Town of the Week: Saugerties

  |  August 19, 2013
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Orpheum Theater, Saugerties

The Ulster County town of Saugerties gets a mention in the Summer issue of Upstate House, which prompted us to revisit the area as our Town of the Week. We frequently return to Saugerties again and again to look at properties, local events, businesses, and dining, and our readers who’ve been there know why: It’s walkable, with neighborhoods and residential streets lined with gorgeous old homes. The town is growing in popularity not only as a must-visit destination for those heading upstate, but as a desirable place to live either full time or part time. The housing market is almost always robust, with a ton of five-figure fixer-uppers all the way up to multimillion dollar properties in a variety of styles, from meticulously-restored Victorians to Ultra-Moderns and everything in between. Of course, Saugerties isn’t immune to the infamous Ulster County property taxes, but the taxes get lower as you venture outside of the village and into the town at large.

Saugerties is also known for new draws, like the Diamond Mills Hotel, perched over the falls at the Esopus Creek right in the village, and the Lazy Swan Golf and Country Club, located out on Old Kings Highway outside of the village. Horse Shows in the Sun (otherwise known as HITS) keeps the village and town packed with those participating in equestrian events all summer long, and old stand-by events like the Car Show, Old Timers Day, the Mum Festival, and the Garlic Festival bring in visitors from all over the state. The Saugerties Lighthouse trail, the Esopus Conservancy trail, the Platte Clove trail provide excellent places to catch some of the local natural beauty that surrounds the Hudson River and the Esopus Creek.

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Hudson River from the Saugerties Lighthouse Trail

But for our money, it’s the tucked away, less well-known places that make Saugerties worth visiting. For one, Saugerties has one of the best free bathing beaches in Ulster County. Situated along the Esopus Creek down the hill from the village, the beach offers a place to swim that’s shallow enough for the little ones but deep enough for adults, plus diving docks. Falling Water Preserve, one of Scenic Hudson’s newer parks, is a lovely trail that takes you down to the river and is marked with water falls on both ends of the trail loop, and it’s rarely crowded. Bristol Beach (GMAP), located out on Route 9W as you’re headed up north to Greene County, is a beautiful spot to enjoy a picnic lunch with unobstructed views of the river. If you like to stick close to the village, head over the Seamon Park (GMAP) and walk around, visit the frog pond, and catch some pretty views. And, in October, the streets of the Saugerties become overrun with the living dead during the village’s annual Zombie Festival.

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The view from Seamon Park

If shopping is your bag, you’ll find a bunch of cool antique stores, vintage clothing stores, and boutiques, like DIG, all within walking distance of each other. The Saugerties Farmers Market takes place every Saturday from spring until the end of fall in the parking lot across from Cahill Elementary School, right next to the Kiersted House, a great local history museum. And, of course, no visit to Saugerties would be complete without a trip to Lucky Chocolates. If you’ve been there, you know why.

Saugerties is located about 12 minutes from Woodstock, 20 minutes from Kingston, and about 1 hour, 42 minutes from NYC.

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GMAP

DiscoverSaugerties.com

 

About Kandy Harris

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

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