New York’s Sullivan Catskills region is no stranger to gatherings. After all, this location, 90 minutes from Manhattan, once hosted half a million people at the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair, and it has come a long way since. Today, there is over 100,000 square feet of meeting space in the area.
Large conference centers with lodging are available at The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark, Resorts World Catskills, and Villa Roma Resort. Boutique hotels and inns dot the landscape, and many, like Kenoza Hall, The Eldred Preserve, The Arnold House, Callicoon Hills, and Roscoe Mountain Club, offer on-site lodging and dining for small meetings and staff retreats.
Business and pleasure mix beautifully here. After a long day of meetings, your group can recharge with a plethora of off-site experiences. Located at the site of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel and on the National Register of Historic Places, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is well-known for its music events and the historic 1960s Woodstock museum, Museum at Bethel Woods. The outdoor pavilion stage is an amphitheater with seating for 16,000 people, and the intimate 440-seat Event Gallery hosts world-famous and legendary performers. The venue also offers a variety of meeting and event spaces.
Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh features professional theatrical productions, cabaret performances, concerts, and children’s theater. The main stage can accommodate 270, and the adjacent Forestburgh Tavern can accommodate 120. An outdoor patio is nestled in the gardens. The Playhouse Annex is a venue for special events, concerts, and presentations.
An independent, community-supported organization, Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre in Hurleyville houses a cinema, ballroom event space, yoga studio, cafe, thrift shop, gallery, and dance studios. It is located at the center of a bucolic main street with restaurants and 9 miles of rail trails that follow ecologically diverse watersheds.
The Sullivan Catskills is home to some of America’s most unique attractions. Need some ideas for downtime entertainment? Resorts World Catskills in Monticello has over 150 live table games, 1,600 slot machines, a poker room, and more, so attendees can try their hand with “Lady Luck.” The Sullivan Catskills Dove Trail, which is spread throughout the region, commemorates the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair—put your team in a van and find all 60 doves. Along the way, sip on wine, beer, spirits, and cider along the Good Taste Craft Beverage Trail in the Sullivan Catskills. Monticello Motor Club features 4.1 miles of smooth, race-grade asphalt. It is a private club, but it also offers daylong driving experiences like “Taste of the Track” with BMWs, Porches, and Minis. The Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum in Livingston Manor is situated at the birthplace of American dry fly-fishing. Learn about the sport’s history and arrange a private group lesson in the crystal-clear waters.
One of the largest populations of nesting American eagles in the Northeast lives here. Eagle-watching is best in winter, but breeding pairs stay all year—watch them soar and raise their young. Enjoy the Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River for boating (there are plenty of day-trip liveries), fishing, hiking, and sightseeing with your group.
Who says brainstorming should happen inside four walls? The region’s great big outdoors has acres of idea-generating space. Clear your head on a river while you conceive that new brand strategy or make new business connections on the greens. There are 164 lakes perfect for swimming, boating, waterskiing, and bait fishing. The Sullivan Catskills area contains 11 golf courses throughout 968 square miles, so attendees can play nine or 18 holes with their colleagues. The newest course, the Monster golf club at Resorts World Catskills, will challenge even your best company golfer. Reel in the perfect deal while casting for the big one in the Neversink and Beaverkill rivers and the Willowemoc Creek. In total, the area boasts 25 rivers, creeks, and streams. Imagine how many fish there must be!
Visit the website or call 800-882-2287 to learn why planning a conference, sales event, or staff retreat in New York’s Sullivan Catskills is a win for your company.
