Places to Eat & Drink in Saugerties

Once featured in Budget Travel magazine as one of the 10 coolest small towns in America, Saugerties is nestled between the foothills of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River with extensive frontage on Plattekill and Esopus creeks. Saugerties, Dutch for “sawmill,” has a revitalized village center known for its eclectic antique stores and vintage shops, array of restaurants, and the luxurious Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern. During the monthly Saugerties First Fridays, village restaurants and businesses stay open late and offer special activities and discounts.

Saugerties was home to the Woodstock ’94 rock concert on the 800-acre Winston Farm. The Saugerties Lighthouse provides a wonderful driftwood- and flora-laden walk along sandy Hudson River shores out to the remote and serene Saugerties Lighthouse, now a bed-and-breakfast. You can rent a kayak or paddleboard on Esopus Creek, walk the 155 acres of forever-wild Esopus Bend Nature Preserve, see the awe-inspiring Opus 40 or visit Catskill Animal Sanctuary — to name just a few activities.

The town also boasts the finest recreation facilities at Cantine Field, where there’s a full-size ice-skating rink open year-round. Here you can also watch the Saugerties Stallions, a semipro baseball team, or attend the annual Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in September, the largest food festival in the United States. The world-class equestrian facility, HITS-on-the-Hudson, is also worth the trip to see the horses and riders competing at an Olympic level.