The question I get asked more than any other, from people planning their first trip up here, is some version of, 'Which part of the Catskills should we actually go to?' It's a fair question, and it's one that most guides answer badly, because most guides treat ‘the Catskills’ as one place. It isn't. The Northern and Southern Catskills are different enough in character, terrain, and pace that picking the wrong one for what you actually want can leave you disappointed with a region that would have been perfect if you'd just gone twenty miles the other direction.

I've spent enough weekends in both halves to have a strong opinion on this, so let me save you the trial and error.

The Short Version

If you want dramatic mountains, ski access, waterfalls, and a genuinely excellent dining scene within a short drive, go north: Hunter, Windham, Tannersville, and Hudson. If you want total quiet, fly-fishing rivers, and the feeling of a place time forgot, go south: Livingston Manor, Roscoe, the upper Delaware watershed.

That's the one-paragraph answer. Everything below is why.

The Northern Catskills: Drama, Elevation, and a Real Dining Scene

The terrain

This is the Catskills of postcards. The Northern Catskills hold the highest peaks in the entire range. Slide Mountain aside (which sits more centrally), the cluster around Hunter and Kaaterskill includes several summits over 4,000 feet, and the terrain here is genuinely dramatic. Deep cloves, steep-walled valleys carved by streams, cut through the landscape, the most famous being Kaaterskill Clove, which the 19th-century Hudson River School painters made famous and which still stops people in their tracks today.

This is also where you'll find Kaaterskill Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in New York State at roughly 260 feet, split into two dramatic drops. It's a short, popular hike, and the payoff is worth the crowds on a fall weekend.

Skiing and winter access

If winter sports are any part of the plan, the North wins outright. Hunter Mountain and Windham Mountain are both here, roughly 25 minutes from a base around Tannersville or Catskill. Hunter has the harder terrain and the livelier après-ski scene; Windham is more polished and family-friendly. Neither exists in any meaningful form in the Southern Catskills, if skiing matters to your trip, this decision makes itself.

The towns

Tannersville and Hunter Village are small mountain towns oriented almost entirely around outdoor recreation, ski shops, breweries, and casual restaurants that know how to feed people who've been on a mountain all day.

But the real differentiator for the North is proximity to Hudson, NY, a town whose restaurant and gallery scene has become disproportionately excellent for its size. Warren Street's antique shops and destination restaurants are 15–25 minutes from most Northern Catskills bases, which means a Northern Catskills trip can combine wilderness by day with a genuinely serious dinner by night. That combination doesn't really exist anywhere in the Southern Catskills.

Who the North is for

• First-time visitors who want the classic, dramatic Catskills experience
• Skiers and snowboarders
• Waterfall chasers and day hikers who want big payoffs for moderate effort
• Anyone who wants excellent dining within a short drive of genuine wilderness
• Groups who want both nature and a lively small-town evening

The Southern Catskills: Rivers, Quiet, and Nobody Around

The terrain

The Southern Catskills, often called the ‘western’ or ‘Delaware County’ Catskills depending on who you ask, are lower, rounder, and altogether gentler. Think rolling hills and river valleys rather than sheer cliffs and exposed summits. It's a different kind of beautiful: softer, greener, and considerably less crowded on any given weekend.

The rivers

This is the region's whole identity. The Beaverkill and Willowemoc Creek converge near Roscoe, which has literally branded itself ‘Trout Town, USA’, American fly fishing as a sport largely traces its roots to these exact waters. If fly-fishing is even a passing interest, the Southern Catskills aren't an option among several; they're the destination.

The towns

Livingston Manor and Roscoe are the anchors here, and ‘sleepy’ undersells them slightly. Livingston Manor in particular has quietly developed a small but serious food and culture scene over the past decade, without losing the population-of-a-few-hundred feel that makes it what it is. There's no Hunter Mountain-style ski energy here and no Hudson-style gallery row. What there is instead is genuine, unhurried quiet, the kind that's getting harder to find within a few hours of New York City.

