10 Degrees Cooler. 100% More Relaxed. Welcome to the Catskills.
It's mid-August. The city is hot. The group chat is full of vacation photos. Your neighbor is apparently in Italy for three weeks. And you? You could be in the Catskills. 🌲☀️
August is going-away season in full swing, and this weekend, August 14 through 16, is a particularly good excuse to actually leave. Here's what's happening around Belleayre Mountain and our little corner of the Catskills.
🎸 Friday Night: Free Music on the Belle
Start the weekend at Belleayre with Music-on-the-belle bringing classic hits and rock to Discovery Lodge tonight, 6 to 9 PM. Admission is free. There are food trucks, drinks, lawn games, and the Catskill Thunder Gondola stays open into the evening. Music, mountains, food, and sunset. Not a terrible Friday.
🚡 Ride Up. Look Around. Take 47 Photos.
The Catskill Thunder Gondola runs all weekend, Friday noon to 7 PM, Saturday and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. Ride to the summit for the kind of Catskills view that makes everyone stop talking for a second. Then take a picture. Then another. Then one where everyone pretends they didn't know it was being taken.
🏖️ Yes, the Catskills Have a Beach
When it gets hot, head to Belleayre Beach in Pine Hill. Swimming, kayaking, paddle-boarding, fishing, volleyball, picnicking, all on the menu. Or do absolutely nothing. That's also an officially recognized vacation activity.
🏃 Sunday: Climb It For Climate
Feeling ambitious after Saturday's relaxation? Sunday, August 16, Belleayre hosts Climb It For Climate a trail race that's a considerably more energetic way to experience the mountain than sitting on the gondola. We support both approaches equally.
🥾 Or Just Go Into the Woods
No race required. Belleayre's summer trails range from easy family walks to real climbs toward the summit. Pack water, wear decent shoes, put the phone away for ten minutes. The trees have been doing this for several hundred years without Wi-Fi.
🚲 Try the Catskills on Rails
For something different, head to Phoenicia and pedal through the woods on Rail Explorers (book ahead). The rail bikes follow the old railroad tracks along the Esopus Creek, electric-assisted, so the hills don't stand a chance against you. It's exercise disguised as sightseeing, generally the best kind.
🌲 This Is Prime Catskills Time
There's something special about the Catskills in the middle of August. The forest is deep green, the evenings are starting to cool down, farm stands are overflowing, and there are still weeks of summer left. Unlike January, nobody has to go find the missing ski glove.
Spend the morning hiking. Take the gondola up Belleayre. Jump in the lake. Fire up the grill. Open a bottle of rosé. Sit outside until the fire burns down. That's August in the Catskills.
🏡 Make a Weekend of It at Alpine Four Season Lodge
If all of this sounds better than sitting in traffic wondering why you didn't leave the city earlier, come stay with us at Alpine Four Season Lodge, minutes from Belleayre Mountain. Bring the family, bring your friends, bring your hiking shoes, and definitely bring your appetite for doing very little after 7 PM.
Summer is still very much in session.
Book directly at Alpine Four Season Lodge > https://www.alpinefourseasonlodge.com
Daniel & The Crew
32 Galli Curci Road, Highmount, NY 12441
See you on the mountain. 🌲⛰️☀️
