We spent three nights at a working farm in the Catskills, though we did no working. We found it on AirBnB and had a great time playing with all of the friendly animals (they’d walk up and wait to be pet). And there were A LOT of animals. All the animals. Chickens, goats, turkeys, ducks, geese, mule, horse, pigs, llama, cows, sheep, dogs, even a fawn that they rescued.
Best of all, there was a piglet. We could barely contain ourselves. The other animals didn’t find piglet as cute as we did, it was constantly pushed around and almost stomped on.
The farm was right on Swan Lake but we didn’t have time to explore it because we spent a day hiking in the Willowemoc Wild Forest. The hike was a very muddy ~7 mile loop and it’s really started to feel like fall! On the way back, we stopped by Catskills Brewery to fill our Growler.
The next day, we drove to the Catskill Scenic Rail Trail after stopping to get a lunch sandwich at Blue Bee Cafe in Delhi (highly recommend). At the trail head, we jumped on our bikes and biked about 17 miles along the trail. The dirt and gravel trail was a bit bumpy and with rocks and fallen apples, but the scenery was amazing. It passes right through beautiful farmland, tree stands, and prairies filled with wildflowers.
On our way back to Virginia, we stopped by Chanticleer Gardens just outside Philadelphia, PA. They had a lot of really unique areas and structures to explore.
Highlights of the Catskills and Chanticleer Gardens
- PIGLET!! Seriously, we are pretty obsessed with the little guy.
- The Catskills Scenic Trail ended up being an amazing bike ride through the countryside. We finally felt like we started to experience a bit of rural New York.
- The different areas of Chanticleer Gardens. They had some ruins, a log bridge, and themed gardens throughout the space.
You’ve done and seen so much in such a short time! Your photos are amazing, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
*You’ve