Who the South is for

• Anglers, specifically, before anyone else
• Couples or solo travelers who want maximum quiet and minimum itinerary
• Return visitors who've already done the ‘highlights’ of the North and want something slower
• Anyone actively trying to avoid crowds, especially in fall

Where This Property Sits and Why It's the Better Base for Most Trips

The mountain house sits in the Northern Catskills, roughly 25 minutes from both Hunter and Windham and 15 minutes from Hudson. I'll be straightforward about why that matters for most people reading this: the North is simply the better base for a first Catskills trip, and for most multi-generational or group trips generally, because it lets you do more things without driving further.

From here, in a single weekend, you can genuinely combine:

• A morning hike to Kaaterskill Falls or up Overlook Mountain
• An afternoon skiing at Hunter or Windham, depending on season
• A serious dinner in Hudson
• A quiet evening back at the house, five private acres, a hot tub, and a wood-burning fireplace with none of the crowd you just spent the day around.

The Southern Catskills ask you to commit to a slower, more singular kind of trip, which is wonderful if that's specifically what you want, but it's a harder sell for a group where not everyone fly-fishes or for a first-timer who also wants to see a waterfall and eat somewhere good. The North's density of things to do within a 30-minute radius is the practical argument, on top of the scenic one.

A Quick Geography Check for First-timers

People sometimes assume ‘north’ and ‘south’ refer to strict compass directions relative to the whole range, but it's more about which drainage and access corridor you're in. Coming from NYC, Northern Catskills destinations (Hunter, Windham, Tannersville, Catskill, Hudson) are generally reached via the NY Thruway (I-87) to Exit 20 or 21. 

Southern Catskills destinations (Livingston Manor, Roscoe) are reached via Route 17/I-86 further west, a meaningfully different drive, both in distance and in which highway you're on. This is worth checking before you book anything, because the two halves of the range aren't quick to hop between; treat them as two separate trips rather than one long day loop.

A Simple Way to Decide

If you're still not sure, ask yourself these questions in order:

1. Is anyone in the group skiing or snowboarding this trip? If yes, North. Not close.
2. Is fly-fishing the actual point of the trip, not just a nice-to-have? If yes, South.
3. Do you want a serious dinner reservation to be part of the plan? If yes, North, Hudson's scene isn't matched in the South.
4. Is this your first time in the Catskills at all? If yes, North gives you the classic, photogenic, high-peak version most people picture when they imagine this region.
5. Have you already done a Northern Catskills trip and want something quieter and slower next time? Then South is a genuinely excellent second trip.

For most people, first-timers, ski season, groups wanting a mix of activity and downtime, and anyone who wants a great dinner without a long drive, the North wins on the sheer range of things you can pack into 48 hours.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What's the main difference between the Northern and Southern Catskills? 

The North has higher peaks, deep valleys, waterfalls, ski resorts (Hunter and Windham), and proximity to Hudson's dining scene. The South has lower, rolling terrain, is centered around fly-fishing rivers near Livingston Manor and Roscoe, and is generally quieter and less developed for tourism.

2. Which is better for a first-time visitor to the Catskills? 

Generally the North, since it offers the widest range of activities like hiking, waterfalls, skiing, and dining, within a short drive of each other.

3. Can I see both the Northern and Southern Catskills in one trip? 

It's possible but not ideal for a short weekend, they're reached via different highway corridors from NYC and are roughly an hour or more apart from each other. Better treated as two separate trips.

4. Is skiing available in the Southern Catskills? 

No meaningful ski resorts operate in the Southern Catskills. Hunter Mountain and Windham Mountain, both in the North, are the region's main ski destinations.

5. Where is Livingston Manor, and what's it known for? 

Livingston Manor is a small hamlet in the Southern Catskills, near the Beaverkill and Willowemoc Creek, widely regarded as a birthplace of American fly fishing.

6. Is the Northern Catskills more crowded than the South? 

Generally yes, especially during fall foliage season and ski season, since the North draws more day-trippers from NYC. The South stays quieter year-round.

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