Getaways on a Time

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[The Catskills and Hudson Valley, New York ]

The Catskills and Hudson Valley area was ecologically correct before green became the new black. In March, the town board unanimously approved a resolution to reduce net carbon emissions in Woodstock to zero within a decade. It’s an ambitious plan that may defy science, but the town hall already has a solar-heating system and similar plans for other facilities. A number of wealthy New Yorkers permanently fled for these green hills after 9/11, yet the region hasn’t become the Upper East Side. They came for the Zen of verdant valleys and a curtain of mountains. But some opened Manhattan-quality restaurants, galleries and shops, so the rest of us can experience the city without paying for parking.

—Denise Dowling

FRIDAY

4 p.m.
Unwind
Unknot the travel kinks with a massage at River Rock Health Spa. Japanese-trained head therapist CJ Krieger has been in the business for thirty years but still has a newbie’s enthusiasm. Martial arts practice gives him the Midas touch. Clean up for dinner with a facial using Phytobiodermie, a Swiss line potent with marine minerals. 62 Ricks Road, Woodstock, 845-679-7800, riverrock.biz.

7 p.m.
Make Yourself at Home
Check in at the Villa at Saugerties. Manhattan ex-pats Aimee Szparaga and Richard Nocera chose this 1929 Mediterranean-inspired villa as the anti-B&B, furnishing it with sculptural, mid-century modern furniture and Nocera’s oil and tar paintings. Szparaga, a former editor for Time Out New York’s accommodations and dining guides, has a gracious way of making visitors feel more like houseguests. Arrive to find votives flickering, a communal bottle of wine, and lounge music playing in the living room. 159 Fawn Road, Saugerties, 845-246-0682, thevillaatsaugerties.com, $135-$235 /night.

8 p.m.
Rustic Fare
The Red Onion draws a crowd for its ethnic-inspired bistro cuisine. Sip a blood orange Bellini amidst the primitive elegance of its beamed ceiling and sponge-painted walls. Slurp steamed mussels rope-cultivated on Prince Edward Island and served Thai-style with coconut milk and mint ($10). Graze on red wine-braised beef short rib with natural juices and truffle oil over celery root puree and Brussels sprouts ($24). 1654 Route 212, Woodstock, 845-679-1223, redonionrestaurant.com.

SATURDAY

9 a.m.
Wakeup Call
After sleeping in 310-count Egyptian cotton sheets, wake to Aimee’s goat cheese and herbs de Provence omelets and mine her for insider tips on the area. Splash in the stainless-steel pool and pet her quarter horse, Diego.

10:30 a.m.
Work It
Hike Bastion and Kaaterskill Falls. Ogle the smaller Bastion Falls from the car if you don’t feel like hiking, or traverse stones built into the earth for a half-mile walk to Kaaterskill and gape at the 260-foot, two-tiered falls that were a favorite subject for painters of the Hudson River School in the ninenteenth century. Route 23A, Palenville.

1 p.m.
Country Comfort
Step inside Miss Lucy’s Kitchen for its shabby chic: a pressed-tin ceiling, wide pine floor, paint-chipped chairs, folksy aprons and vintage copper cookware. Take a seat for the jerk chicken salad sandwiches and turkey pot pie; Miss Lucy is famous for dishing up the best comfort food in the Hudson Valley. 90 Partition Street, Saugerties, 845-246-9240, misslucyskitchen.com.

3 p.m.
Lunchtime Lipo
Dig Boutique owner Daisy Bolle, a former wardrobe stylist in Los Angeles, is known as the Denimologist because she can make any butt look good –– with some help from Citizens of Humanity, James jeans and other lines. 89 Partition Street, Saugerties, 845-246-3833, digtheshop.com.

4 p.m.
Get Lucky
Undo the Denimologist’s work at Lucky Chocolates and Biscuit Company. Feel guilty nibbling a chimayo chile –– dark chocolate ganache with a warming hint of chile –– but console yourself that they’re politically correct calories: Lucky’s organic Fair Trade chocolates are handmade from cocoa beans bought directly from growers’ co-operatives. 1534 Route 212, Saugerties, 845-246-7337, luckychocolates.com.

5:30 p.m.
See and Be Seen
A-list stargaze with cocktails and an early dinner at the Bear Café, “where the powerful and the famous nosh,” according to The New York Times (luminaries include Paul Newman and Keanu Reeves). The Bearsville Theater Complex (bearsvilletheater.com) houses the cafe and a theater venue for everything from Cowboy Junkies concerts to amateur boxing. Route 212, Woodstock, 845-679-5555, bearcafe.com.

SUNDAY

9 a.m.
Metal Meets Mountains
Tour Storm King Art Center. Five hundred acres of landscaped fields and woodlands are the site for postwar sculptures by internationally renowned artists such as Henry Moore and Alexander Calder. The emphasis is on large, abstract welded steel pieces posed against the dramatic Hudson Highlands. Old Pleasant Hill Road, Mountainville, 845-534-3115, stormking.org.

1 p.m.
Straight from Earth to Mouth
Lunch at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. This outpost of the legendary Manhattan restaurant is located within Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a nonprofit working farm and education center. The restaurant serves lunch only on Sundays (dinner is served Wednesday to Sunday), but the cafe, its more casual counterpart, is open 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on those days. Feast on an egg salad sandwich made from farm eggs or the garden’s heirloom tomato salad with tomato water and tomato sorbet. For summer weekends at the restaurant, reserve as far ahead as possible (reservations are accepted two months in advance). The cafe does not accept reservations. 630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, 914-366-9600, bluehillstonebarns.com.