With spring just around the corner, it’s time to go online and Google great vacations, but with the world economy in a mess and air travel a nightmare, you might want to look closer to home for that much-needed getaway.

Only hours from New York City, Albany, or the Berkshires, the Catskill High Peaks is the perfect place to go if you love the outdoors or the indoor coziness that small towns can offer. Don’t worry if you’re traveling companions want to scale Black Dome Mountain and you’re the dyed-in-the-wool-shop-till-you-drop kind; there are also plenty of small shops filled with local art, handmade crafts, antiques and collectibles to satisfy even the most inveterate shopper.

First, however, you’ll need a place to stay.

Christman’s Windham House
Christman’s Windham House on Rte. 23, Windham, NY has been offering warm hospitality for 200 + years. The handsome Greek revival inn, opened in 1805, is the oldest continuously operating Inn in the Catskill High Peaks. Inside the original Inn, drovers found hearty food and warm spirits for the long haul, herding cattle and sheep up and down the rugged mountain roads. At one time the Windham House was even the headquarters for the Catskill-Delhi stagecoach line!

Today Christman’s Windham House, owned by the Christman family for 56 years, offers guests food, lodging, and a state-of-the-art golf course on 300 acres of lush lawn and woodland. Surrounding the historic inn, five Colonial-style buildings accommodate guests in modern facilities while preserving the setting’s rural charm. A perfect place to stay if you’re planning to spring ski at Windham or Hunter Mountains; you can also golf to your heart’s delight at Christman’s 27 hole golf resort or eat in their restaurant and enjoy the culinary delights of Chef Tim Cross, a graduate of Johnson & Wales Institute in Rhode Island. Travelers take note: The restaurant serves its own pure homemade maple syrup. Each spring, for more than 100 years Christman’s sap-yielding, hard maple tree bush, is tapped to provide sap to make authentic Catskill Mountain syrup. Over 1000 taps are drilled in February during President’s week each spring. With all there is to do, see and eat, Christman’s is a great place for family reunions, weekend getaways with friends, or a week-long vacation with the family.

1805 Tavern
If you’re looking for a place to eat, Christman’s 1805 Tavern offers restaurant and outside deck table seating, sandwiches, wraps, homemade soups, char-grilled hamburgers and steaks, homemade salads, fresh green salads, egg sandwiches, omelets and cold drinks. The Tavern’s Loft recreation room includes, pool table, foose ball, table tennis, piano, TVs, adult darts, table shuffleboard, dance floor.

For more information about Christman's Windham House and the 1805 Tavern, visit www.windhamhouse.com.

Fairlawn Inn
Casual luxury for the discriminating traveler: That’s the Fairlawn Inn on Rte. 23A in Hunter, NY.

The Fairlawn Inn, a Hunter Mountain Bed & Breakfast, is where you want to stay if you’re into casual luxury. This completely restored Victorian home features the art and personality of innkeeper Chuck Tomaiko, who has over 30 years in the hospitality industry. The Inn has recently been upgraded to include a professional quality pool table in the game room, new comfortable furniture for the porches, and new showers for all of the claw foot tubs. A new patio with fire pit, waterfall, extensive gardens and comfortable seating has also been added.

The Fairlawn Inn features nine bedrooms all with private en-suite baths queen sized bed, TV’s and DVD players. It also features four common area rooms, gardens and many porches where you can relax. If sitting on the porch is not your style then hike, bike, ski, snowshoe, antique, fine dine, take in a movie or go to the theater (in season), visit an art gallery, check out the local crafts. There are many activities that you can do within walking distance of the Fairlawn, including the Sky Ride at Hunter Mountain, Hunter Antiques Mall, American Gothic Antiques, Old Treasured Belongings, Village Square Bookstore, Harvest Café, and Kaaterskill Fine Crafts & Arts gallery. The Inn, nestled in the Catskill High Peaks, once popularized by the Hudson River School of Painters, has some of the most magnificent scenery on the East Coast.

For more information about the Fairlawn Inn, visit www.fairlawninn.com.


Washington Irving Inn
The 19th century Washington Irving Inn is located on the outskirts of the historic Villages of Hunter and Tannersville, Greene County, New York. Built circa 1890, this distinctive Victorian Inn is located on Scenic Route 23A (also known as “The Rip Van Winkle Trail”) approximately two miles from Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl in the Town of Hunter and walking distance, one mile, to Tannersville.

If you choose to stay at the historic Washington Irving Inn, nestled within the 705,500 acre Catskill State Park, 2 ½ hours from New York City, ½ from Woodstock; 90 minutes from Albany airport; 30 minutes from Village of Catskill.

At the Washington Irving Inn, you’ll enjoy classy comfort in fifteen country rooms, modern amenities, splendid mountain views, authentic period pieces/antiques, cocktail lounge with liquor license on premises, outdoor pool, wrap-around porch. A full, hearty breakfast and afternoon tea are included in the price.

If you’re looking to slow down your pace, re-connect with the outdoors, experience fine food and fantastic scenery, the Catskill High Peaks’ are the place for you. You’ll find a world of things to do, but like most of the Catskills’ most treasured assets, you’ll have to hunt for them. Hiking, biking, antiquing, gallery-hopping, visiting local farm stands, luxuriating at a state-of-the-art spa, and eating in some of New York State’s finest restaurants are just some of the things you can do. Once the tourist Mecca of America, the area is experiencing a rebirth as a tourist destination. There’s no local transportation system so you’ll need a car to get around. Ask the locals, they’ll tell you where to go.

For more information about the Washington Irving Inn, visit www.washingtonirving.com.