A Quiet Village In New York's Catskills Is A Creative Hub Perfect For Weekend Escapes

A weekend getaway from New York City is best when it includes fresh air, a sense of history, and charming spaces that spark creativity, and the Catskills hamlet of Livingston Manor has an abundance of all three. The small town, with a population of about 1,000, has experienced big changes in the last several years. A new generation of chefs, brewers, hoteliers, and shop owners have found their way to the village and into some of the buildings that historically held tanneries and sawmills, giving rise to the arrival of the weekend traveler. 

Livingston Manor, known to locals simply as "the Manor," is located just outside the bounds of Catskill Park, where mountain peaks, waterfalls, and natural vistas await tourists looking for a break from skyline views. The town has resurged as an upstate hub, joining the ranks of the postcard-worthy riverside town of Catskill, as well as Phoenicia, which makes for a beautiful winter couples trip.

The destination sits about 117 miles north of New York City and about 55 miles west of the infamous town of Woodstock in the western Catskills. Travelers from NYC can use the bus system to get to the town (with a few transfers). However, driving is easiest, and you'll want a car to do some real exploring. 

The choice of lodging during a weekend trip to Livingston Manor is not an easy one to make. The town and surrounding area offer more than a dozen options, including cabins, manor houses, boutique inns, campgrounds, and farm stays. There's The DeBruce, a luxury hotel with an award-winning restaurant that opened in 2018 inside a building constructed in the 1880s. Antrim Streamside offers the choice of six cabins on the banks of the Willowemoc Creek, on a property that includes two ponds, an apple orchard, and 250 acres of woods to hike through. The Arnold House, a stylish country retreat set on 80 acres, opened in its latest iteration in 2014, but the structure has been hosting visitors for 100 years. One of the town's short-term vacation rentals, the House of Jane, provides a retreat for remote workers, with a two-person office inside a minimalist farm house.

If you want to stay close to the fun, the Catskill Brewery rents two cabins behind its taproom. During your stay, you can take a short walk to sample the brewery's IPAs and ales or order a meal from its food truck and enjoy the outside dining area. Surprisingly, the small town has room enough for two breweries. The sleek, pond-side Upward Brewing opened its doors in 2019. In addition to award-winning beer, it serves bar bites, burgers, and sandwiches.

There's no shortage of good food in Livingston Manor. Kaatskeller is a popular local hangout, slinging out wood-fired pizzas since 2017,  and The Walk In, opened in 2019, promises simple comfort food for breakfast and lunch. The number of restaurants in town is on the rise, and in 2024, Livingston Manor welcomed the latest: Threshold, serving traditional Korean fare with Catskills-grown seasonal produce.

While visitors could spend all weekend eating the broad variety of dishes served up by the town's restaurants and enjoying the amenities at their lodging of choice, it's worth saving time to explore Livingston Manor's shops, museum, and natural surroundings. The downtown corridor of Livingston Manor stretches only a few blocks, but the colorful buildings that line Main Street offer plenty of shopping opportunities. Main Street boasts multiple home goods stores and clothing boutiques, as well as a bookstore, toy store, and gift shop. Catskill Art Space, a gallery The New York Times described as a "cultural destination," opened downtown in 2022.

If you're an avid fly-fisher — or you simply enjoy learning the history of the places you visit — make the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum a stop during your trip. Livingston Manor is credited as being the birthplace of fly fishing (it's said to be the place Theodore Gordon, the "Father of American Dry Fly Fishing," practiced new methods to attract trout). Today, the museum tells that history, and it provides visitors access to hiking trails, casting fields, and Willowemoc Creek. The museum closes its doors during the winter, from December to April 1, and tickets cost $12. 

The Manor's town slogan is, "Small Town, Big Back Yard," referring to Catskill Park, with its ample space and opportunities for outdoor fun. The Catskill Mountains offer all levels of hiking trails, from the easy Alder Lake Loop to the park's most dangerous hike, Devil's Path. Visitors can chase waterfall views, try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing in the winter, or find a lake, river, or other swimming hole to cool off in the summer.