You’d never find this town if you weren’t told about it. It’s a quiet, laid back place about five minutes drive from Woodstock, two hours from New York City, and best of all – smack bang in the middle of the Catskill Mountains.
Phoenicia – Peace and tranquility
Essentially it’s one main road with the odd house down a track now and then. But the main road has such character that you could spend a week just visiting on each shopkeeper and listening to their tales – some of old and some anew.
Phoenicia Wines and Delicatessen – a characterful general store
We arrived late afternoon and were in need of wine and nibbles. This charming deli looked too good to simply walk past. The Star Spangled Banner was flying gently in the breeze outside, there was a faint smell of cheese wafting through the door and well it just looked too much like a shop from The Waltons so I had to go in! We left laden with bread, cheese, wine, triskets (imagine salty shredded wheat) and lollipops from the cashier who feel in love with my girls.
The wonderful deli on Main Road
The next morning we woke up early to the sound of birdsong. Annoyingly loud birdsong. “Better the birds than the bears” said the guy we met en route to breakfast. We were told it is common to find bears in the garden rummaging through the garbage cans. Big brown ones and their babies too. My girls thought this rather cute and wanted to stake them out that night but thankfully they’d forgotten all about that idea by bedtime.
The Phoenicia Diner – Uprooted from Brooklyn by owners who didn’t want to retire just yet
For breakfast we headed to The Phoenicia Diner. We were encouraged to drive but it was such a beautiful day we couldn’t. We’d been cooped up in the car the day before and needed to stretch our legs.
An old diner uprooted from Brooklyn to the heart of the Catskills
We walked along a dis-used railway track through the forest. Until 1954 the railroad carried factory hands and robber barons en route to holiday in the grand resort hotels and small boarding houses along the line. We could relate to how excited they must have felt seeing the inviting mountains.
Walking along the dis-used Phoenicia railway lines
We would never have discovered the old railway station had we taken the main road. It seemed to be standing still in time waiting for the next steam train to whistle to a stop.
Phoenicia Railway Station
We played American settlers arriving for their holidays in the mountains. We balanced and wobbled on the old sleepers and hunted down Jimeney Cricket who was making rather a loud racket. (I’ve written a whole other page on the diner as it was just too good for a paragraph or two).
Brios Pizzeria – Quite possibly one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten
Quite possibly one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten was at Brios
I’ve eaten a lot of pizza all over the world, all over Italy for that matter. I’ve seen it made quickly at a roadside eatery in Naples and in grand wood wired ovens in Tuscany – always the same way. Dough, sauce, toppings, cheese. A standard technique.
The pizza at Brios is different on two accounts. Firstly, the chef part cooks the base and then adds the sauce, toppings and cheese. The result is a crispier pizza with absolutely no soggy, doughy bits. Secondly, the base of the pizza is covered in sesame seeds. I cannot tell you what a difference this makes to the flavour. I actually ordered fish and salad but ended up eating half of my daughters’ pizza too because it was so, so good.
Graham & Co – A stylish take on motel accommodation
Somebody, somewhere had the brilliant idea of taking a old motel and converting it into an effortlessly cool place to stay.
Luxury motel living at Graham & Co
Graham & Co is minimalist and uber trendy. You get two Budweisers on check in. There are stylish toiletries, bare lightbulbs and Tivoli radios in the rooms.
Chic and clean
Trendy toiletries
Locally handcrafted keyrings
Gorgeous branding
There are hammocks in the best spots of the garden and in the evening the owner screens films in the garden and lights a great pit of a fire so you don’t get cold. It’s the kind of place you just don’t want to leave because the views are so achingly beautiful. We look forward to going back in the summertime when the pool is open as it looked so inviting.
Lounging around
Don’t pass this sleepy hamlet by..
So if you are ever in the Catskills, don’t pass by this sleepy hamlet with it’s wonderful smell of pine trees and wood smoke. Stay a while and get to know the folk. They serve great food and wine – mostly sourced locally. They have great gift shops selling locally made crafts, glass and pottery. They have a quaint little church that’s been around since the 1800s. They like having a chat and have stories to tell. Just one thing…leave your watches at home and go with their flow.
Thank you Phoenicia. We’ll be back soon xx
Great post. Everything you write makes me want to go there and your photos are spectacular.
Thank you 🙂 It was such a stunning place. I want to go back with kayaks and do a bit of hiking one day …
i have been to this town many times since i was a little kid i have always loved the town and the whole area my aunt and uncle lived in fleischmanns a few miles away used to spend 2 weeks every summer there
Lucky you. I wish I could travel there every summer. It’s a little far for us from the UK sadly. I’d love to visit in winter too with all the snow!
lovely post Urvashi you really took us there. looks so quaint and inspiring!
xox Karin
Thanks Karin 🙂 I miss the tranquility
It looks like such a serene part of the world. Thank you for showing us!
Thanks. Truly a wonderful very natural place. Never seen so many trees!
