and most artists could
no longer afford to stay
in the Mountain Top area
where the falls are found.
The most traveled trail
starts near a horseshoe
curve in Rte 23A. Park
the car in a turnout just
up the road, cross to the
other side and walk back
down behind a guardrail.
What you see from here
is only Bastion Falls; it’s
a not very strenuous hike,
a little more than 3/4
mile up to the lower falls.
Other delights are a
bit more off the beaten
track: consider hiking to
Devil’s Kitchen Falls, or
trekking up the overlooked
Kaaterskill High Peak
trail. It’s lonely, but you’ll
be rewarded with up-
close views of Wildcat,
Buttermilk and Santa Cruz
waterfalls. Skiers head to
nearby Hunter Mountain
in the winter.54 p63
The Drive » About 7 of the
miles south to Woodstock
involve white-knuckle driving
on Platte Clove Rd/Rte 16 (also
signposted as ‘Plattecove Mtn
Rd’) through a narrow andsteep valley (sometimes no
guardrail; no trucks or buses
allowed; closed Nov-Apr). You’re
mostly descending 1200ft in
this direction. Eventually, make
a right onto W Saugerties/
Woodstock Rd.7 Woodstock
Famous for the 1969
concert that didn’t
actually happen here
but in Bethel, the town’s
two main walkable
thoroughfares – Tinker
St and Mill Rd – are lined
with cafes and shops.
The Woodstock Artists
Association Gallery
(%845-679-2940; http://www.
woodstockart.org; 28 Tinker
St; hnoon-5pm Thu-Mon;
c) is where you’re most
likely to bump into a
local creative type or a
visiting Byrdcliffe Arts
Colony resident hanging
their latest work. The
permanent collection
features a wide range of
Woodstock artists in all
sorts of mediums.
If you feel a frisson
upon entering the
Woodstock Center for
Photography (%845-679-9957; http://www.cpw.org; 59 Tinker
St; hnoon-5pm Wed-Sun;
c), that’s because it was
formerly the Espresso
Café, hallowed ground
for counter-culture
types. Bob Dylan once
had a writing studio
above the now-defunct
Espresso – that’s where
he typed up the liner
notes for Another Side of
Bob Dylan in 1964 – and
Janis Joplin was a regular
performer. Now the space
is hung with photography
exhibits that cover far-
flung global events as
well as nature shots of
the rugged Catskills.
Spend time in the
afternoon exploring Opus
40 (%246-3400; http://www.
opus40.org; 50 Fite Rd; adult/
child $10/$3; h11:30am-
5pm Fri-Sun), a startling
collection of pathways,
pools and obelisks spread
over 6.5 acres of a former
quarry. Creator Harvey
Fite, who painstakingly
carved and set all the
bluestone pieces, thought
it would take him 40
years to complete: it took
his entire life.
Get in touch with your
spiritual side at Karma
Triyana Dharmachakra
(%845-679-5906; http://www.kagyu.
org; 335 Meads Mountain Rd),
a Buddhist monastery in
the Catskill Mountains,
about 3 miles from
Woodstock. Inside the
shrine room is a giant
golden Buddha statue;
take off your shoes and
meditate with him.54 p63
Attached to the Emerson Resort (see p63) and
housed in a pitch-black, 60ft silo is the world’s
largest kaleidoscope. The gigantic optical instrument
spins its bright colors in mesmerizing, hypnotizing
patterns, inducing sleep in the road-weary. A
boutique sells incredibly designed hand-crafted
kaleidoscopes, really pieces of art or sculpture, that
range from $20 to thousands of dollars.KALEIDOSCOPIC VIEWS
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE:
NEW.YORK.TRIPS3
(^) TRANqUIL CATSKILLS