchen. Wash it all down with a can of La Colombe cold brew.

Breakfast: Gracie’s Luncheonette in Leeds — a diner run by a pair of Culinary Institute of America grads who elevate comfort classics. “It’s food like your grandma made, but even better,” says artist Rowan Willigan, who recommends the donuts in offbeat flavors like salted caramel coconut and maple bacon.

Lunch: Mermaid Cafe — a highly raved-about spot from Catskill-born chef Michelle Williams, who also runs the ice cream shop, Bittersweet. “Michelle is the hardest working person in the Catskills,” says Left Bank Ciders cofounder Tim Graham, who is obsessed with Mermaid’s fried cod and mango tacos.

Dinner: The bistro 394 Main in Catskill — not to be missed, thanks to chef Salah Alygad, a former chemist who makes everything from scratch. “He creates a new menu every week based on whatever he can get at the market,” says Tara Templeton, owner of Mahalo Gift Shop in Catskill.

Dinner and a Movie: Greenville Drive-In — a vintage-style drive-in theater that local photographer Alon Koppel recommends for “sipping on local brews while you watch new and old movies.” Head to the sophisticated snack bar for artisanal cheddar mac-and-cheese and hot dogs topped with kimchi.

Splurge Dinner: Deer Mountain Inn in Tannersville — “an old-timey hotel with a dreamy restaurant,” says Nhi Mundy, founder of Catskills lifestyle magazine DVEight. Look for a hyper-local menu (rhubarb from the inn’s own garden, trout caught that morning) and dinners in partnership with prestigious New York City restaurants.

When the leaves start to change and the days turn crisp, it’s no wonder we’ve got beer on the brain. This is Oktoberfest season, a tradition founded in Munich in 1810 to celebrate one of Germany’s most legendary royal weddings. Since then, this festival has spread around the globe and evolved into a celebration of all things hoppy. Even though the Catskills are 3,800 miles away from Munich, here’s where you can raise a toast to Oktoberfest. Prost!

Subversive Malting and Brewing: A Catskill brewery in a former mechanic’s garage. Drink of choice: Greene County, named for the area but modeled after West Coast IPAs.

Rip Van Winkle Brewing Company: A family-run spot with 40 years of history just outside the town of Catskill. Drink of choice: Kaaterskill Crush IPA, as crisp as the fresh water of the Kaaterskill Falls.

Crossroads: A brewpub that started in an old opera house in Athens and expanded to a riverside location in Catskill with pop-up food trucks. Drink of choice: The award-winning Outrage IPA.

Left Bank Ciders: Catskill’s first cidery, which ages its alcoholic ciders in a subterranean stone cellar. Drink of choice: Byron, a special blend of single-orchard apples.

Redecorating your apartment after months at home? Snag a one-of-a-kind accent piece at Swamp Angel Antiques. If the name doesn’t sell you, the wares at this Catskill shop certainly will. This space specializes in vintage tools and wooden decoy mallards, for a vibe that is equal parts rustic and spooky.

Calling all aspiring plant moms and dads. At L&M Studio, you can meet potter Meg Oliver and sculptor Lucie Peidra, who design, glaze, and fire porcelain planters right in front of you in their Catskill storefront. Good news: If ornithology is your thing, there are also birdhouses and feeders.

The general store — a rural shop that sells a bit of everything — is as American as it gets. These days the concept is being reinvented in the Catskills by modern-day tastemakers who are taking the experience to the next level with cafes and more.

Hartland on Hudson, in an original 1851 general store in Leeds, stocks hand-illustrated greeting cards and wallpaper from the owner, a former Brooklynite. Espresso bar? Check.

Village Common Mercantile in Catskill carries locally made natural products like candles hand-poured by LGBTQ artisans on the spot.

Catskill Mountain Country Store has two locations (Tannersville, Windham), but it’s Windham that pulls out all the stops: old-fashioned ice cream counter, petting zoo, and even a hay maze.

Mansion + Reed General Store in Coxsackie is part shop part guesthouse with rooms for rent upstairs. Pick up some Hudson Valley seeds to plant your own piece of the Catskills in a window garden back home.

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