Some of the best holidays are the ones you simply let happen, especially when they come together without the stress of figuring out how you get everyone to sit down to Thanksgiving Dinner at one time, let alone finding all the chairs to make it happen.
A holiday escape to the Sullivan Catskills cures all those woes (see our list of Top Catskill Thanksgiving Eats, Events & Traditions below) while adding another level to family fun that’s only possible in a place where nature doesn’t need a designated date on the calendar to show off.
Plan Your Thanksgiving Holiday Getaway
Let’s start with the basics of where to stay. Whether you book a cozy cabin, quaint B&B, a waterfront lodge or family-owned farmstead, the Sullivan Catskills is full of purposeful places where board games in front of the fire feel just as warm as they do back home.
Perhaps that’s all you need. Well, that and a toasty cup of hot chocolate, a good book and a blanket. Sometimes a few good nights of sleep with the window cracked a little is the rejuvenating magic that only crisp Catskills air can provide. But, if you’re up for a little adventure to help the appetite or make you feel better about indulging a little more than normal, there’s plenty of guilt-free fall fun to be found in the Catskills landscape.
Fresh Baked Muffins & Board Games
After all, a walk in the woods makes things taste better. Especially when it’s shared along a hiking trail. A fresh baked muffin picked up from a Catskills café, a thermos of hot cider and maybe a nip of something else. Just a little one.
Bring your bikes and roll a leafy backroad or vehicle free rail trail. Find a village park and toss the football for a few. The game is what you make of it and maple-infused cocktails and Catskills craft beers will be there when you’re ready.
Thanksgiving in the Sullivan Catskills is about slowing down, tasting every bite of a meal, enjoying conversation and savoring moments that always pass by too fast. It’s a time to bust out Monopoly or the 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. You may never own Reading, Pennsylvania, B&O or the Short Line, but you can take a walk on the Sullivan O&W and feel like time is on your side.
Take a Holiday Stroll
There’s nothing quite like a Main Street stroll. Steamy latte in hand, of course. You’ll experience the magic of the holiday season in twinkling lights, wrapped in the easy charm of small-town shops where every window tells a story and the season shines a little brighter.
Here, the best holiday gifts are the ones that find you. Luckily, the colorful family-owned shops of the Sullivan Catskills have a knack for warm and thoughtful surprises. A hand- knit hat or scarf. Marvelous little mittens (perhaps with kittens), hand-hewn serving bowls and the most amazing, hammered silver earrings you’ve ever seen.
This is a place where each boutique or shop has a story. Where product placement isn’t about fighting for end caps or paid online ads. Here, word of mouth is currency and if one place doesn’t have what you’re looking for, it’s likely the owner knows who does and may even walk you to the shop to keep the conversation going.
Stop into the brew pub for a Catskills-crafted pint and a warm appetizer. There’s time. Why check the score on your phone when you can peek at the big screen and make side bets with the bartender on whether they go for it on fourth and long. The Lions definitely will and whether they convert or not, you’ll win. Either it was your turn to buy anyway, and the next one will be on your brother-in-law.
Our Kind of Airplane Mode
Back at the lodge, it’s a time and a place for “airplane mode.” The only text that’s important is what happens in chapter 23. Relax, have another cup of coffee. The fuzzy slippers that you put on in the morning are just as comfortable in the afternoon. Anyway, the fire needs another log and there are stories to be shared and created. Before, and after, a nap.
Here, the Thanksgiving holiday is always far more than three courses. Sure, it starts and finishes with a good sleep, and maybe a short one in between. It’s warm cider with a crisp walk. Unforced laughter and soft conversation without a deadline. Light forested walks and window shops. It’s games in the background and on the table.
Besides, dinner has already been sorted and someone else is setting the table and taking care of cleanup. There are any number of restaurants and lodges who’ve thoughtfully prepared a locally sourced Thanksgiving dinner that, be honest, you’d never be able to do yourself. That’s the beauty of professional chefs and the creative kitchens where they conduct their farm-to-table culinary craft with orchestral beauty.
This is their Super Bowl. Let them celebrate.
Top Catskill Thanksgiving Eats, Events & Traditions
1. Thanksgiving Dinner at The Homestead
Visiting the Eldred Preserve is a natural 600-acre experience until itself, but there’s truly nothing like pairing a stroll through the golden fall forest with a sophisticated traditional dinner at the comfortable and well-appointed Homestead Restaurant and Lounge. Reservations required.
2. Dinner, Cocktails & Board Games at The DeBruce
Enjoy a multi-course, family style feast at The DeBruce followed by cocktails and board games in The Club Room. Make it an overnight and enjoy a refreshing guided hike the next morning complete with hot apple cider and take-home veggies from local farms. Reservations required.
3. Experience a Farm-to-Table Meal at The Black Walnut
Dine in European elegance amongst at The Black Walnut with a three-course farm-to-table Thanksgiving delight that can only be created by Executive Chef and Co-owner Camille Rodriguez. Highlights include mezze rigatoni, sofrito, grass fed beef porcini ragu, heritage free range turkey with wild mushroom and cornbread stuffing and delicata squash agro dolce with pumpkin seeds, pickled raisins and sheep’s milk cheese.
4. Enjoy a Holiday Buffet at Roscoe Mountain Club
Take the stress of cooking for a large group completely out of the equation without sacrificing the fun of a wholesome family gathering with a delicious Thanksgiving buffet in the comforts of the Wolff’s Lodge at Roscoe Mountain Club. RVSP by Tuesday, November 18.
Charming Hometown Thanksgiving Dinners
Enjoy the joy, laughter, smells and comfort of Thanksgiving at home without any of the prep or cleanup at these three hometown restaurants:
The Arnold House, Livingston Manor
Hit the properties private trails to work up an appetite, then settle in with a family-style turkey dinner served from 1-6 p.m. at The Arnold House. And don’t worry, the game will be on at the bar.
The Heron, Narrowsburg
For an intimate Thanksgiving celebration with friends and family, The Heron has your table ready. This 40-seat restaurant has an incredible menu planned, but don’t wait to get your reservation in, the atmosphere alone will fill the room fast, but the food will fill it faster.
North Branch Inn, Hortonville
Dine and stay at the North Branch Inn by reserving your room and table for a three-course holiday meal that tastes and feels like the best of family time, complete with multiple kinds of pie.
Shop Thanksgiving Freshness at a Farmers Market
If you’re doing the cooking, pick up everything you need for a fabulous farm fresh Thanksgiving meal at a Sullivan Catskills farmers market.
- Kauneonga Farm & Makers Market on Saturday, November 22 at Cornelius Duggan School will feature live music and over a dozen vendors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Narrowsburg also has a dandy of a Thanksgiving Market on November 22. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. you can pick up your pre-ordered pasture-raised turkey, grab a selection of succulent sides, a fresh pie and some fresh flowers for your table at the Narrowsburg Farmers Market.
In the Sullivan Catskills, Thanksgiving isn’t something you rush through; it’s something you ease into. It’s the scent of cider after a forest walk, the glow of Main Street lights, the comfort of a meal cooked with care and the kind of unhurried time together that becomes its own tradition. Whether you’re here for one night or the whole long weekend, you’ll leave feeling restored, well-fed and a little more connected to the people you love.
