Things to do / Travel Guide
Though not so far from New York City (New York City), this New York region isn't nearly as diversely-populated. Most areas are almost 90% Caucasian, with notable exceptions being Monticello, which is about 30% African American and 23% Hispanic or Latino. There's a large population of Hispanics in the city of Newburgh.
Basically, the farther away you get from New York City, the more sparsely populated you'll find the land. The population density of Rockland County (near New York City), to give you an idea, is over 1,500 people per square mile, while Ulster County (far away from New York City) has a population density of just over 150 people per square mile.
On either side of the Hudson River, the high city-like density levels off after Tarrytown, and the rural hill-land of the Hudson Highlands greets you with smaller towns and a more laid-back atmosphere. The farther away one gets from New York City, the more likely he/she is to see the houses thin out, forests and reservoirs increase in size and frequency, and the region's history and charm beginning to shine forth. Finally in the Catskills, the towns are quite few and far between. Slightly south of the Catskills are a dotted line of smallish cities, starting with New Paltz, and continuing with Monticello, Bethel, and Liberty.
The area around Tarrytown and Croton-on-Hudson is populated by many people who commute to New York City, while IBM employs many people living around the area of Poughkeepsie, where the company has a large campus. The cities of Newburgh and Beacon are still dominated by industry. On the western side of the Hudson River, large swaths of land are still dedicated to farming, while, to the north, the sparse population of the Catskill mountains mostly works in the field of tourism.
Many of those you'll see in the Catskills and the Hudson Valley can trace their family history back for generations. Their ancestors were Dutch, or Huguenot refugees. They served as farmers in the region's lush farmland, or in the factories along the river that have since mostly closed down.
Then there are the New Yorkers from New York City (New York City) who desire a second home farther out in “the mountains. Or upstate” This trend started back in the 19th century, and nowadays many cities, including Tarrytown, Newburgh, Beacon, Poughkeepsie, and Kingston, have sections populated by out-of-towners. Needless to say, these residents bring investment and rejuvenation into the region. Indeed, more and more New Yorkers are re-realizing the charm of the Catskills and the Hudson Valley as a place for them to commune with nature and experience country life.
Clearly, any talk about the region's local flavor has to mention and celebrate the fact that the Catskills used to be a large resort area. There were two periods of these historical resorts - those from the 19th century visited by the upper classes of New York City, and those from the 20th century populated largely by working class ethnic groups like Jews, Italians and Irish. Almost all of them, from both groups, died out as a result of changing economic and ethnic trends.
There is virtually no trace of the older upper class resorts left in the region, as the various towns you'll find in the Catskills today were originally art communities or forest-industry (logging) towns. The newer, ethnic ones were farther south, not really in the Catskills at all. Much of the infrastructure of these resorts remain, even if the buildings are now abandoned; nowadays many ethnic groups, such as Hassidic Jews, populate numerous bungalow colonies in the same area.
Nonetheless, in the heart of the Catskills, such as in the towns of Shandaken, Hunter, and Wyndham, the flavor is very accommodating to the tourist. There are plenty of excellent restaurants and novelty shops, antique stores, and quaint Victorian houses. The area of Shandaken is saturated with French expatriates, giving it almost an Old World feeling. Farther north, there are sections in Durham that are predominantly and historically Irish.
For almost two centuries the region has been a stomping grounds for indigenous American schools of art and lifestyles. The Hudson River School brought about the first American style of painting, and it blossomed throughout the mid- to late-19th century. In the early 20th century, artists flocked to Woodstock and Saugerties; 60 years later the remains of this immigration served as inspiration for the nascent hippie movement. All these influences are tangible today in these two towns and their surroundings, as the area is filled with hippie influence.
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