Hunter

To visit the Town of Hunter today to discover a scenic area steeped in American history and folklore. Native Americans fished and hunted in the many streams and vast forests long before Dutch colonists settled in the late 1600s. Rip van Winkle purportedly took his 20-year nap near Haines Falls, now the gateway to the Catskill Forest Preserve and the Great Northern Catskill Mountains.

A convenient two and a half hours from New York City, the town still seems a peaceful retreat away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Beautiful scenic vistas and fresh clean air are there to be enjoyed, and the town combines old country flavor with new growth and development. Hunter is truly a four season resort area that has it all—beautiful lush mountains with lots of hiking trails and hundreds of miles of sparkling trout streams to enjoy in summer; extraordinary fall foliage displays; all winter sports, including two ski centers right in town and three more within an easy drive, and the enjoyment of watching the mountains come alive in the early spring, not to mention, again, enjoying the bountiful trout fishing at that time of year.

Yes, there’s plenty to do in the outdoors here, but also more worldly activities: shop ‘til you drop in the stores along Main Street and get some culture with local theater groups, art exhibits and performing arts.

When you get hungry, the restaurants offer different gourmet cuisines—and you don’t need to wear a tie; your blue jeans will do. Unlike the frenzy of the shore areas, this is laid back, comfortable living.

A Little History
The Town of Hunter, formed in 1813, includes two incorporated villages, Hunter and Tannersville, and the hamlets of Haines Falls, Elka Park and Lanesville. Located 125 miles north of New York City and 50 miles south of Albany, this spectacular area was the mecca for tourism in the late 19th century when three railroads brought hundreds of visitors.

It was in that century that the area’s sublime beauty lured landscape artists of the Hudson River school of painting including Thomas Cole, Sanford R. Gifford and, of course, Frederick Church. Writers such as Washington Irving, Mark Twain and James Fenimore Cooper visited. Their paintings and prose proclaimed to the world the magnificent beauty of the scenic cloves, vistas, waterfalls, outlook ledges and the “blue and purple magical hues” of the Catskill Mountains, of which hundreds of acres are designated as “forever wild” and protected by the state of New York.

Skiing & Snowboarding
After a decline during the Depression and World War II, tourism rebounded in the post-war era with the development of ski resorts. Orville and Israel Slutzky developed the Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl which, through their efforts, has attained world recognition in the years following its formal opening in 1960. Offering skiing, snowboarding and snowtubing, Hunter Mountain has become one of the premier ski resorts in the northeast, with family-friendly programs and constant improvements being made to ensure a great skiing experience.

Hunter Mountain is located on Route 23A in the Village of Hunter. For more information or reservations, call them toll-free at 800 HUNTERMTN or visit their Web site at www.huntermtn.com.

Also in Hunter is Cortina Mountain Resort, where you will find activities year-round, including a snowboard terrain park, snowtubing, cross-country skiing, paintball, hiking, swimming, four-wheeling, motorcross, mountain biking, mountain boarding and much more.

Cortina Mountain Resort is conveniently located off of Route 23A between Haines Falls and Tannersville. For more information or to make reservations, please call them toll-free at 1 866 9CORTINA or locally at 518 589 6378. You can also visit their Web site at www.cortinamountain.com.

Other Outdoor Recreation
But Hunter is much more than just a winter ski resort! North Lake State Park in Haines Falls is the most visited campsite in all of New York State. The entire Town of Hunter is nestled in the expansive Catskill State Park and its hundreds of acres of protected mountains.

There are miles and miles of biking trails in the area. Whether you choose to tour the scenic backroads, or tackle the unsurpassed challenge of the mountains, you will no doubt be invigorated by the excitement of biking in the northern Catskill Mountains. The Town of Hunter offers both touring and mountain biking, with local businesses opening their winter ski trails for summer and fall fun.

