AS the last leaves of autumn fall, don’t miss your chance to check out Rosendale, a ruggedly picturesque postcard of a place 90 minutes from Manhattan.
Its 19th-century Main Street isn’t gussied up, but it’s lined with the kinds of places ex-Brooklynites now bring to Hudson Valley towns: a gluten-free bakery, a cheese shop, an indie cinema and an appealing new boutique hotel.
No wonder then that this peaceful, left-leaning Ulster County town is known affectionately as “The People’s Republic of Rosendale.”
DO
Stroll the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail (wvrta.org), a multi-use trail that extends 24 miles, from Gardiner to Kingston. The Rosendale Trestle, which opened this summer, rises 150 feet above Rondout Creek and is a highlight.
Rosendale cement, mined from limestone, was used in building the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal and Grand Central Station. The last of Rosendale’s mining operations closed in the 1970s. Today, the Widow Jane Mine (centuryhouse.org) is an eerie open cavern at ground level that looks like a room with giant pillars — it is sometimes used as a performance space.
Go for a hike at the Mohonk Preserve (mohonkpreserve.com; $12 per hiker) on your own, or enlist a guide like Michael Drillinger, who runs Catskill Country Walks (catskillcountrywalks.com)
EAT
Sample German baker Essell Hoenshell-Watson’s famous lemon velvet squares at The Alternative Baker (lemoncakes.com). The baker uses locally-milled, unbleached and unbromated flour, and
many treats are sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free. Ex-Williamsburgers Jenifer Constantine and Trippy Thompson own Market Market (marketmarketcafe.com), by day an eatery with local foodstuffs, by night it turns clubby.
Bywater Bistro (bywaterbistro.com) features a delish crab cake and grilled portobello sandwich with chili-lime mayo.
SLEEP
The 1850 House Inn & Tavern, located inside a once-fallen architectural treasure, has been handsomely renovated into an appealing inn and watering hole (from $179; the1850house.com). The 10-room spot is chic and minimalist, though Rosendale’s past is evoked with large photographic reproductions on the walls.