Town of the Week: Lexington

  |  October 21, 2013

 

lexington ny

In the wake of mega-storms like Irene, it’s sometimes tough to talk about towns that were hit hard. The town of Lexington in southwest Greene County is one such town. When the rains hit, the Schoharie Creek rose, flooded out many homes and farms, and took the area’s small bridge with it. Like its neighbor, Prattsville, there was a lot of devastation there, and FEMA came in to assist. Still, like many towns in the Catskills located along the water, you get equal parts beauty and danger, and Lexington certainly has its share of surrounding natural beauty and charming old buildings that have been sadly gutted by water with boarded-up windows and doors.

We were originally drawn to Lexington based on one property: An 18th century stone house on Van Road. We love these old stone houses, and we always jump at the chance to feature them here on the blog whenever we can. The prospect of living in a piece of local history fascinates us to no end, and there’s such potential to create pockets of modernity inside of an old-fashioned space, because when it works, it really works. Aside from this property, there are others, too, of all shapes and sizes: More recent builds, little rustic cottages, and places with incredible views situated upon acres of land.

We’ve driven around the area numerous times, and we are always delighted by how gorgeous it is along route 23A. One of our favorite spots along this route is St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, which looms out of the trees like a pleasant surprise with its traditional Russian Orthodoxy-style architecture complete with domes and spires. Someday, we’d like to get in and see what the interior has to offer (we imagine its packed with gorgeous iconography). Old Catskill resorts also dot the landscape around Lexington as you head north into Delaware County, and the town is only a few miles away from Hunter and Windham Mountains, which makes it popular with the winter sports crowd, looking for quaint places to lay their heads down at night. Diamond Notch Falls is another place on our list to visit. You’ll find it along the Westkill, and we hear it’s a relatively easy hike to the falls, completely doable with kids in tow.

diamond notch falls

Diamond Notch Falls, via CatskillSearch.com

Lexington is situated completely within the Catskill Park, bordering Ulster County to the south and Delaware County to the west. It’s located approximately 2 hours, 19 minutes from NYC.

lexington capture

GMAP

About Kandy Harris

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

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