If you’ve never been up Panther Mountain, the 18th highest peak in the Catskill Mountains, quite frankly, you’re missing out. The view is spectacular during every season, and if that’s not enough to pique your interest, some geologists think that it’s the site of a prehistoric meteorite crash landing. Cool.

The Panther Mountain House, up the mountain ten minutes from Phoenicia, looks like a good place to take it all in. Proprietor Aaron Copp provides accommodations that are secluded and yet accessible to hiking, swimming in/tubing on the Esopus Creek, nature gawkery, or just sitting on the deck, enjoying the low-key Catskill Mountain vibe. Skiing at Hunter and Belleayre Mountains are also close (30 minutes and 12 minutes away respectively).

What else is close? Sweet Sue’s Restaurant in Phoenicia. Never been there for pancakes? Put it on your to-do list, but beware: Order no more than one, unless you’re trying to carb-load before the big race.

Two-bedroom house sleeps four but could be more with inflatable mattresses. Two night minimum, three nights on holidays. Here’s the listing on vacationrentals.com.

Do you love it, or do you, um, not love it? This popped up in our inbox and we have to admit it piqued our curiosity, maybe in a so-bad-it’s good way. It’s sort of a post-modern take on Tudor half-timbering, and since we can’t see the inside, we can imagine someone really playing up the 60s thing and making the most of some fake knotty pine paneling.

Some stuff to recommend it: Esopus Creek-front, four acres, three beds and three baths, coming in at 1,742 square feet. Less commendable: it’s on Route 28, and bears this description: “bank will make decision on acceptable offering price. Reduced price reflects needed work & maintenance, inside and out.” We’re pretty sure that it will indeed be five figures when all is said and done.
6381 Route 28, Phoenicia, $100,000. GMAP.

We profiled this house not long after Hurricane Irene had pummeled the lovely town of Phoenicia. The messages folks wanted to get out at the time were that a) the town was still kicking and b) plenty of properties on the market weren’t in the flood plain.

The message hasn’t quite penetrated, at least not enough to move this Dutch colonial. It has four beds, two baths, an in-ground salt water pool (with an electric pool cover), a home office and 2385 square feet. It qualifies as a car-free country house, since it’s within walking distance of the bus. Beautifully renovated inside, we think.

The hesitation might be the price, which, according to Trulia, is more than twice the average listing price these days. It was $495,000 when we profiled it, and is now listed at $474,900. The taxes are reasonable for the area, though, at less than $5,000 a year.

This week’s featured city, Olivebridge, doesn’t have much available for five figures, so we’ve made like a realtor and defined “vicinity” pretty loosely.  Can it be that we’re reaching the end of a finite supply of cheap properties?  Or is Reclaimed Home right to debate whether Upstate is as much of a buyer’s market as it is reputed to be?

Let’s see what we’ve got at the bottom of the barrel.  First up, an adorable, tiny cabin on Panther Kill Road in Phoenicia:

The listing may be overstating things somewhat with “enchanting,” but it’s certainly button-cute.  A woodsy location off Woodland Valley Drive, convenient to central Phoenicia and the Esopus, it’s got its own scenic creek.

Seems perhaps a little dear at $99k on just half an acre, but your mileage may vary.  If you’re intent on the area, this looks pretty turnkey – the realtor even offers a detailed rental history for those looking to defray costs.

34 Pantherkill Road (Village Green) GMAP
Price: $99,000
Beds: 1
Baths: 1.5
Square Feet: 400
Year Built: 1950
Taxes: $5,632
Acreage: 0.50
Features: Creekside, rental history

Next is a property I saw in person two years ago, when I followed a hand-lettered cardboard sign down a tiny road south of the Ahokan Reservoir.

Okay, yeah, no.  It’s not cute.  Except in kind of an ugly-puppy-at-the-pound kind of way.  But in person it was surprisingly palatable – I found myself thinking “if this was cheap enough, it would be totally liveable as a low key weekender.”

It’s up to you to decide if $47,500 constitutes “cheap enough.”  I’m guessing not quite yet.  It advertises a nice 3 acres, but that doesn’t take into account a precipitous dropoff that renders 2/3 of the land unbuildable.  And, at least as of two years ago, the across-the-street neighbors like to store stuff in their yard.  Lots of stuff.  There is a camping trailer on site, which would usually be catnip for me, but this one is a haul-away. (more…)

Olana

Okay, we’re a day late for this Valentine’s Day post, but we were waiting for folks to add more suggestions to the Daily Freeman’s ongoing list of the most romantic spots upstate. Some we’re intimately familiar with. Others we were happy to learn about.

Here are a few key selections:

Olana: The Hudson River School painter’s mansion, and site of his inspiration. Incredible house, incredible views. Just south of Hudson, NY on 9G.

Parade Hill: At the end of Warren Street in Hudson, a small waterfront park.

Ulster County’s five covered bridges: Perrine’s in Esopus; Turnwood in Olivebridge; Grant’s Mill and Myer’s in Hardenburgh; Tappan Bridge in North Seager.

Tanbark Trail: A short hike with great views, accessible from downtown Phoenicia, on Tremper Mountain.

The Rhinecliff Hotel: Right on the Hudson (and right on the railroad tracks, steps from the Rhinecliff Amtrak station), this is a swanky, tasteful joint with modern rooms and delicious eats.

We would add Poet’s Walk, along the Hudson and next to Rokeby, in Rhinecliff. You guys have any spots to add?

