Why you'd want to live in Ulster County

Bordered by the Catskills and Shawangunk mountains to the north, and the Hudson River to the east, Ulster County towns are surrounded by meadows and forested preserves, and speckled with historic houses, shops and galleries. The county attracts day-trippers, rock climbers, art lovers and now Covid-19 refugees streaming north from Manhattan. New York City transplants find that working from home without the daily commute allows them to enjoy acres of land and waterways protected as private and state funded parks. The 8,000-acre Mohonk Preserve can be explored by hikers, cyclists, climbers and horseback riders. The new River-to-Ridge Trail in New Paltz links the 22-mile Wallkill Valley Rail Trail with 90 miles of trails atop the Shawangunk Ridge in the Mohonk Preserve and the 22,275-acre Minnewaska Park Preserve. In towns like New Paltz, Wallkill and Kingston, residents find vibrant communities brimming with restaurants featuring globe-hopping cuisines (Tibetan, Thai, Italian, German, Mexican, Japanese) as well as boutiques, cafes, gastro pubs, and is rich in farm-to-table dining. Ulster County sits at the epicenter of New York’s burgeoning craft beverage movement. The boom began at a small craft distillery in the Ulster County town of Gardiner. Tuthilltown Spirits Distillery was the first legal whiskey producer in New York State since Prohibition. The county has built an active arts community over the years. The spectacular Opus 40 galleries and outdoor theater, the Woodstock/New Paltz Art and Crafts Fair and performances at the Ulster Performing Arts Center have led the growth of art and music in the Hudson Valley. The Falcon in Marlboro is one of Ulster County’s coolest live music venues. It features three stages for regionally and nationally-known artists, an art gallery and a Rock ‘n Roll museum. Ulster County offers the region's lowest cost of doing business, and is the only county in the area avoiding the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax.