You’ll notice a quiet, peaceful calm when you visit New York’s Sullivan Catskills this time of year. Just 90 miles from Manhattan, it’s a wonderful place to restore body and soul, prepare for the busy holiday season, and settle into winter.
Come in early November and fuel your body with Catskill-icious goodness. Restaurant Week runs through November 11, so you can still enjoy dining specials. It’s an excellent opportunity to sample the flavors of inventive and James Beard-nominated restaurants. Enjoy farm-fresh 3-course lunches and dinners from $29.95-$44.95 at Blue Fox Motel, Cellaio, Kenoza Hall, Lotus, Roscoe Mountain Club, Seminary Hill Orchard & Cidery, Tavern on Main, The Arnold House, The DeBruce, The Heron Restaurant, The Homestead Restaurant+Lounge, and Yagsur’s Café at the Museum at Bethel Woods.
Wellness and relaxation on your terms are integral to a visit to Hemlock Neversink, a 230-acre campus with a spa that includes 12 treatment rooms, a meadow-view gym, an indoor pool and hot tub, outdoor saunas, a steam room, and a relaxation room. Here, they embrace the five pillars of wellness: nourish, move, grow, connect, and heal. While you’re here, you can walk with goats, gaze at the night sky, try a natural dye workshop, indulge in a Catskill Clay Wrap, or savor a Glazed Maitake with White Bean Puree & Shoestring Potatoes. Thirty-three guest rooms are housed in five campus buildings. There are hiking trails and tennis courts, too. Complete each night of your stay around a crackling bonfire.
Other great options include a visit to Awana Spa at Resorts World Catskills where you can enjoy holistic treatments that pamper your body and rejuvenate your spirit. You might also consider a visit to the Salt Cave at Crystal Connection in Wurtsboro, The Yoga Space in Hurleyville, Pilates-based sessions at Bodies and Plants in Livingston Manor, or the Jurni Quantum Healing Center in Cochecton, which includes the Energy Enhancement System, which generates bioactive and regenerative energy fields, such as scalar waves and biophotons, that assist the body in repairing and healing itself from various ailments.
Fans of the TV series Yellowstone, may want to consider a weekend at Driftwood Ranch Resort in Bethel— a working horse and cattle ranch. They are currently in a soft opening phase and eventually will offer a full day of ranch activities to watch or participate in. Enjoy breathtaking views, hiking trails, and rustic yet elegant Western accommodations. Oh, and you can help feed cattle. They love donuts and bagels!
A drive along the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway remains breathtaking in any season. Along the way, watch for the hand-painted sculptures that are part of the colorful Sullivan Catskills Dove Trail, a tribute to the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival held here in 1969. To help guide you to each dove location, download the trail map at SullivanCatskills.com or find each dove’s location on the free Sullivan Catskills Go app. When you need to stretch your legs try a hike on the Tusten Mountain Trail or one of the numerous other trails featured on Trailkeeper.org to guide your on-foot journey.
The Good Taste Beverage Trail features a collection of breweries, wineries, distilleries, and cideries. Sample the award-winning flavors while you chat with the proprietors and learn their backstories. The newest member of the trail is Big Eddy Brewing in Narrowsburg. Want to learn more about how to taste and evaluate wine and its characteristics, terminology, and history? Check out the wine classes at Terra Space in Jeffersonville, led by A.J. Ojeda-Pons, a certified WSET (Wine Spirit and Education Trust) Sommelier.
If this is the year you’d rather someone else prepare the Thanksgiving meal, leave it to the inventive chefs in the Sullivan Catskills. Consider a Thanksgiving Weekend at Kenoza Hall, Villa Roma, Callicoon Hills, The Bradstan at The Eldred Preserve, Chatwal Lodge at the Chapin Estate, North Branch Inn, The Arnold House, or Roscoe Mountain Club. Then plan a visit to Peace, Love & Lights starting November 29 at Bethel Woods, a drive-through 1.7-mile holiday light show to top off your weekend and start the holiday season.
To book a visit and plan your itinerary, visit SullivanCatskills.com
