Brace yourselves: The Catskills are having their biggest moment since the height of the Borscht Belt resorts in the '50s.
Hudson Valley Magazine has dedicated its entire August issue to the region, declaring that "The Catskills Are Back," and featuring the pool at Phoenicia's The Graham & Co. hotel on its cover.
[T]he big story of the day is that the Catskills have seemingly overnight transformed from a sleepy, somewhat rundown region to a hip ’n happening hangout for all types of urban culture vultures and — dare we say it — hipsters.
What is this we hear? It seems that every season, at least one new boutique hotel throws open its doors — and more and more city folk flee upstate to the forest. Cultural offerings abound, gastropubs serve up farm-to-table fare, you can even stay in a luxury yurt. Yes, glamping has come to the Catskills.
The magazine has a full special online section devoted to the Catskills, where many familiar faces -- The Roxbury, Ate.O.Ate Food Truck, the Catskill Mountain Railroad, the Lark in the Park, the Hobart Book Village, Nehapwa -- get shout-outs.
HVMag isn't the only one discovering the Catskills this summer.
WSKG, a chain of radio and TV stations based in Vestal, just published an online slideshow about the History of Tourism in the Catskills. (This may have something to do with the fact that WSKG recently acquired Roxbury-based WIOX 91.3FM, extending its range of radio stations into the Catskills.)
Haute Living, a glossy luxury magazine, also gushed about the awesomeness of the Catskills last month:
[T]he new Catskills are being reinvented as we speak. From the redevelopment of the original site of the Woodstock Arts and Music Festival into a world class performing arts center—with a renowned museum dedicated to the 1960s and its impact on American Culture—to the Monticello Motor Club, where million dollar cars race through a 5 + mile road course set into the beautiful mountain landscapes. These aren’t your mom and dad’s Catskills.
Not to toot our own horn, but we've known for years that the Catskills are awesome. (That's why we started our Catskills Outdoor and Catskills Food Guides.) There's room for everybody on this bandwagon, folks. All aboard!
