Every year as the leaves begin to turn, our minds go to one place: the Catskills. When we’re headed upstate, we’ve long made a habit of stopping in Livingston Manor - a fly fishing town a mere 2.5 hours from Manhattan by car - but we finally spent a few days in order to put together the definitive guide to this lovely town. Read on for all the best things in Livingston Manor!
When in the Catskills, we love to travel with friends and take advantage of cozy, comfortable time surrounded by nature. That’s why we absolutely LOVED our stay in the Night Fox A Frame. This stylish a-frame house is a sanctuary just five minutes away from downtown Livingston Manor on a beautiful, quiet, and hilly mountain drive.
The mountain home has two bedrooms (including one in the loft), a chef's kitchen, a large indoor dining area, a large porch with dining table and solo stove, a fire pit, and…the piece de la resistance…a true cedar sauna!!!
This place is the perfect mix between country calm and cute small town living.
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For breakfast in town, locals know that the best place is The Walk In. We are absolutely obsessed with their biscuits, which is the perfect vessel for a sausage egg and cheese sandwich. Don’t forget to grab a loaf of their focaccia on the way out!
A short ways outside of town, the Tavern at the Arnold House is a great place for a slightly more elevated – but still upstate casual – meal. The dining room itself has remained almost entirely unchanged for the last 50 years, and the menu is full of fresh catskills-grown ingredients including the locally caught trout that Livingston Manor is famous for.
This barbecue spot is one of the most popular places in town and it’s no surprise – you can smell the delicious smoked meats from down the road! Be sure to stop by for lunch, especially on weekends, as they often sell out of their most popular items early in the day!
This well known pizzeria is on the main drag of Livingston Manor and offers a beautiful front yard to sit in as well as their indoor dining room. The vibes are immaculate, beginning from the maple tree out front, to the neapolitan-style pies inside.
Sometimes you choose a place for vibes and other times you have a need for absolutely delicious food. The Smoke Joint falls into the latter category. We highly recommend their mac and cheese topped with pulled pork and the ground beef taco (trust us!)
Right on Main Street lies Sunshine Colony: a quaint natural wine & tapas bar. We love that this new sister of Upstream Wine & Spirits has really worked to become a community space in town. From live music in their backyard to outdoor coffee on weekends, Sunshine Colony is the place to be for cool, young people in town.
While Upward Brewing Company is a mere 1 minute drive from downtown, its location at the trailhead of a mountain hike means that you feel like this brewery was placed in the middle of a forest meadow. Grab a table outside, snag a craft brew or local cider, and enjoy the crisp mountain air.
If you’re prepping for a dinner back at Night Fox A Frame, a key detail is a good bottle of wine or two. Upstream Wine & Spirits is where you’ll do the shopping for this – the store has been in town for years and recently moved a little ways down Main Street to a new location. We love that in addition to carrying some of the best European natural wines that Upstream Wine & Spirits also has a solid collection of wine and spirits local to New York State, in case you’re looking to drink something with a little more sense of place.
A newcomer in town, Corners is an absolutely beautiful design, art, and magazine shop founded by the same person behind loungewear brand Offhours. We love the hyper-modern design and a focus on selling sculpture and works by carefully chosen New York artists. Oh, and they also sell freshly pressed juice!
If any shop on this list captures the vibe of the Catskills, it would be Holmstedt. This mountainy yet not kitschy gift shop packs a TON into its jewel box sized space. Think handmade german mushroom brushes, brass bottle openers, handknitted sweaters, and amazing candles.
For clothing and skincare, Concrete + Water is the place to go. They focus on elevated and cozy pieces from brands like Alex Mill and Portuguese Flannel as well as totally chic baby clothes. To help combat the cold mountain air, there is also an extensive collection of products from small, independent skincare brands like Everyday Oil.
This shop is full of vintage treasures, curated paintings and one-of-a-kind glassware and jewelry. The price tags are steep…but everything in this little space always gives us a boost of inspiration for home and design.
GIFT. SHOP. GALORE!!!! They refer to themselves as a modern general store, and that is totally correct in the sense that they sell just about anything you can imagine: books, novelties, good quality pantry items, toys. Really, this is the kind of place where you could find a gift for just about anyone in your life and know that it isn’t just total junk.
Whether or not you’re into fly fishing, you need to stop by this legendary Livingston Manor institution – first opened in 1928. It’s really fun to browse through all the teeny tiny handmade flies and take a peek at the feathers and glitter supplies they carry in order to tie your own.
When we’re away from the city we love to splurge a bit on groceries to cook, and Main Street Farm Market is our place to go in Livingston Manor. They have a wonderful butcher and TONS of fresh produce as well as a great selection of local beers and ciders.
Being away from the city is the perfect time to relax, and the sauna on the property at Night Fox A Frame is such a wonderful way to unwind. We’ve been in our fair share of saunas and nowhere else has there been such a fantastic hit of cedar aroma as soon as we walked in.
Originally built in 1860 this still-operational covered bridge is a really cool thing to see in the wild. Spanning Willowemoc Creek, the bridge is barely one car wide, but full of charm. If you want to really take it in, there’s even a public park with picnic tables and grill right at its base.
Livingston Manor’s Catskill Art Space is an absolutely top tier arts organization. With free admission to its four galleries and exhibition space, there is so much to take in – most notably two recents installations by renown artists James Turrell & Sol Lewitt which will both be on view through 2027.
We’ve made nods throughout this guide to the flyfishing history of the area, but one place it’s truly honored is the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum. This small place is a really cool way to learn about a hobby that spans generations and a cool way to learn about some of the characters who made Livingston Manor such a destination for the sport.
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