Channel Your Inner Flower Child at These Artsy Towns in the Catskills
From Bethel to Woodstock, these small Catskills towns are more than their music festival past.
Contrary to popular belief, the infamous 1969 Woodstock music festival didn’t actually take place in Woodstock. Instead, it was held in Bethel, a small town in Sullivan County just southwest of Woodstock. Either way, since the inaugural music festival first put Bethel, Woodstock, and their neighboring towns on the map more than a half century ago, they’ve become getaway destinations for music lovers, tie-dye-wearing hippies.
Travel Time
2 hours from New York City by car
If You Only Do One Thing: Relive the Groovy Past at the Woodstock '69 Grounds
You can still feel Woodstock’s effects at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the iconic festival’s ground zero. Nearly 500,000 people gathered for three days of musical bacchanal back in 1969, and they all left with a story to tell, many of which fill the halls of the Museum at Bethel Woods. Some left their cars off the highway and walked seven miles just to get a spot in the crowd. Others skinny-dipped in the nearby lake as a way of cleaning off the festival grime. Some shared less-than-legal substances with strangers. Others stayed up all night to watch The Who and Jefferson Airplane play into the following morning.
Since 2017, the site of the festival has been formally recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. And in 2018, a team of archaeologists were able to establish the exact locations of the stage, sound, and light towers from the festival. Today, you can walk to these spots as well as check out the public art installations across the grounds.
Just off of the original festival grounds, the Pavilion at Bethel Woods is an outdoor amphitheater that seats approximately 16,000 attendees. Past headliners include Hozier, the New York Philharmonic, and even Kidz Bop, and upcoming performances by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple, and Megadeth are set to close out the season.
To get even closer to the festival experience, book space at the Bethel Woods campsites. From May to October, guests can camp on concert and festival days surrounded by stunning views of the festival site. The ADA-accessible campgrounds offer a variety of camping experiences—from tents, to RVs, to glamping for those who don’t want to give up indoor plumbing.
Fill the weekend with
Non-Woodstock Arts and Culture
The family-owned Woodstock Music Shop boasts a collection of over 10,000 records to get lost in and shop from. Whether you’re looking for rare records by your favorite artists or hoping to discover someone new, Woodstock Music Shop has everything you need to continue to build your record collection—or get started on one.
After filling your bag with LPs, pay a visit to Rock City Vintage, a clothing store with vintage items from the mid-to-late 20th century. The team behind Rock City Vintage practices sustainability by recycling materials and reconstructing pieces. Bring your own clothes or shop for something secondhand and have it all altered by the skilled owners Molly Farley and Katie Legnini.
Close out your day with a live show at Bearsville Theater. Established by entrepreneur and music manager Albert Grossman, it’s long provided artists a space to ply their trade away from the big city. Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash have all passed through Bearsville Studios, the adjacent recording studio. Acts soon to roll through town include Indigo de Souza, A Leonard Cohen Birthday Tribute performance, and Jeff Tweedy.
If you find yourself in Woodstock on October 13th, swing by the Woodstock Music & Art Fair at Bearsville Park for a day of live music and community art demonstrations.
Bethel’s Great Outdoors
When in the Catskills, you’ll want to go on a hike, and there are plenty of options in Sullivan County for hikers of all skill levels. The Hurleyville Rail Trail is a family-friendly hike that follows the path of an old railway. Because it’s mostly flat, the trail is fairly accessible for strollers and wheelchairs. If you’re looking to go off-the-beaten path, check out Crystal Lake Wild Forest in Fremont. The forest here is less busy than some of the more popular hiking trails in the county, making it the perfect spot if you’re looking for even more quiet. History nerds will get a kick out of hiking around Minisink Battleground in Barryville, where the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Minisink took place.
When you’re done working up a sweat on the trails, head over to Lake Superior State Park to cool off in the waters of Lake Superior and Chestnut Ridge Pond. Its sand beaches provide ample space for swimming, boating, and fishing.
Where to Eat and Drink in Bethel
Start your day with a handmade wood-fired bagel and organic coffee from Mud Club in Woodstock, and then finish it off with dinner at The Old Foundation, a homey restaurant in Kenoza Lake, about 15 minutes from Bethel Woods. Open Thursdays through Sundays, The Old Foundation serves bar snacks, pizzas, pastas, a variety of small plates, and sandwiches. Meanwhile, in Woodstock itself, family-owned Silvia offers up a menu of incredible new American cuisine all made with locally-sourced and sustainable ingredients.
For a pint, check out Woodstock Brewing. Just a 20-minute drive from Woodstock in Phoenicia, Woodstock Brewing started as a half barrel system and is now home to a 15-barrel brewery.
If grapes are more your vibe, stop by Bashakill Vineyards, Sullivan County's first farm winery. Established in 2005, it exclusively grows organic grapes and crafts a wide range of wines (sparkling, chardonnay, cabernet, merlot, etc.). The vineyard also hosts wine-tasting events and live music every weekend.
If you like your whiskey neat, take in The Alton Distillery, just minutes from the Bethel Woods Center for Arts. Book the Mastery Experience for a guided tour of the distillery and to learn more about the art of whiskey-making. Or skip the learning part and go straight for the whiskey at The Alton Bar, where you can taste the distiller’s entire collection of old cask whiskeys.
Where to Stay
To commune with goats: Besides the aforemention campgrounds at Bethel Woods, Hemlock Neversink is ideal for solo travelers or couples. The hotel sits on a 230-acre campus and features a spa with a gym, hiking trails, tennis courts, and even a goat sanctuary. It also offers retreats for groups with daily activities like movement classes, silent discos, and goat hikes (yes, there are a lot of goats in the Bethel area).
For indoor/outdoor stays: Family-friendly Callicoon Hills is the perfect stay for outdoorsy folks who still want all of the hotel amenities. There’s hiking, swimming, and fishing as well as a variety of lodging options—from classic rooms in their boarding house to A-frame cabin stays.