Many of those same biking trails are also open for hiking. Enjoy the drama of the changing seasons in the majestic mountains, some of which peak at over 4,000 feet. Over 100 miles of trails await you. Or you can enjoy the serenity of an easy walk down a country road. Camping facilities and state-maintained lean-tos are located throughout the town for your enjoyment. Biking, hiking and camping affords visitors an opportunity to experience the spectacular fall foliage; it’s one of the best displays of nature in the country and on a par with anywhere in the Northeast.

Fishing also offers a special treat. Cool waters rushing from the Mountain Top are home to thousands of wild and holdover brook and brown trout—with many more stocked by New York State each year. These famous streams are laden with fish up to two feet long and weighing four pounds.

The Arts
There are also many opportunities for cultural enjoyment as well. The Catskill Mountain Foundation (map), a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, offers a variety of programs throughout the year, including live performances of music, theater and dance; gallery exhibits of fine arts and crafts with ties to the Catskill Region; a movie theater showing the best of Hollywood, foreign and independent films in a newly-renovated building; an arts-oriented bookstore, with one of the largest offerings of books related to the Catskill Region and to mountain regions around the world, poetry readings, author book signings, plus 10,000 general interest titles in stock; the Sugar Maples Center for Arts and Education in nearby Maplecrest, a school offering an extensive fine arts and crafts curriculum for both children and adults in state-of-the-art facilities; an annual Mountain Culture Festival that features mountain-related music, film, crafts, books, art exhibits, animal exhibits, food tastings and The Great Catskill Mountain Quilt Show; a working Natural Agriculture farm and educational facility, and a Farm Market, an outlet for produce grown on the Foundation’s farm, on other area farms, and for products from regional and national distributors.

Currently, the Catskill Mountain Foundation (map) operates three buildings on Main Street in Hunter: the Doctorow Center for Performing Arts & Film, home of the three-screen Mountain Cinema, the Pleshakov Historical Piano Collection and where many performances are held; the Big Red Barn, which houses administrative offices, and Hunter Village Square, the CMF’s 14,000 square foot building. It houses the CMF Gallery, the CMF Bookstore, the offices of the Guide magazine and the Fresh Harvest Café and Farm Market.

The Catskill Mountain Foundation (map) is supported in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Greene County Legislature through the County Initiative Program administered in Greene County by the Greene County Council on the Arts, by the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation, by the Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation and private donations. For more information, visit www.catskillmtn.org.

Other Local Arts Organizations
But the arts are not limited to the Catskill Mountain Foundation (map). The Little Bird Fine Arts Gallery, located in the Expansion Center for the Arts at 7943 Main Street, offers high-quality exhibitions year round. For more information, including current shows, please contact the gallery at 518 589 6356.

Two local theater troupes, the Greene Room Players and the Schoharie Creek Players, have also been delighting residents and visitors for many years with their lively performances cast solely of local talent.

Fairs and Festivals
Summer and fall are the seasons for festivals in the Town of Hunter. Hunter Mountain hosts several festivals throughout the months of August, September and October, and the Catskill Mountain Foundation (map) celebrates the joys of the mountains with its annual Mountain Culture Festival, held each July. Last year, the highly acclaimed Woodstock Film Festival used the Catskill Mountain Foundation (map) Movie Theater as one of its satellite sites. This year, the festival will return with an expanded lineup of films.

Shopping
Hunter is the home of many shops, featuring a wide variety of wares to please every taste.

How to Get Here
The Town of Hunter is located on Route 23A. From the north, take the New York State Thruway to Catskill exit 21. Take a left onto Route 23. After about 4 miles, take a right onto Routes 23A and 9W. Stay on 23A to the Hunter area. From the south, take the New York State Thruway to Saugerties exit 20. Turn left over the Thruway, then right onto Route 32. After about 6 miles, turn onto Route 32A. Follow 32A for about 2 miles, then bear left onto 23A to the Hunter area.

For more information, contact the Town of Hunter Chamber of Commerce at 518 263 4900 or visit their Web site at www.hunterchamber.org.