The Delaware County List

The last few ridges of the Western Catskills are in Delaware County, or Delco, as those in the know affectionately call it. Real estate agents like to say it takes 2 ½ hours from the George Washington Bridge to get to most spots in Delco, which is a simple and mostly true gauge.

Driving a car is key in this neck of the woods, both for getting here as well as for getting around. While it’s possible to take public transportation, it’s circuitous: one could take Amtrak to Hudson, and ask to be picked up there, but that’s a serious commitment, as the drive to Hudson is around 90 minutes/75 miles. Alternatively, there’s the Trailways bus, which departs from Port Authority in NYC, and makes many stops, thus extending the travel time. But perhaps it’s this very distance, this slight inconvenience, that has preserved Delaware County’s unspoiled charm. Some of Delco’s country roads are incredibly picturesque—for example, Roberts Road off of Bloomville, or Pink Street out of Bovina, are breathtakingly beautiful.

Thanks to photographer/director Rob Howard, who has a house in Hobart and hired me to produce a shoot for him, I discovered the Western Catskills. Over the course of our 10-day production, I fell in love with the area’s natural beauty, the vibrant creative community (plenty of people have one foot in NYC and one foot in their Muck boot), and the produce coming from local organic farmers. I ended up pivoting our house hunt from Brooklyn to Delaware County, and ten years later, my partner and I are happily ensconced on our quiet and scenic dirt road. We feel fortunate to be able to split our time between New York and the Catskills.

With all the driving and exploring, please don’t forget to also enjoy the stillness and gaze into a fire or up at the stars—there’s substantially less light pollution on this side of the Catskills Park!

One last word of advice before jumping into the listings: check hours before heading there – some of these venues keep limited store hours.