Long before the Catskill Mountains became known for summer camps, ski resorts and legendary mid-century hotels, visitors came to the mountains seeking spectacular scenery, fresh air and an escape from city life. Two of the most famous destinations were the Catskill Mountain House and the Hotel Kaaterskill.

Located high above the Hudson Valley on the Catskill Escarpment, these enormous resort hotels attracted generations of wealthy travelers, artists, writers, and tourists during the golden age of the American grand hotel.

The Catskill Mountain House

The Catskill Mountain House opened in 1824 on South Mountain, overlooking the Hudson Valley and the Mountains. Its spectacular location helped establish the Catskills as a major tourist destination.

Over the decades, the hotel expanded and was remodeled, eventually becoming one of America’s best-known resort hotels. Guests arrived by steamboat on the Hudson River and then traveled by carriage and stagecoach into the mountains.

The hotel’s famous view became its greatest attraction. From the hotel grounds, visitors could look across the Hudson Valley toward the Hudson River and the distant Berkshire Mountains.

The Catskill Mountain House also became closely associated with the Hudson River School of American landscape painters. The dramatic Catskill scenery that surrounded the hotel helped inspire artists who transformed the American landscape into a celebrated subject of 19th-century art.

Hotel Kaaterskill

The success of the Catskill Mountain House eventually encouraged even grander development in the surrounding mountains.

Hotel Kaaterskill opened in 1881 on South Mountain, not far from the Mountain House. Built as a competitor to the older resort, it was enormous by the standards of its time and was promoted as one of the largest hotels in the world.

With hundreds of rooms, expansive public spaces and commanding mountain views, Hotel Kaaterskill represented the height of the Catskills’ grand-hotel era.

Its location also placed it close to some of the region’s most spectacular natural attractions, including Kaaterskill Falls and the mountain trails that had already become popular with summer visitors.

A Golden Age of Catskills Tourism

Together, the Catskill Mountain House and Hotel Kaaterskill symbolize an era when a summer vacation in the mountains was a major social event.

Visitors from New York City and other urban centers traveled north by train, steamboat, and carriage. The Catskills offered cool mountain air, dramatic scenery, and a temporary escape from the increasingly industrialized cities of the late 19th century.

The hotels were more than places to sleep. They were destinations in themselves, with elaborate dining rooms, porches, entertainment, and social activities. Their popularity helped establish the Catskills as one of America’s earliest major resort regions.