Unplugged Cabins
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The city can wait.

Upstate is closer than you think.

Two hours. Three hours. Five hours.

Pick a direction. Pack a bag. Leave Manhattan behind.

We find the festivals, farm dinners, concerts, art walks, mountain towns, swimming holes, ski weekends and strange little Upstate happenings worth getting in the car for.

Some are close enough for Friday after work. Others deserve the long weekend. All of them give you a reason to get out of the city.

Explore this weekend

Drive times are approximate from Manhattan and, because this is New York, traffic has opinions.

Pick your distance

How far do you want to go?

You don't need another list of 100 things to do Upstate.

You need one good reason to leave.

Start with how much road you're willing to put between you and Manhattan.

2hours · decide on Friday

Leave the laptop. Bring the overnight bag.

Close enough to decide on Friday. Far enough to wake up Saturday surrounded by mountains instead of scaffolding.

Think Catskills trails. Waterfalls. Farm stands. Live music. Cider. A late dinner in a tiny town you've never heard of.

Then a hot tub.

Then absolutely nothing.

Explore 2-hour weekends → Read: A slower Catskills weekend
3hours · now you're really Upstate

The traffic disappears. So does your inbox.

Three hours changes things.

The towns get smaller. The roads get quieter. The mountains get bigger.

This is where weekends stretch out: farmers markets in the morning, a hike before lunch, breweries in old barns, antique stores you didn't plan to enter and dinners worth driving twenty extra miles for.

Stay two nights. You'll understand.

Explore 3-hour weekends → Read: A Catskills fall trip starts with less driving
5hours · make a weekend of it

Sometimes you need more than a break.

You need distance.

Five hours gets you deep into New York — the kind of places where the stars are actually visible and Monday morning feels very far away.

Make the drive part of the trip. Stop for coffee. Take the scenic road. Find the town with one great restaurant. Hike somewhere you've never been.

Stay another night.

Explore 5-hour weekends → Read: This weekend's full guide

Pick your kind of weekend

What kind of weekend?

Some weekends need a plan.

Others need a fire pit.

Choose accordingly.

Live music + festivals

Mountain concerts. Tiny venues. Oktoberfests. Town celebrations. The occasional band playing somewhere that makes absolutely no sense.

See what's playing →

Mountains + outdoors

Waterfalls. Swimming holes. Ski mountains. Trails. Foliage. Snow. Mud.

Nature doesn't really have an off-season.

Get outside → 10 Catskills hikes

The short list

This weekend, Upstate

Worth leaving the city for.

Our picks · 5 events

Oct 10–11

Flaming Leaves Festival

Lake Placid · About 5 hours from Manhattan

Lake Placid’s Flaming Leaves weekend: live music, crafts, food trucks, and US Ski Jumping / Nordic Combined championships against peak foliage.

See the weekend →
Oct 10–11

Maple Shade Hootenanny

Delhi · About 3 hours from Manhattan

Two-day harvest gathering on a Delhi farm: local farms, artisans, food, beer, spirits, music, and family activities 10am–5pm.

See the weekend →
The full calendar → Explore the towns → Read the Journal →

Clove Creek Cabin · Lanesville, NY

Come for the event. Stay Upstate.

The concert ends.

The festival closes.

The restaurant brings the check.

Your weekend doesn't have to.

Head back to the cabin. Drop your phone. Get in the hot tub. Start the sauna. Light the fire.

Tomorrow can wait.

Clove Creek Cabin in Hunter, NY is a home base near Hunter Mountain and Kaaterskill Falls — and a very good reason to come back before Monday.

Hunter, NY · Hot tub · Sauna · Firepit

Find your cabin Check dates →
Living room at Clove Creek Cabin in Lanesville, NY, with a writing desk under the windows
Hot tub on the deck at Clove Creek Cabin
Cedar sauna at Clove Creek Cabin in Lanesville