From New York City

Hudson, the Hudson Valley, and the Catskills — what's actually different

Three names that sound like the same place but aren't, and that get mixed up constantly by the NYC press. "Hudson" usually means Hudson the city in Columbia County — small, walkable, antique-shop-anchored, on the Amtrak Empire Service line. "The Hudson Valley" is the entire region the Hudson River runs through from south of Albany down to Westchester County — eight counties, dozens of towns, multiple distinct cannabis scenes. "The Catskills" are the mountain range west of the Hudson, mostly in Sullivan, Greene, and Ulster counties — overlapping with the Hudson Valley geographically but culturally distinct. This page sorts them out and points you to the pages most worth reading depending on which one your trip is actually about.

Hudson — the city

Population ~6,000. In Columbia County, on the east bank of the Hudson River, about 2 hours by car from NYC or 2.5 hours via Amtrak. Walkable. Known for antiques, farm-to-table dining, the gallery scene, and Olana (Frederic Edwin Church's home, just south of town).

Cannabis footprint is light — a few licensed shops — but the editorial-cannabis crossover (think: dinner at Le Pigeon followed by a flower selection back at the rental) is part of why writers keep going.

The Hudson Valley — the region

Eight counties: Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Columbia, Greene, Sullivan. A 100+ mile span from the NYC border to the Albany area. Includes Beacon, Kingston, Hudson, Rhinebeck, Hyde Park, New Paltz, Saugerties, and Woodstock as some of the most-visited towns.

We slice the Hudson Valley into three subregions for easier navigation — Lower (commuter belt), Mid (weekender heart), and Upper (Hudson + Catskills entry).

The Catskills — the mountains

The Catskill Mountains are a range west of the Hudson, spanning mostly Sullivan, Greene, and Ulster counties. The towns the NYC weekender associates with the Catskills — Phoenicia, Tannersville, Hunter, Margaretville, Livingston Manor — are the western-flavored, more remote counterpart to the Hudson Valley's eastern, river-anchored towns.

There's overlap: Saugerties and Woodstock sit at the eastern edge of the Catskills inside Ulster County, so they're "Hudson Valley" geographically and "Catskills-adjacent" culturally.

Which content to read for which trip

Going to Hudson the city? Read our Hudson town hub and the Olana landmark page.

Going to the Hudson Valley broadly? Start with the subregion that matches your interest: Lower (commuter), Mid (Beacon/Kingston/New Paltz weekender), Upper (Hudson + Catskills bridge).

Going to the Catskills proper? The catskillscannabisclub.com sister site has the dedicated coverage. We cross-link the Catskills-edge Ulster towns from the Hudson Valley side.