Blue House sits on a quiet dead end road just a couple of blocks from Route 209 in Kerhonkson. Although it's a rural area with woodchucks and deer and bears (Oh my!), it's not isolated. There are some human neighbors on the road, so don't expect to be completely cut off from civilization.
Kerhonkson Vicinity
Voyage!
Obviously, the most convenient way to get around is by car. When we travel from Brooklyn, we take NYS Thruway to exit 16, then Rt. 17/86 to 209. Alternately, it's about 30 minutes from New Paltz via 44/55.
If you want to go car free, it's possible. Coach Bus goes to the Village of Kerhonkson, which is about 2 miles from the house. From there you can Uber, take car service or walk to the house. The Coach schedule isn't great, but Trailways offers regular service to New Paltz, Rosendale and Kingston. Getting from those stations via car services can get pricey though.
There is a local bus route from Ellenville to Kingston that stops fairly close to the house.
Eat In!
The Hudson Valley is home to some of the best local organic produce around. If you're fulfilling your own farm to table experience in our well equipped kitchen, you need not look any farther than the corner of our road. Damn Good Honey farmstand (open seasonally) is well stocked with fruit and veggies, homemade pies, pasta, and....honey.
Well behaved dogs are welcome, so get your walk and shopping in at one go!
Other farm markets in the area that we love: Barthel's and Saunderskill.
Accord Market is a lovely organic medium sized grocery store. Peter's Market towards Ellenville is on Instacart, along with some other large supermarkets.
For big store shopping, there's a Shoprite towards Ellenville or plenty in New Paltz.
Bluebird Wine has a great selection and the proprietor has yet to steer us in the wrong direction.
Ellenville Wine and Spirit is pretty good. Kerhonkson Wine has a large enough selection to find something decent. Only a small old world section, but it's ok in a pinch. Stone Ridge is a proper wine shop. Our favorite New Paltz wine shop is In Good Taste. There's a back section for the good stuff. If you find yourself in Kingston, Miron is a mega wine store with great selection and prices.
Dine Out!
Disclosure: We are vegan, so we only eat at veg-friendly restaurants.
We'll start off with our favorite special occasion splurge in Stone Ridge. Butterfield at Hasbrouck House has both the perfect atmosphere and exquisite food to match. Dine inside the gorgeous historic stone structure or out on the patio overlooking the grounds.
Check out the events calendar at Hasbrouck, because you may just hit a night when they're screening free outdoor films.
Kerhonkson has a wonderful cafe right near the rail trail! Mill and Main. Grab a cup of coffee and walk the trail or stop for lunch after your exercise. The sit down restaurant next door is open for dinner Thursday thru Sunday, and for Sunday brunch.
Ellenville is about 7 miles away. There's an assortment of ethnic eats ranging from Japanese/Korean to Mexican. Our favorite restaurant is Aroma Thyme, where we like to sit outside with the dogs. Marbella is a tapas bar and Nick and Tony's is family style Italian with lots of vegan options. Twin Ravens Coffee not only has ethically sourced yummy coffee, but they do an excellent breakfast and lunch as well.
Indian inspired vegetarian restaurant in Wurtsboro called Red Dot is pretty good. Service is slow, so go when you're not in a rush.
The next town over in the opposite direction is Accord, home to Stone House Tavern. Keep driving on 209 and you'll hit the aforementioned Stone Ridge where our favorite breakfast/lunch place is located. Hash has great food and you can sit outside with dogs, but it gets super busy during the season.
You don't want to miss the villages of High Falls and Rosendale! Our favorite dinner place, probably in the entire area, is Spy. Formerly Northern Spy, the food and service are consistently wonderful. During colder months, the fireplace room is cozy. In warmer weather, there's a screened in patio.
The Big Cheese, a counter service establishment, makes THE BEST hummus! Also sold at Accord Market, if they're not sold out.
