Unique Stays in the Catskills

The Catskills have no shortage of cabins. What they are short on is cabins with a point of view. The homes on this page were chosen because someone cared about how they were made: a 1930s cabin brought back by a builder, a church turned into a house, a Japanese-inspired retreat in Roxbury, a farmhouse in Sullivan County designed around the sunrise and the sunset.

They are spread across the range, from the creeks around Phoenicia and the high peaks near Tannersville to the quieter western Catskills around Roxbury and the Delaware River towns of Sullivan County. Most sit on private land in the woods, a short drive from a main street with a good bakery, a general store and somewhere worth having dinner.

Every home on Locèlle is listed by its owner. You see the house, you meet the host, and you book with them directly, without added platform fees.

• Homes with a story. Restorations, conversions and owner-built cabins rather than interchangeable rentals.
• Real seclusion, close to town. Private acres and creek frontage, rarely more than fifteen minutes from a village.
• Four genuine seasons. Swimming holes in summer, foliage in fall, wood stoves and ski days in winter.
• Close to the city. Most homes are two to three hours from New York City by car.
• Book direct. Locèlle introduces you to the owners so you can book with them without platform fees.

Fall is the Catskills at their most popular, with color usually peaking from late September through mid-October; book early for those weekends. Winter brings skiing at Hunter, Windham and Belleayre and the quietest, coziest cabin weekends. Spring is when the waterfalls run hardest, and summer is for creeks, swimming holes, farm stands and long evenings outside.

Most of these homes are a two- to three-hour drive from New York City via the New York State Thruway (I-87) or Route 17. A car is essential once you arrive. Albany International and Stewart International (Newburgh) are the closest airports, and Trailways buses run from Port Authority to towns including Phoenicia and Woodstock.

• Hike: Kaaterskill Falls, the Overlook Mountain fire tower and the trails of Woodland Valley.
• Ski: Hunter, Windham and Belleayre in winter.
• Towns: Phoenicia, Woodstock, Tannersville, Roxbury, Livingston Manor and Callicoon for food, shops and markets.
• Water: Fly fishing on the Esopus and Beaverkill, and tubing in summer.