Something shifted in the Northeast travel landscape over the past few years. Mountain towns that once emptied out after ski season now hum with visitors year-round, and the Catskills sit at the center of this transformation. What was once a fading resort region known primarily for Borscht Belt comedy clubs has reinvented itself as a destination for hikers, foodies, remote workers, and anyone looking for stays in the Catskills that offer genuine
seclusion without sacrificing comfort. But the Catskills are not the only mountain region competing for attention. From the Berkshires to the Adirondacks to the Green Mountains of Vermont, the entire Northeast corridor is experiencing a mountain renaissance, and understanding what sets each region apart helps travelers find the right fit.
The Catskills: Creative Energy Meets Wild Terrain
The Catskills benefit from a unique combination of proximity and personality. Just two hours from New York City, the region draws a creative crowd that has reshaped small towns like Phoenicia, Woodstock, and Livingston Manor into hubs of independent restaurants, vintage shops, and artist studios. The landscape itself delivers serious outdoor credentials: Slide Mountain, the highest peak in the Catskills, anchors a network of trails that pass through old-growth forest and along rocky ridgelines with long views into the surrounding valleys. The Esopus Creek and Delaware River provide some of the finest fly fishing in the eastern United States, and the swimming holes tucked along tributary streams are closely guarded local secrets.
What distinguishes the Catskills from other Northeast mountain regions is the density of cultural activity relative to its size. On any given weekend, you might find a farm-to-table dinner in a converted barn, a live bluegrass show at a roadside tavern, and a pottery workshop in a studio that was a dairy barn two decades ago. This layering of creative enterprise onto a rugged natural setting gives the Catskills a texture that pure wilderness destinations lack.
The Berkshires: Culture With a Capital C
Cross into western Massachusetts and the Berkshires present a more polished version of the mountain getaway. Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, sets the tone: this is a region where cultural programming is as much of a draw as the scenery. MASS MoCA in North Adams, one of the largest contemporary art museums in the country, occupies a sprawling former factory complex. The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown pairs a world-class collection with a 140-acre campus of hiking trails and reflecting pools.
The Berkshires skew slightly older and more established than the Catskills, with a dining scene that leans toward white-tablecloth restaurants alongside farm stands and cider houses. The hiking, while excellent, tends toward gentler terrain, making it accessible for families and casual walkers. Monument Mountain and the Appalachian Trail segments through the region offer rewarding day hikes without the scrambling that some Catskill trails demand.
The Adirondacks: Scale and Solitude
For travelers seeking raw scale, the Adirondacks deliver something no other Northeast mountain region can match. The Adirondack Park covers six million acres, larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks combined. Lake Placid and Saranac Lake serve as the primary gateway towns, but vast sections of the park remain roadless and sparsely visited. The High Peaks region, home to 46 summits above 4,000 feet, draws peak-baggers who spend years completing the list.
The trade-off is distance. The Adirondacks sit five to six hours from New York City, making them a commitment rather than a casual weekend trip. Amenities thin out quickly once you leave the main corridors, and cell service disappears in many areas. For those who equate vacation with genuine disconnection, this is a feature rather than a bug.
Vermont’s Green Mountains: The Four-Season Contender
Vermont has long marketed itself as a four-season destination, and the Green Mountains deliver on that promise. Ski towns like Stowe, Killington, and Mad River Glen transition seamlessly into summer cycling, hiking, and swimming destinations. The state’s farm-to-table ethos is not a marketing slogan but a genuine way of life, with creameries, sugarhouses, and small-batch producers scattered along nearly every back road. The Long Trail, which predates the Appalachian Trail and runs the length of the state, offers multi-day trekking through dense forest and alpine meadows.
Choosing Your Mountain
The right mountain region depends entirely on what you are looking for. The Catskills reward travelers who want outdoor adventure wrapped in creative culture within easy reach of the city. The Berkshires suit those drawn to performing arts and gentler terrain. The Adirondacks are for solitude seekers willing to drive farther. Vermont delivers the most balanced four-season experience. And increasingly, travelers are discovering that exploring more properties in the Northeast across multiple regions, rather than returning to the same spot each time, reveals just how varied this corner of the country truly is.
The mountain hideaway trend shows no signs of slowing. As remote work continues to blur the line between weekday and weekend, these regions are welcoming longer stays and repeat visitors who treat them not as vacation destinations but as second homes in the landscape they have always craved.
