Catskill Mountainkeeper 47B Main Street Livingston Manor, NY (845) 439-1230 catskillmountainkeeper.org @mountainkeeper Stop in to Catskill Mountainkeeper's office on Main Street in Livingston Manor and make a $50 donation to give the ones you love a little slice of green, a little peace of mind, a little trickle of a fresh running stream. Pick up a stainless steel Keeper cup for your donation and give it as a token of your (and their) love for keeping our environment pristine

The Outside Institute Based in Sullivan County, NY theoutsideinstitute.org @theoutsideinstitute The Outside Institute offers group and individual nature walks, foraging excursions and wildcrafting workshops, as well as products and gatherings that feature wild flavors and naturally healing properties. Prices range from $15 for Black Walnut Bitters to $25 per person for a group nature walk to $200 for a private foraging lesson. The Outside Institute's Gift Certificates (availa

Anywhere you go in the world has its own story. It is worth trying to find and understand each place’s unique heartbeat. Farm Girl’s Guide gives you a shortcut to the Catskills’ inside scoop. You can use it to understand the towns, the people and its renaissance more deeply. For starters, smile when you approach a cashier. Wander down a little path. Eat the food that grows here. Ask questions. Speak the language. Wonder why it is the way it is. The Catskills begs some intrins

Maybe you’ve already noticed that the Catskills is becoming famous for its craft beers, its spirits and its ciders. It’s hard to miss. You will hear the word “renaissance” used in this context a lot and it’s not just the post-prohibition buzz talking. Legislators have been making the production of spirits easier and more motivating. If it’s any indication, the annual TAP New York brew tasting and competition features hundreds of beers from 120 New York State breweries. Beer b

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

Throughout Farm Girl’s Guide, you will find some special inns, hotels, motels and B&Bs to try. But these are just the tip of the iceberg. You can also rent your own place or camp in the Catskills and both offer a unique perspective on this magical region. New spots are popping up all the time. I will continue to highlight new ones! As much as I like to travel and to explore, I love to have a place to snuggle in, to unpack my things and to make it my own. If you want to find a

The Outside Institute theoutsideinstitute.org @theoutsideinstitute I am going to say it here. Just going to throw it down. If you are not getting out when you come to the Catskills, you are not getting it. You are missing out. Do I have your attention? Hundreds -- if not a couple thousand -- of books out there list hikes and trails, so you have encyclopedic options. Intimidated? I think you might be. This is where Laura Silverman comes in. Laura (pictured) is the founder and

Ghosts. Everybody up here knows some. They are invisible to you, but they are still there in the shadows, watching as this new renaissance unfolds. They’re the ones on whose backs this resurgence was built. Without them, we would not be here. When you strike up a conversation, ask about what used to be. Folks are usually all too happy to talk about it. On the corner in Andes where the yellow blinking light flashes was once a delicious and lively Mexican restaurant called the

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

It’s a small town Cinderella story. It’s how a renaissance can happen, in the most unlikely of spots and with the most unexpected constellation of partners. First, let’s travel back in time to the 1880s — John Hurley, the hamlet’s namesake, built his simple, hemlock bark-roofed house. Hurleyville grew up from there because it was on the main route between the bigger towns of Liberty and Monticello. Its economy centered on dairy farming and small town life. Hurleyville was a s

In 2006, on a back porch looking out over a pristine Catskills vista, the idea for Catskill Mountainkeeper was hatched among friends. At the time, a proposal for five casinos dotting Highway 17 had been proposed as a promising economic development strategy and the sound bites were gaining momentum. Casinos, especially five of them, are incongruous with the Catskills in spirit and in operation, they thought. People should come here to soak in the great outdoors, not to flush t

Small towns have their own ways of doing things. If you are just passing through, you might not notice. But if you are doing your best to get lost and found, per my suggestion, here are a few things you might keep your eyes peeled for. Many hamlets still have a noon siren. It’ll startle you if you’re not expecting it. I always check my watch or the clock in my pickup when it goes off to see if the satellites are keeping up. Back in the day, the noon siren would signify luncht

If this is your first visit to the Catskills, this might not be top of mind for you. But I urge you to think broadly about your experience here. What will make or break the region’s renaissance? Your visit here is key. You coming back is better. Many of you are going to get the bug and want to stay. As a matter of fact, this book is inspired by those of you who have already figured out that you can be creative here and make a go of it too. There’s nothing like working on a fa

A gentleman from Catskills goes out on a walk one day in an attempt to escape his wife’s incessant nagging (she, to be fair, was annoyed that her husband was not pulling his weight). He meets some of explorer Henry Hudson’s men in the forest, bowling in a natural amphitheater (which I would like to find!), plays a few rounds of ninepin and drinks with them (perhaps a bit too much), falls asleep and awakens 20 years later. Who other than Rip Van Winkle? Mr. Van Winkle awakes a