Catskills, New York
Kaaterskills Falls, NY
Our family headed to the Catskills Mountains in New York for my birthday. We had never traveled to this area of New York before, and we were looking forward to spending time in nature and breathing in the fresh mountain air. Originally, we had booked a room at a large resort in the area, but then we realized that the resort was not pet friendly. Luckily, we found a boutique hotel with an available suite that allowed dogs so we did not have to leave our fun-loving pup at home.
And what a great little gem we found! The Hotel Mountain Brook is not only picturesque but thoughtful. We were given umbrellas to use upon our arrival since it was lightly raining. A unique game room is located near the checkin-in desk, and it looked like something out of a novel with its green leather chairs and lounge style. It included a wall of DVDs and books to borrow, as well as a shelf full of nostalgic games to take to your room. My kids also enjoyed playing shuffleboard here with other children staying at the hotel. There is also a small bar featuring bottled wines and cocktails, served by the hotel staff.
Our suite was super clean and had plenty of space for our family of four and furry friend. The beds were super comfortable with the softest mattresses.
Every morning offered a home cooked breakfast by the hotel chef, served in unique one person-sized iron pans. Another detail that my children enjoyed were the s’mores kits provided for around the fire, which the hotel maintained late into the nighttime.
The town of Tannersville is filled with the cutest little shops, where we found lots of goodies. As you walk along the town, keep a look out for Rip Van Winkle, as you’ll find him on the side of many of the buildings. My daughter loved to mimic his positions for photos. There also some amazing restaurants, and we enjoyed the pizza and entree.s from Tabla (if you are foodie, this place is a must visit!). We celebrated my birthday with a lovely dinner at Jessie’s Harvest house, where we decided to try all of the desserts.
On our first day, we wanted to visit the famous Kaaterskills falls. I had read that the hike was dangerous so safety was our top priority, since we were taking both of our kids and our dog. The first part of the hike was easy, but eventually we did come to an area with lots of steps and a narrow ledge on the side of the mountain that was a bit treacherous.
We moved slowly and steadily and made it to the bottom of the waterfall to take in the spectacular view. We even saw a rainbow in the spray of the falls. We had read about a swimming hole, but due to the recent rain, the falls created some rapids and there did not appear to be a safe place to swim. We focused instead on enjoying the view.
The next evening, we wanted a low key adventure so we set out to visit Colgate lake. There is a slight hill that obscures the lake from the road, and once you climb this, the lake slowly comes into view and takes you by surprise. It was extremely cold so none of us attempted swimming, but my kids did venture in up to their knees. We enjoyed the lake view and the surrounding dam and flora along the river.
