Summer Isn't Over Yet: Steal One More Weekend in the Catskills

There are two kinds of people in late August.

The first group has already emotionally moved into fall. They're talking about sweaters, pumpkins, and, God help us, pumpkin-spice everything, in August. The rest of us are not giving up summer that easily. And up here in the Catskills, you shouldn't either.

Late August and early September might genuinely be the sweet spot around Belleayre Mountain. The days are still warm enough to swim, the mountains are deep green, the evenings are just cool enough to sleep beautifully, and you can finally sit outside without feeling personally slow-roasted. So before summer officially packs its bags and heads out, come steal one more weekend.

First: Get Yourself Up To Belleayre Mountain

You do not need skis to enjoy Belleayre. The Catskill Thunder Gondola runs all summer and hauls you straight up the mountain for the kind of view that makes your phone camera suddenly work overtime.

Best part: you get the view without pretending to enjoy climbing 2,000 vertical feet before breakfast. Ride up, walk around, take a few photos, breathe. That counts as a perfectly respectable mountain adventure, no shame required. The gondola keeps running on select dates into October, so it's also a solid move once summer starts eyeing the exit.

Then Do Something Very Un-Catskills: Go to the Beach

Yes. The beach. In the mountains. Belleayre Beach at Pine Hill Lake remains one of our favorite summer surprises this close to Alpine Four Season Lodge, swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding, boating, fishing, volleyball, and plenty of grass for doing absolutely nothing, which is also, officially, an activity.

The beach stays open through September 6, 2026, so there's still real time to get in the water. My suggested itinerary is extremely complicated: bring towel, enter water, exit water, find sunny spot, repeat. If children are involved, add snacks every 17 minutes on the dot.

This Friday: One Last Night of Music on the Mountain

If you're heading up this weekend, build Friday night around it. Belleayre's free Music on the Belle wraps its whole summer season on Friday, August 28, with 9 Feet Down at Discovery Lodge, 6 to 9 PM. Live music, food, drinks, mountains, and notably, no velvet rope.

In other words: considerably better than sitting in city traffic wondering why you didn't leave sooner. Bring a folding chair, grab something to eat, and enjoy one of those Catskills evenings that somehow makes a plain old Friday feel like you actually went somewhere.

Experience late summer sunsets @Belleayre

Hike Just Enough to Earn Dinner

Want more adventure? There's hiking everywhere around us. Keep it civilized on the trails around Belleayre, or head deeper into the Catskills for something with a little more attitude. For the "yes, I actually hike" crowd, Giant Ledge is the classic, a roughly 3.2-mile round trip past five separate ledges, each one handing you another layer of mountains disappearing into the horizon.

The one real rule of Catskills hiking: you do not have to destroy yourself for it to count. Sometimes you want four hours and a summit. Sometimes you want 45 minutes, one good view, and lunch. Both are correct, and nobody's checking your homework.

Or Don't Do Anything At All

This option is seriously underrated. Come back to Alpine Four Season Lodge. Take a yoga mat outside. Read a book. Light the fire pit. Have a glass of wine. Grill something. Sit on the porch. Listen to absolutely nothing.

One of the biggest luxuries of leaving New York City was never having more things to do. It's realizing, with real relief, that you don't have to do anything. That's usually right when the Catskills start doing their actual job.

Why Right Now Might Be the Best Part of Summer

Late summer runs on a different rhythm up here. The frantic July energy disappears. The forest's still fully green. The lake's still warm. The afternoons still feel like summer, but once the sun drops, there's already that first small hint fall is on its way. You might swim in the afternoon and reach for a sweatshirt by the fire that same night. That's the magic window, and it doesn't last long.

Come Up Before Everyone Starts Talking About Leaves

Because we all know what happens next. One leaf turns orange, Instagram notices, and suddenly everyone within 150 miles of New York City needs a "quiet Catskills weekend." Get ahead of them. Come while the mountains are still green. Swim. Hike. Ride the gondola. Catch the last Friday-night concert. Fire up the grill. Stay outside later than you meant to. Squeeze one more real weekend out of summer.

Summer isn't over until the Catskills say it is. And we are absolutely not saying it yet.

Stay at Alpine Four Season Lodge

Stay close to Belleayre Mountain, Pine Hill, Highmount, and some of the best hiking, swimming, and mountain adventures the Catskills has left this season. Bring the family. Bring your friends. Bring the dog. Just don't bring your Monday morning attitude, it's not invited.

Book direct at Alpine Four Season Lodge and make one more summer weekend count.

Daniel & The Crew
32 Galli Curci Road, Highmount, New York 12441