I feel responsible to give you a teensy bit of Catskills 101 before you hit the road. If you don’t have it, you will get halfway there and have some questions. So, here it is whenever you need it. The Catskills is a region. It is loosely made up of seven counties. The primary four — Sullivan, Ulster, Delaware and Greene — represent the heart of the region, but three just north of those — Otsego, Schoharie and Albany — also have much to see and do. I like a broader definition

A key part of getting to know a place is finding its rhythm and its peculiarities. In any of the Catskills hamlets, you are likely to find at least one summertime parade. Often local folks will bring out their prize tractors, their vintage cars, their 4H livestock. You’ll be able to get a bite to eat and probably listen to some good music. I love a parade, but I don’t need it to go on and on all day. What’s great about Catskill parades is that you can usually see the beginnin

Maybe this is a little bit immature, but some hamlet names really tickle me. I have compiled a list of the ones that I absolutely love. Brian is not a funny name, but it is a funny name for a dog. Olive and basket are not funny words, really, but they are surprising names for places. And then there’s Surprise. Am I right? Your challenge is to hit each one of these hamlets and find something there that you love. Report back. I love nothing more than a good excuse to take a lit