The Catskill Mountains are just an hour from the city and offer almost perfection in their beauty. Catch them from the right angle they swoop down to the ground, one by one, overlapping each other as they do in a way that resembles a child's drawing of how mountains should look. They are elegant, enticing and of course, a lot of fun. And with The Catskills Park at 600,000 acres, this is a lot of fun. But even with all these outdoorsy opportunities, the Catskills don't seem to take themselves as seriously as the Adirondacks, for example. You can hike in the morning, but you'd quite like to come down the hill to a fine lunch and a crisp white wine if that's OK. It's all a bit more chilled here, which must be the Woodstock hippy vibe still hanging happily in the air.




And when the snow falls, of course, the skiing cult kicks in. This is the closest spot to New York City for winter sports, just an hour or so from fresh powder. For ice climbing, there are waterfalls such as The Notch, The Playground, Hellhole and Kaaterskill Falls to take on. And of course, the slopes of Hunter and Plattekill Mountain are too cool for ski school when the snow starts to fall.

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