We’ve had quite a few notes from readers, and realtors, writing in to urge us to spread the word that “Phoenicia is still here.” (Which was also the subject of NY Post piece last week). This is not to say that the town wasn’t hit incredibly hard and that there’s work to be done. It’s just to say that much of the place is still highly functional and totally beautiful (see photos from earlier this week), and there are still homes for sale.

Including this one, sent in by folks at FreeStyle Realty. I personally don’t go in for a Dutch Colonial, but there’s something about this place that does feel so classically country house to me that I thought it might interest our readers. Maybe it’s just that it has a pool, and so few of the properties we profile do. This one has nice woodwork–not too much of it–and plenty of space with four beds and 2,385 square feet. Here’s a little write-up from the broker:

“There’s a two-room professional suite, with separate exterior entrance that has been a “town doctor’s” office for decades, would also make a great B&B suite. Plus, there’s home office(s), a library/study area and a laundry room. The home has been completely updated state-of-the art energy wise – from the basement to the attic, and all systems in between.  Original, never-painted interior woodwork, hardwood floors, french doors, orig. steam radiators converted to hot water with individual thermostats. Outside is just right — 1/2 of an acre, heated saline pool, fully fenced yard with enough lawn and whimsical treehouse.  Need more yard – use the Parish Field right next door.  Need more woods? Parish Field hosts the entrance to the “Tanbark Trail” hiking trail which adjoins NYS Mt. Tremper lands.”

It’s in town, close to all the adorableness of downtown Phoenicia, and very close to the lovely Esopus Creek. I’m a sucker for the subway tile in the bathroom, an instant draw for me personally. And I like that it’s next to state land and hiking trails, so the chances of a subdivision popping up next door are very small. Probably a good time to buy there, when business is slow, and word has it this place is just about to undergo a reduction. Just make sure it’s not in the flood plane. Stats on the jump. (more…)

Last week we got a little bit of well deserved flack for posting an outdated photo of Phoenicia, just after Irene flooded the town. So a reader sent in some photos of Phoenicia today — still recovering, but in many ways back on its feet. I for one can’t wait to get up there!

If you have any photos of your upstate travels to share, please send ‘em in!

Phoenicia, just after the floor/Timberlake Camp

Most folks I’ve talked to down in the big city have been steering clear of Phoenicia, one of the towns most damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. But the NY Post this week published a travel story about how great the Catskills are — still — in their post-Irene state, even Phoenicia. They write:

“The southern entrance to town, the one that everyone uses, was closed; the bridge across the creek — now in spots widened to more than twice its original size — had been severely damaged, perhaps beyond repair; workmen were clearing the last of the debris it had collected; its guard rail lay twisted, hanging off to one side.

But this was just one entrance to town out of four — by the time I showed up, the other three were open, as if nothing had happened. I held my breath, driving in, and parked, looking around. Main Street was filthy with mud, but walking up and down the street, I couldn’t find one business I remembered that wasn’t open.”

So, folks, let the leaf-peeping and the mountain climbing begin. The Catskills are officially open for business!

(Thanks to our Margaretville correspondent for pointing out this story!)

Phoenicia, just after the floor/Timberlake Camp

Most folks I’ve talked to down in the big city have been steering clear of Phoenicia, one of the towns most damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. But the NY Post this week published a travel story about how great the Catskills are — still — in their post-Irene state, even Phoenicia. They write:

“The southern entrance to town, the one that everyone uses, was closed; the bridge across the creek — now in spots widened to more than twice its original size — had been severely damaged, perhaps beyond repair; workmen were clearing the last of the debris it had collected; its guard rail lay twisted, hanging off to one side.

But this was just one entrance to town out of four — by the time I showed up, the other three were open, as if nothing had happened. I held my breath, driving in, and parked, looking around. Main Street was filthy with mud, but walking up and down the street, I couldn’t find one business I remembered that wasn’t open.”

So, folks, let the leaf-peeping and the mountain climbing begin. The Catskills are officially open for business!

(Thanks to our Margaretville correspondent for pointing out this story!)

The NY Times asked an important question this weekend: should we rethink rebuilding in the very spots that Irene ravaged? After all, at least a little built of the destruction came from a human miscalculation about, or perhaps willful ignorance of, building on the flood plain. “Are there communities that simply can’t be protected adequately and should be relocated?” asked Assemblyman Kevin A. Cahill.

Cahill goes on to say that the communities with the strictest building codes tended to be the least damaged–a vote for big government, I guess, and that dirty word regulation. The decision has to be made based on what folks in the article term the “new normal”–the more severe weather patterns expected to continue due to climate change.

The town they focus on is Phoenicia, a favorite of ours for its sweet little inns, the great tubing, the beauty of the Esopus Creek…which is also it’s most potentially menacing aspect as well. And they mention poor Margaretville as well, where business owners are now second-guessing their choices.

“…the destruction left by the tropical storm has already begun to alter the mind-set of some business owners and homeowners. Last year, PSK Supermarkets, which operates a chain of Foodtown and Freshtown stores in New York State, spent millions of dollars to open a store in the Village of Margaretville, in Delaware County, about 20 miles west of Phoenicia.

Noah Katz, a co-president of the company, said he knew he was building on a flood plain and was aware of the damage that major storms had already inflicted on the village. But since a couple of 100-year floods had already occurred in the past 15 years, the likelihood of another such storm anytime soon seemed slim.

‘We thought we had a hundred years,’ he said.”