New Paltz has a gazillion restaurants with options to make carnivores and vegetarians happy. Karma Road is great for vegan takeout. Huckleberry has a wonderful dog friendly outdoor section. Kerhonkson does have some eateries as well, but since they are not too veg-friendly, we haven't tried them. Close to home, there's the Kerhonkson Diner, and Outpost BBQ.
Shop!
We love to go antiquing in The Catskills and Hudson Valley, but there are tons of great handmade and gifty items as well as the dusty old ones.
If you're passing through Wurtsboro, be sure to hit Canal Towne Emporium. It's an old timey country shop complete with retro candy and Americana.
Ellenville shops include: Top Shelf Jewelry, an eclectic assortment of handcrafted items ranging from jewelry to vintage clothing to restored furniture.
Back in Kerhonkson, check out Full Moon for vintage and antique goodies. It's right there in town near the bus stop.
Accord has the packed and affordable Rose Hill Antiques, located right on 209. They often have sales. In fact, much of the blue house furniture came from there. Don't let Downtown Antiques' lack of web presence put you off. The shop is very much worth a visit!
Once again, New Paltz has a larger selection. Water Street Market is a multi vendor establishment located in a multi store outdoor walkable "mall" with some great vintage clothing and art shops.
Ride!
There are plenty of trails and horse farms in the area, but we've got one just up the block!
Rustic Ridge View Farm offers Western and English style horseback riding and lessons.
Hike, Bike, Climb!
Kerhonkson has some of the best hiking/biking trails and climbing around, as it's home to the Shawangunk Mountains.
If you want to take it easy, there are multiple rail trails, the closest right in the Village of Kerhonkson.
Minnewaska State Park, a few miles from the house, has EVERY outdoor experience available, but check out this list of hiking trails for the entire region.
BYOB (bring your own bike) is the best way to go, but no worries if you can't. Bicycle Depot in New Paltz has rentals. In fact, you can take the bus to New Paltz and cycle to and from the house via the windy, hilly road. Not an easy ride. Bike trails are mostly the same as the hiking ones. For more, Ulster County Alive has a comprehensive list of biking trails.
Rock Climbing in the gunks? Too many to put into a nice little paragraph, so here's a list of classes and guides:
Swim!
Check out the array of swimming holes and lakes the area has to offer over at SeeSwim.
If a chlorinated pool is more your speed, there's one in Rosendale!
Fly!
Been there and done that as far as the earth and water stuff goes? Take to the air! There's a great skydiving company right in Gardiner called Skydive the Ranch. If you've never been before, you have to go tandem. Gotta cross skydiving off your bucket list.
Mountain Wings in Ellenville offers hang gliding lessons. If you can book during the fall, it's beautiful during leaf peeping season.
Wurtsboro Airport has gliding and flying lessons, as well as rides, if you just want to sit back and let someone else do the flying.
Pet!
If you're an animal lover, please don't miss the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary located in High Falls.
If you can't get enough of your chickens, cows, pigs and goats, farther north is the Catskill Animal Sanctuary.
Culture!
Ulster County is home to creatives of all types. Writers, visual artists and performers move to the Hudson Valley to get away from the rat race, but remain close when needed.
This is our list of the most inspirational venues:
The Snyder Estate and Widow Jane Mine (photo) is both a museum and event site. Music and theatrical performance in the cave is the coolest thing around (no pun intended)!
Ellenville is home to the fabulous art deco Shadowland Stages, an actor's equity playhouse that also offers acting classes. Most theater goers make it a night out with dinner and a show. If you plan on doing that, please give yourself enough time for dinner even if you have reservations. The service in these restaurants is usually great, but they do get slammed for pre-show meals.
A favorite way to spend a low key night is to support Actors and Writers ensemble. Their base is in Olivebridge, but they sometimes hold events in New Paltz and Kingston. This is your chance to see actors...and writers....reading their own material. Suggested donation.
The Denizen Theater in New Paltz is a non-profit that not only puts on some great shows, but displays visual arts as well.
Rosendale Theater is a movie house with $6 matinees! They also use the theater for live performances as well as political events. This is a non-profit venue.