If you’re looking to fly in, the New York Stewart International Airport (SWF) in New Windsor is a 50-minute drive from the south, while Albany International Airport (ALB) is about an hour north. However it may be easier to find a flight to one of the three major New York City airports ― Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) ― each about a two-hour drive away. Bus service is available from Manhattan directly to Woodstock, while trains run to Poughkeepsie, about 45 minutes away. A rental car is the most convenient option to travel around the Catskills region.

Woodstock is at its best in the summer months with comfortable temperatures from day to night, though a burst of summer rain isn’t unusual. Events are also in full swing, such as the Maverick Festival, with chamber music from June to September; Mower’s Saturday Market flea market and the Woodstock Farm Festival from May through the fall; and the Woodstock-New Paltz Arts & Craft Show, with a spring edition in May and fall one in September. Summer is also prime time to revel in the greenery with outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. Autumn brings its own delights with stunning fall colors, especially around the second week of October. While snow tends to blanket the area in the coldest months, the Catskills’ winter sports offerings can’t be topped. As the snow melts away, spring brings back the tourists, as the temperature works its way up to its comfy zone.

Overlook Mountain Wild Forest

While most mountain hikes lure visitors with their sprawling mountaintop views, Overlook Mountain (with the Hudson River Valley in the foreground and five states in the distance) does that and so much more. Along the way up the Spur Trail, you’ll find the ruins of the never-finished Overlook Mountain House. At the summit, an impressive fire tower reaches 3,140 feet high. Also worth a visit: The Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Tibetan Buddhist monastery across the street from the trailhead.

The Center for Photography at Woodstock

What started as an artists’ colony’s urge to give photographers their own space has grown into a gallery and workshop center that both showcases and supports photography in every kind of light.

Opus 40

Just a 10-minute drive to the east in Saugerties is a 6.5-acre earthwork sculpture that was hand-shaped from bluestone by artist Harvey Fite over the course of 37 years. Sitting on 50 acres of meadows, forest, and quarries, the site — often likened to Stonehenge — also hosts theatrical and musical performances.