The Northern Catskills' artistic legacy

dates back to the early 1800s with the founding of the Hudson River School of painters and Washington Irving's famous 1819 short story Rip Van Winkle. Two centuries later, the region continues to have a rich cultural heritage and strong creative community that attracts talented artists from near and far. The region boasts many art galleries and studios, cultural centers, historic sites and numerous Catskills museums, including the Mountain Top Historical Society, which is directly across the road from The Twilight Lodge.

Image: Catskill Creek, New York, 1845, Thomas Cole

Greene County

has a vibrant music scene that includes dance ensembles, summer stock theatre and a variety of Catskills events, festivals and performances held throughout the year—featuring the sounds of classical, jazz, folk and Celtic rock.

Image: Joe Reynolds and Tom Sparks of Greene County

For performing arts,

visit one of the Catskills celebrated professional and community theaters. Venues include The Doctorow Center for the Arts, Altamura Center for Arts & Culture, the Dancing Bear Theater and Orpheum Performing Arts Center, among others.

The Twilight Lodge

is located a mere thirty minutes from Woodstock, which is home to a myriad of galleries that are widely noted for exhibits of the finest arts and crafts. To complete the artistic environment Woodstock boasts important recital halls upon whose stages distinguished classical, jazz and popular music ensembles regularly perform. All of this is set amid lovely forested mountains, with some of the most scenic rural vistas to be found anywhere!

Image: Exhibit in The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which overlooks the farm where the 1969 Woodstock festival took place