Town of the Week: Return to Stone Ridge

  |  April 29, 2013
wynkoop stone house stone ridge ny

Wynkoop Stone House, Stone Ridge, via Wiki

This month in Chronogram Magazine, there’s a terrific article about witnessing the rebirth of the Ulster County communities of Kingston, Hurley, and Stone Ridge. Reading the article reminded us of how much we adore these neighboring places, and while the city of Kingston’s growth has been covered extensively by a number of publications from here to the five boroughs, the hamlet of Stone Ridge’s evolution from “blink and you’ll miss it” pass-through on Route 209 to a destination in its own right hasn’t been covered as much. Thanks to the Stone Ridge sidewalk restoration project, the town of Marbletown hamlet located less than 20 minutes from Kingston is becoming more navigable by foot. This is great news if you’ve ever been fool-hearty enough to attempt to walk along Route 209’s practically non-existent shoulders.

We’ve always known that Stone Ridge has had its share of hidden gems. It was our Town of the Week back in 2011, and the hamlet’s lovely, well-kept stone houses are certainly no secret. But did you know that you can get some of the best sushi in the county in Stone Ridge? We try to stop at Momiji Sushi and Grill when we’re in the neighborhood. You can’t miss it. It’s located on Main Street right next door to another Asian restaurant, Asia on Cooper Street. Hey, nothing wrong with a little competition. It’s exciting to see new businesses crop up in Stone Ridge.

Although most people know that Stone Ridge is home to Emmanuel’s Marketplace, a great little gourmet food store, what may be less well-known is the fact that the Marbletown Hardware Store, otherwise known as “The World’s Only Rock and Roll Hardware Store”, is also in Stone Ridge. Not only can you get all the quarter-inch screws you need, you can also check out the store’s impressive collection of rock art and memorabilia. Stone Ridge also has a bagel place, B&Bs, a local park on Tongore Road, a gym, Davenport’s farm stand for local fruit and veg, a wine store, a couple of pizza places, a culture and arts center known as MaMa, a rail trail, and easy access to some of the best outdoor fun around. In short, it has everything you need, and now, it’s getting easier to walk to get it. If you’re dying for a chain restaurant or big-box store, you’ll have to head to Kingston to find them.

stone ridge colonial

We adore the housing market in Stone Ridge. In fact, we return to it time and time again, just to drool. Old stone farmhouses, cottages, a few super-chi chi manses, and even an ultra modern here and there lie tucked away within the trees, just waiting to be discovered (or not; we can only speculate at what goodies we’re not seeing). While properties in Stone Ridge are still considered too expensive for most of us, we always find more than a handful of affordable properties.

Stone Ridge is located southwest of Kingston, southeast of Olivebridge and the Reservoir, north of New Paltz, and approximately 1 hour, 43 minutes from NYC.

stone ridge, ny

Town of Marbletown Website

GMAP

 

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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