Experience the best of The Catskills

The Catskill Mountains rise north-west of New York City in a protected state park of forests, rounded peaks and deep valleys. Slide Mountain, at 1,274 metres, is the highest. The mountains inspired the painters of the Hudson River School, and Washington Irving set the tale of Rip Van Winkle here.

Kaaterskill Falls, a two-tier cascade of about 80 metres, is one of the tallest in the state, and Esopus Creek at Phoenicia is popular for tubing. Woodstock, an arts town in the foothills, gave its name to the 1969 music festival, though that took place at Bethel, in the south-west of the region, where a museum on the site tells the story. Hunter, Windham and Belleayre have ski slopes, and the Delaware River headwaters are known for fly fishing.

Farm stands sell cider doughnuts, maple syrup and apples, and trout appears on menus in the river towns. Autumn foliage in October is the signature season, and summers are cooler than in the city.