Two hours from New York City, time moves differently. Out here in western Sullivan County, the quaint communities of Callicoon, North Branch and Cochecton have quietly built something rare: a life where fourth-generation locals and city-to-country transplants not only coexist but genuinely need each other. No rivalries. No pretense. Just people who found something real and decided to stay.
Think Stars Hollow without the scripted wit. Quirky, welcoming and entirely itself.
Callicoon – The Hub
Every Sunday from April through November, the Callicoon Farmers Market pulls the whole region together. The largest in Sullivan County, it serves as the social and cultural center for lodging, dining, shopping and entertainment all at once. The only thing you can’t do there is sleep. Head down Main Street when you’re done and you’ll find the rest waiting for you.
Sleep Well
Callicoon takes care of its guests. Each property brings its own brand of Catskills comfort:
- Callicoon Hills — countryside retreat with sweeping views
- Seminary Hill — cidery, orchard and inn all on one property
- Villa Roma Resort — full-service resort with room for everyone
- Western Supper Club and Inn — historic charm with a live music pavilion
Whether you’re planning a family weekend or exchanging vows in the hills, Callicoon is the kind of place where both engagements and “I do’s” happen. (Check out 5 Scenic Catskills Spots to Pop the Question.)
Eat Well
Callicoon rewrote the rules on rural dining. Follow the appetite:
- Seminary Hill Cidery — sip, taste and stay on a working orchard
- Spruce Home Goods — cheeses and baked goods worth the detour
- Callicoon Brewing Co. — craft beer, right next door
- The Kitchen Table Café — brunch that earns its reputation
- Black Walnut — Catskills-cultivated, impossible to describe
“The best restaurant in the county right now is Black Walnut in Callicoon. Everything they serve is cultivated in the Catskills and shaped into dishes that even after tasting them, you won’t be able to describe. It’s that good.”
— Judy Brown, Co-owner, the Pump House, Cochecton
Shop Easy
Callicoon runs at a pace that makes browsing feel like a pleasure again. Curated shop windows draw you in before you even reach the door. Give yourself an afternoon and plan on leaving with something from at least one of these:
- Spruce Home Goods — carefully chosen pieces for the home
- Litt Home and Book — books, objects and things worth owning
- Callicoon Wine Merchant — wine, tapas nights and a dog-friendly door
Locals’ Tip: Callicoon Wine Merchant hosts tapas nights and welcomes dogs.
Play and Relax
Built in 1948, the Callicoon Theater stands as the oldest continually operating cinema in Sullivan County. It carries all the charm of a classic movie house with modern sound and comfortable seating. Summer days belong on the Delaware River with Lander’s River Trips, where guided tours and rental tubes let the current do the work. When evening settles in, the Western Supper Club and Inn fires up its outdoor music pavilion and dinner on the terrace becomes something a little more.
“This is a community of mavericks. Business owners here are independent-minded, and there is no limit to the imagination they put into what they do.”
— Krissy Smith, Owner, Callicoon Theater
North Branch – The Quiet One
North Branch is a hamlet within the Town of Callicoon, and it lives up to the word. Just over 400 year-round residents call it home for the same reason: it’s quiet, unpretentious and anchored by a dreamy country store where candy still sells by weight. People pop in for a few things and leave an hour later, having forgotten what they came for.
Home-Baked Pies and Penny Candy
Tom Roberts and his wife found the historic 1942 North Branch Cider Mill and saw something everyone else had missed. The red barn building, with its hand-painted “Cider Mill” sign, reminded Roberts of the villages where he grew up in England. After 18 months of pestering the owner and a meticulous restoration completed in 2022, they reopened it as a country store stocked with jams, jellies, honey, maple syrup, pickled everything and pies you can taste by scent.
“The mill was a charming, historic mess and we still pestered the owner for 18 months until he finally sold it to us. Driving past, you couldn’t help but notice the distinctive red building with its iconic hand-painted ‘Cider Mill’ sign. It was just dying to be restored.”
— Tom Roberts, Owner, North Branch Cider Mill
Dine and Stay
The North Branch Inn traces its roots to 1868, when the heart of the property opened as a hotel and pub. Today it spreads across three buildings — the main inn and two outbuildings known as the Post Office and Library House, for entirely literal reasons. The property offers:
- Five well-appointed guest rooms in the main inn
- Post Office and Library House with their own restored lodging options
- Dinner and drinks on the grounds
- Common spaces stocked with vintage magazines, board games, old records and a foosball table
Locals’ Tip: The courtyard hot tub sits beside the sweetly babbling Buck Brook.
“Each of the fourteen rooms at the North Branch Inn is unique, with different configurations spread across three buildings. All guests enjoy multiple common spaces filled with vintage magazines, interesting books, fun board games, old records, cozy wood stoves and a foosball table.”
— Erin Lindsey, Escape Brooklyn
Get Outside
The North Branch Inn sits on seven acres of gardens and fields. When you’re ready to stretch your legs further, thousands of acres open up nearby:
- Jensen’s Ledges — rocky outcroppings with rewarding views
- Crystal Lake — quiet and off the beaten path
- Bear and Tusten Mountains — trails for every pace
- Delaware Wild Forest — 29,500 acres and 47 miles of recreational trails
- Buck Brook Alpacas — fluffy, curious and worth a stop
Cochecton – The Sleeper
Three things to know about Cochecton, the historic railroad town just across the Delaware from Pennsylvania. First: it’s pronounced co-sheck-ton.
Second: the river — particularly the legendary summer swim spot at Skinners Falls.
Third: the food. Some of it comes straight from the water. Cochecton runs small, but two dining and entertainment spots here make the drive worth it on their own.
Best Backcountry Bar in America
When Henning’s Local closed in 2023 after a celebrated eleven-year run, Cochecton didn’t stay quiet for long. Ezekiel Miller, inspired by legendary chef Henning Nordanger, had already bought a circa 1940 firehouse in 2018 and transformed it into the Cochecton Fire Station. Men’s Journal named it the “Best Backcountry Bar in America” in 2024, and the menu of food and drinks backs that up without apology.
Music, BBQ and Open Air
Down the road from the Fire Station, the Cochecton Pump House occupies the shell of an 1880s Standard Oil pumping station. Completely open-air, it operates as a bar, restaurant and event venue.
Last summer’s holiday weekend smoker proved so popular that it runs every weekend this season, layering BBQ smoke into the air alongside live music and a deep selection of craft beer.
Locals’ Tip: The Pump House hosts salsa nights and its own version of The Gong Show.
“Cochecton is a small but mighty little community. It doesn’t take long to get to know everyone and before you know it, you’re joining them for Salsa Night.”
— Judy Brown, Co-owner, Cochecton Pump House
On the Water and Beyond
Callicoon, North Branch and Cochecton all sit along the West Branch of the Delaware River, where fly fishing runs deep as a culture. The Beaverkill and Willowemoc, both world-class trout streams, flow just minutes away.
Together these three towns offer something harder to name: the perfect off-river complement to everything you plan to do, all the things you didn’t plan but do anyway and everything you didn’t get to because last night was too good to rush.
Sleep in. Get brunch. Come back slower.