Town

    Where to Stay in Phoenicia & Mount Tremper

    Phoenicia sits where Route 28 meets the Esopus Creek, and the creek has long been the reason people come. Town Tinker, the tubing outfit that ran here for about 40 years, has closed, but Rail Explorers runs pedal-powered rail bikes on the old Catskill Mountain Railroad line along the creek, and the Esopus is still used for swimming and fishing. The village is small enough to walk in an hour. The Phoenicia Diner serves breakfast and lunch, and Peekamoose, farther along Route 28 toward Big Indian, serves dinner. The Graham & Co., a 20-room motel two blocks from Main Street, has a seasonal pool and bikes for guests. Mount Tremper, a few miles east, is quieter. Foxfire Mountain House has 11 rooms and a private cottage on 10 acres, with Moroccan tiles, sheepskin rugs, a stone fireplace and the Foxfire Bar Room, and Emerson Resort & Spa has the 56-foot Kaatskill Kaleidoscope in a converted grain silo.

    Full Moon Resort

    Big Indian, NY · Resort

    A resort on 100 acres in the Oliverea Valley near Big Indian, 10 minutes from Belleayre Mountain. Rates include three meals a day: buffet breakfasts and lunches, dinner in the dining room and occasional creekside barbecues. Lodging ranges from inn rooms to studio cottages with decks, glamping tents and multi-bedroom family cottages. A heated four-season pool, a hot tub and fly fishing on the Esopus Creek are on the property.

    Family-friendlyRemote
    $$View lodge →
    Shandaken Inn

    Shandaken Inn

    Shandaken, NY · Inn

    Built in the late 1920s as the clubhouse for the Rip Van Winkle Golf Course, reopened in 2019 after a renovation. Fifteen rooms and 3 cottages, with La Lune and Old Hickory furniture and Phillip Jeffries wallpaper. The Esopus Creek runs along the property line. There is tennis, a pool and a fire pit, and Belleayre is nearby.

    HistoricRustic
    $$$View lodge →
    Urban Cowboy Lodge

    Urban Cowboy Lodge

    Big Indian, NY · Lodge

    A 42-room resort across 13 buildings on 200 acres in Big Indian. Some rooms have clawfoot tubs, and there are outdoor cedar soaking tubs, an Estonian sauna, a seasonal pool and a tennis court. The Dining Room serves chef-driven meals, the Parlor Bar serves cocktails, and Ralph's Bar and Bowling has wood-fired pizza and a bowling alley.

    RemoteWellnessDesign-forward
    $$$View lodge →
    Eastwind Oliverea Valley

    Eastwind Oliverea Valley

    Big Indian, NY · Boutique Hotel

    A 26-room Eastwind hotel on McKenley Hollow Road in Big Indian, with Lushna cabins and suites and direct access to the McKenley Hollow trailhead. There is a heated outdoor pool open year-round, dry saunas, an infrared light room and a communal fire pit. The Dandelion Restaurant & Bar, in the main pavilion, is open to the public every evening. Listed in the MICHELIN Guide.

    ScandinavianDesign-forwardRomantic
    $$$View lodge →
    Foxfire Mountain House

    Foxfire Mountain House

    Mount Tremper, NY · Boutique Inn

    A 100-year-old inn on 10 private acres in Mount Tremper, with 11 rooms and a private cottage. Interiors mix Moroccan tiles, butterfly collections, sheepskin rugs and handmade wood beds around a stone fireplace. The Foxfire Bar Room serves dinner. The grounds have a pond, a lily pool and bonfire pits.

    BohemianRomanticDesign-forward
    $$$View lodge →
    The Leeway

    The Leeway

    Mount Tremper, NY · Boutique Motel

    The former Kate's Lazy Meadow motel on Route 28 in Mount Tremper, renovated in 2023 into 9 cabin-style suites across three buildings. The property covers 6 acres along the Esopus Creek, with river access, hammocks, Adirondack chairs and a fire pit. Phoenicia is a few minutes west. It is listed in the MICHELIN Guide.

    WaterfrontRomanticDesign-forward
    $$$View lodge →
    Emerson Resort & Spa

    Emerson Resort & Spa

    Mount Tremper, NY · Resort

    A resort on Route 28 in Mount Tremper with 53 rooms and suites split between a contemporary Inn and a log-built Lodge. Catamount Restaurant serves breakfast, brunch and dinner, and there is a full-service spa. Walking trails lead through meadow and woods to the Esopus Creek, and dogs are welcome, with a fenced dog park. The Kaatskill Kaleidoscope, 56 feet tall, opened in 1996 in a converted grain silo on the property, and the Shops at Emerson fill a restored 19th-century dairy barn.

    WellnessRomanticUpscale
    $$$View lodge →
    Onteora, The Mountain House

    Onteora, The Mountain House

    Boiceville, NY · Boutique Inn / B&B

    Built in 1928 as the summer estate of Richard Hellmann, of Hellmann's mayonnaise, on 200 acres on Mount Tycetonik, 8 miles from Woodstock. Seven rooms are split between the main house and a hillside cottage, including the Mobaccus suite with a 20-foot bay window over the valley. The great room has a cathedral ceiling and a stone fireplace. There is a sauna, a koi pond and trails on the grounds. It operates mainly as a wedding venue, with B&B stays on non-event weekends.

    ScenicHistoricRomantic
    $$$View lodge →

    Phoenicia Lodge

    Phoenicia, NY · Lodge

    A lodge on Route 28 in Phoenicia, steps from the Esopus Creek, with suites, inn rooms and private cabins. Some cabins are dog-friendly, and the great room has a fireplace, books and games. Belleayre and Hunter Mountain are both a short drive away. It is part of the {verdigreen} group, with sister properties including Twin Gables and Hotel Mountain Brook.

    Design-forwardDog-friendlyWalkable
    $$View lodge →
    The Graham & Co.

    The Graham & Co.

    Phoenicia, NY · Boutique Motel

    A 20-room boutique motel on almost 3 acres at 80 Route 214, two blocks off Phoenicia's main street. Rooms include the Bungalow, with a kitchen, a queen bed and two bunks, and there is a seasonal outdoor pool, fire pits and a communal lawn. Bikes are available for guests, and the motel sells its own clothing and goods.

    Design-forwardPoolGroups
    $$$View lodge →

    Menla Retreat & Spa

    Phoenicia, NY · Wellness Retreat

    A retreat center and spa on Pantherkill Road near Phoenicia, a project of Tibet House US, the Dalai Lama's nonprofit Tibetan cultural center in America. Group retreats of two days to a week cover Buddhism, yoga and holistic health, and personal getaways are also offered. The Dewa Spa is on site, and the grounds have woods, a creek, a pond and trails.

    WellnessRemote
    $$$View lodge →

    The Bend

    Phoenicia, NY · Boutique Resort

    Five suites on Stony Clove Creek along Route 214 in Phoenicia, for guests 16 and older, with self check-in and no restaurant. A waterfront sauna looks over the creek, guests use the creek itself as a cold plunge, and there is a saltwater pool. Two of the suites, Trout Lily and the Meadow Suite, have full kitchens.

    WellnessWaterfrontRomantic
    $$$View lodge →

    Why Stay in Phoenicia & Mount Tremper

    • •The Esopus Creek runs through the center of town — swimming holes, fly fishing, and Rail Explorers pedal bikes on the historic railway gorge.
    • •A high concentration of design-forward lodging: from The Leeway's creek-front suites to Foxfire's eclectic inn to Urban Cowboy Lodge's 200-acre valley compound.
    • •Phoenicia's village is walkable, with independent shops and restaurants.
    • •Slide Mountain, the highest peak in the Catskills, and Giant Ledge are both less than 45 minutes away.

    What Makes This Area Interesting

    • •Rail Explorers Catskills: pedal-powered rail bikes departing from Phoenicia through the Esopus Creek gorge. Book ahead; it sells out.
    • •Slide Mountain: the highest peak in the Catskills at 4,180 feet; about 6 miles round trip from the trailhead on County Route 47.
    • •Zen Mountain Monastery, Mount Tremper: a functioning Buddhist practice center open to visitors; guest retreat programs available.
    • •Peekamoose Restaurant & Tap Room: dinner along Route 28; book ahead on weekends.

    Frequently Asked

    Summer for the creek and Rail Explorers; fall for foliage (peak typically mid-October in this valley). The lodging corridor runs year-round, and the weekend inn scene picks up in winter with some properties offering sauna and fireside programming.

    About 2.5 hours from the George Washington Bridge. The drive up Route 28 through the Catskills is scenic from Kingston onward.

    Town Tinker Tube Rental, the long-running tubing outfit, has closed. The creek is still used for swimming and fishing, so check locally for any current outfitters before planning a tubing trip.