WHAT IS IT LIKE TO LIVE HERE?
Just 95 minutes on the bus and you can leave New York City to find yourself in this small College Town where the things to do, the food to eat and the places to see will refresh you; Body, Mind and Spirit!
In New Paltz itself..............without even using gasoline!..........you can eat Japanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Thai, Indian, French, New American, Seafood, multiples of Italian and more beside. Walk to the end of Huguenot Street, the oldest street in America with its original houses still standing, and you can eat by the Golf Course or in the historic Locust Tree with its Zagat commendation for Excellence.
You can bike, hike or ride your horse along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, a linear park which runs along the old rail bed from Rosendale, southwards through New Paltz and Gardiner to the small town of Wallkill itself. On this route, you are travelling more or less parallel to the Shawangunk Ridge with its amazing views and sunsets. Sometimes you are following, or even crossing, the Wallkill River which spills into the Rondout Creek and then into the Hudson at Kingston. If sailing or boating is your thing, there are moorings galore in the Rondout Harbor.
Maybe you'd like to hear the Philharmonic..................the Hudson Valley Philharmonic.This is an orchestra of world class performance level, conducted by Randall Craig Fleischer. Performances happen in Kingston, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh as a general rule, with extras on occasion. Its Poughkeepsie home is the Bardavon, just a twenty-minute drive from New Paltz and the scene of a huge variety of interesting events. The Bardavon String Quartet has been quartet in residence at the State University of New York, College at New Paltz, since 1994 and are all principal players in the Philharmonic.
For children of all ages, there is the Kingston Model Railway Club's Annual Expo., the Catskill Mountain Railroad and Museum in Phoenicia, the Planetarium at the State University College in New Paltz, and story-time at many of the area's local libraries: New Paltz, Rosedale, Highland ,Gardiner, for example. The wonderful adventure playground at Hasbrouck Park in New Paltz was built as a community effort. This year it featured large at Halloween!
The educational program at the Mohonk Preserve is exciting for everyone. How about a Guided night-time walk, stopping in silence to listen to nocturnal sounds and to spot luminescent fungus? And what if you emerge from a copse to a wide view of the valley surmounted by the moon at its fullest? The Preserve House is itself a model of "Green Building", with many exhibits and a shop where you can buy trail maps and seriously fun things for all ages.
Mohonk Mountain House is a legendary feature of our locale and you can see it in our slideshow, above. The picture is worth a thousand words and the website will tell you more. Try the Spa!
In Winter, we have cross-country ski trails in the immediate area, and downhill skiing available thirty miles or so to the north, in the Catskills.
We are blessed with the New York State Park of Minnewaska where the trails and Lake Awosting would alone be worth your visit to our area. And the Gunks! These cliffs are world famous among the climbing fraternity..........and we are privileged to see them from our front doorsteps.
The chief local industries are connected with farming, hospitality and the SUNY College. There are family farms that go back many generations; and also several very vigorous CSA farms, where you can buy a share and collect fresh food in season. Many local residents telecommute or even daily commute by bus or train to NYC. IBM is across the River in Poughkeepsie. Writers and theater people enjoy the privacy and peace of a life up here, while still being able to benefit from access to major travel routes. 
Stewart International Airport as a potential fourth Airport NYC is an exciting piece of development, happening just half an hour down the road from New Paltz.
So here we are surrounded by scenes of outstanding natural beauty, an abundance of cultural activities, (of whose information I have only scratched the surface) convenience of travel, yet the ambience of a small town remains.
Living here can be extremely pleasant. Let us help you find a way!