Sounds idyllic – the pizza alone would be worth the trip if it lives up to your description!
I must recreate it. I took a very bad picture on my phone but the base was very very good
Be sure to travel a short bit on 28 to the Pine Hill Lake and Beach, walk through the village……then jump in the car for a quck stop in Fleischmann’s and imagine what this quaint village COULD look like….then onto Arkville for a train ride, just like they did in the 40’s and 50’s. Margaretville ends the trip and you will be glad you stopped bye God’s Country!
Next time for sure. We only had two days on this trip but I do want to visit Fleishmann’s one day! A must see for all Dirty Dancing fans like me!
You’ve written an excellent introduction to our town, and I thank you. Next time, stop by and see us
Aww thank you. I will most certainly stop by next time we come up 🙂
just read your article on phoenicia. one point you misrepresented is the fact of the dis-used railroad tracks. these tracks were refurbished and used by the catskill mtn. rr until hurricane irene wiped them out. they are currently in the process of of getting this put back together and have that train up running to phoenicia once again. the train station was a beautiful museum until irene damaged that as well.
Wow! Amazing that a hurricane can do that! It’s great that they are working on putting them back. Thanks so much for sharing that with us. I think the museum is still beautiful. Such an amazing memory to treasure. Maybe next time we visit it too will have been restored. Thank you again for taking the time to comment on my log 🙂
Thanks for visiting our great town..and for such a great review! for more info check our our website: http://www.shandaken.us
Joyce Grant – Town Clerk
Will do for sure next time we visit!
I grew up in Shandaken six miles away and lived in Phoenicia for 3 years. You made my day reminding me of all the good times I had there. People are very friendly and always willing to help. Thanks for the reminder of what a great place Phoenicia is.
Pleasure. Such lovely feedback. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Now I’m homesick! There’s no place like Phoenicia!
Awww it’s true. We don’t often want to go back to places as there is so much of the world to discover but we would love to go back in the summer
I am so glad you enjoyed your visit to Phoenicia, NY in the heart of the Catskill Mountains. There are three items that need to be corrected. It is more than 5 minutes to Woodstock, NY…more like 15 or 20 ( my sister lives there ). The Rail Road is NOT in “dis-use” . Volunteers have labored untold hours year after year to restore engines, passenger cars, clear and repair the tracks , crossings and the Railway museum at the Phoenicia Train Station and keep it all running. Severe flooding has wiped out sections of the track so some portions are not accessible by the train and those sections can not be used yet. A grant was applied for and granted but the County Executive, Mr. Hein, refused to turn the thousands of dollars over to the volunteers making a difficult situation worse and slowing their ability to make repairs. Just within the last year this County Executive for Ulster County has been trying to void the Catskill Mountain Rail Road’s lease by claiming that they have “failed” to restore and use ALL of the rail line that runs from Kingston, NY and through our area. Since it is all volunteer, the Rail Road is struggling to survive. It currently only operates out of the Kingston to Hurley and in the Phoenicia to Boiceville areas. Third: The new owners of the diner may be from Brooklyn BUT the DINER is NOT. It was in Carle Place, LI on Old Country Road opposite the Roosevelt Field Shopping Center built on the old air field that Lindburgh took off from on his famous flight over the Atlantic. The Annenos family owned the diner but did not own the land it was on. When the land was sold the new owner told Mr. Annenos ” so, now I own your diner too “. Gus Annenos pulled the diner off the property in Nassau County and was storing it at an old air field out in Suffolk County on the end of LI where it was vandalized. A policeman that was watching over the diner talked to Gus Annenos and told him that he knew of a place where the diner could be moved to: Phoenicia. The policeman, Dave Warfield and the diner owner, Gus Annenos formed a partnership with Arthur Umhay, owner of the land on Route 28 in Phoenicia and the diner was moved, restored and re-opened with Mr Annenos and his wife, Angie, doing the cooking. I can tell you another amazing story about the diner but that is for another time. Hope to see you back soon. There is so much more to be discovered here.
wow! Thanks for all that info 🙂
Thanks for the great write-up! If you or anyone ever need advice on where to hike or you need anything from bug spray to a tent, visit our small outdoor shop called Storehouse. We’re right across from Brios. https://www.facebook.com/StorehouseNY
Thank you!
We were left off of your tour of Phoenicia but we’d thought we’d let you know;
TAVERN 214 has just been awarded THE CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE by TRIP ADVISOR.
We hope to host you the next time you are staying at the Graham & Co as we are right next door!
Thank you! We’ll certainly stop by if we are in town again!
A few other pieces of info: a great acoustic music series is housed at the railroad station. ” Flying Cat ” brings outstanding artists to play. There’s a great playhouse in town, and in the summer you can camp right in town and rent tubes to go down the Esopus creek- a real blast! My favorite shop in all of Ulster County, “Home” is located on Main St. You get also get an awesome tattoo while in town. Come visit!