Catskills cabin rentals: how to pick the right one
Most of what gets called a cabin in the Catskills is a cottage, an A-frame, a farmhouse or a lodge. Here is how to choose by what you actually want, and our homes in each part of the mountains.
Justin Feldstein
Founder, Haus Vacation Rentals · Licensed NYS Real Estate Broker
Search "Catskills cabin rentals" and you get photos of log walls and a wood stove. Some of those exist. Most homes up here that rent as cabins are something else: an A-frame from the 1970s, an old farmhouse with a new kitchen, a cottage on a hill, or a lodge built for a ski crowd. None of that is a problem. It just means the word "cabin" will not help you choose. What you actually want will: the mountain, the village, the hot tub, the quiet, or room for everyone.
The ski side: Windham and Hunter Mountain
The northern Catskills are ski towns first. Windham and Hunter are a short drive apart, and in summer the same slopes run a skyride, a zipline and miles of hiking and biking trails. Windham's main street has the cafés, restaurants and a brewery. From Midtown it is about two and a half hours on a Saturday morning.
Blackberry Cottage
Jewett, NY
4 bedrooms · sleeps 12
- Hot tub
- Fire pit
- Fireplace
Wanderwood Lodge
Windham, NY
9 bedrooms · sleeps 20
- Fire pit
- Fireplace
- Wi-Fi
The foothills: Woodstock and Saugerties
Closer to the Hudson, the mountains start. Woodstock has Tinker Street's shops and galleries and the Overlook Mountain trail. Saugerties, fifteen minutes away, has the lighthouse, Opus 40 and a village that is quieter than Woodstock's. Kaaterskill Falls is half an hour, Hunter Mountain about the same. This side is just under two hours from Midtown.
Goat Hill Cottage
Saugerties, NY
2 bedrooms · sleeps 4
- Pool
- Fire pit
- Wi-Fi
Hommel House
Saugerties, NY
3 bedrooms · sleeps 6
- Fire pit
- Fireplace
- Wi-Fi
Jade Getaway
Saugerties, NY
4 bedrooms · sleeps 8
- Hot tub
- Fire pit
- Fireplace
The Ridge House
Saugerties, NY
3 bedrooms · sleeps 6
- Hot tub
- Pool
- Fireplace
Waterfall House
Saugerties, NY
3 bedrooms · sleeps 6
- Hot tub
- Pool
- Fire pit
Blau Haus
Woodstock, NY
4 bedrooms · sleeps 9
- Hot tub
- Fire pit
- Fireplace
How to choose
If skiing is the point, stay on the ski side and spend the time on the mountain instead of in the car. If you want to walk to dinner or browse a bookstore, stay in or near Woodstock. If you want a view and nobody around, the foothills homes up on the ridges are the quiet ones. Hot tubs, fire pits, pet rules and how many people a home really sleeps are at the top of each home's page.
The one thing to plan for
The Saturday morning drive is the honest number. A Friday evening departure adds real time, often an hour or more on the Thruway. Leave early, or leave late and arrive to a quiet road and a warm home.