Weekend Getaways from Philadelphia: Catskills and Berkshires

The Catskills are about 2.5 to 3.5 hours from Philadelphia by car. Sullivan County, around Livingston Manor, and the Woodstock area are at the shorter end of that range, and the northern Catskills around Hunter and Windham at the longer end. Woodstock and Phoenicia have many inns within a short drive of each other. The Catskill Forest Preserve covers about 290,000 acres of public land across the region.

Many of the Catskills' boutique hotels have opened since 2010, mostly with New York City guests in mind, and weekends fill with city travelers in summer and foliage season. From Philadelphia the drive is usually 30 to 60 minutes longer than from Manhattan, so a Friday departure suits a two-night stay.

The Berkshires are about 3.5 to 4 hours from Philadelphia, longer than from New York or Boston, so they make a less natural quick trip than the Catskills. They do have something the other two lack: the summer arts calendar of Tanglewood, MASS MoCA and Jacob's Pillow, and New England inns around Lenox, Stockbridge and Great Barrington. The Massachusetts DCR manages Mount Greylock and several other state reservations with hiking and cross-country skiing.

From Philadelphia, the Berkshires suit a longer weekend, arriving Friday evening and leaving Sunday, so the extra driving is spread over two full days there.

The Poconos are the closest and suit a single night, families with young children or a trip built around a lake. The Catskills have more independent inns and design hotels, farm-to-table restaurants and hiking in the Forest Preserve. The Berkshires add museums, music and New England village inns, for 30 to 60 minutes more driving each way.

Catskills and Berkshires weekend rates rise in summer and foliage season, and both are easier to book midweek and in winter and spring. The Poconos have the widest spread of prices, from lakefront motels to full-service family resorts.

All three regions are open year-round. The Catskills are busiest in summer, during fall foliage from mid-September to mid-October, and in ski season from December through March. The Berkshires are busiest in summer for Tanglewood and the theaters and in October for foliage, and quieter in winter. The Poconos peak in summer on the lakes and in winter at ski areas such as Camelback and Jack Frost.

From Philadelphia, spring, from April through Memorial Day, usually has more open rooms and lower rates in both the Catskills and the Berkshires. Fall foliage weekends fill first and need booking furthest ahead.