Phoenicia: The Secret of the Catskills

by Jesse Ordansky, February 25, 2010

Although it seems like a kept secret of the Catskills, Phoenicia has captivating alpine scenery that’s cultivated a community of return visitors and full-time residents for over a century. Located off of Route 28 in the town of Shandaken, Phoenicia is just 30 minutes from Kingston and seemingly chiseled into a mountainside, just minutes away from skiing at Hunter and Belleayre. Phoenicia’s Main Street lacks both traffic lights and crosswalks. When looking both ways is even necessary, rusty pickups rumble past foreign luxury cars.

While traveling north on the Thruway, the purple peaks of the Catskill Mountains begin to tease visitors from a distance. After disappearing over the horizon, their silhouettes return within five miles of the Kingston exit—a reminder of the scenery to come. The remaining commute along Route 28 is scattered with small hamlets, smaller businesses, and the occasional totem pole, as well as a drive past the Emerson Resort and Spa and Catskill Corners, home to the world’s biggest kaleidoscope.

Upon entering Phoenicia, guests must pass over train tracks that were once the lifeblood of the hamlet. Phoenicia was once a stop along the Ulster & Delaware Railroad—a passenger and cargo railroad that remains active. Outside of town, along Route 28, the Catskill Mountain Railroad runs a 12-mile scenic train trip between Boiceville and Phoenicia. The Phoenicia station, home of the Empire State Railway Museum, is located in the historic railroad depot. The station, completed in 1900, allowed the hamlet’s tourism industry to flourish. Throughout the duration of World War I, the Phoenicia stop of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad provided tourist traffic that has since become an imperative social and economic aspect to the area.

What’s Shakin’ in Shandaken
The economy of Shandaken itself has historically been focused on tourism traffic. In an 1879 article in the New York Times, “In The Ulster Catskills: Attractions of Shandaken Valley,” it is noted that “many thousands of people will come [to the Catskills] annually to escape the heat of the pent-up cities, and spend some of their hard-earned money in gaining renewed strength and vigor of body and mind.”

Originally a part of Woodstock, the town of Shandaken was established in 1804. After its first town meeting less than a week after its establishment, hamlets began forming throughout the town. Phoenicia’s Main Street was constructed in 1853 and has been altered scarcely since.

Of the businesses lining Phoenicia’s 19th-century streets, the Town Tinker Tube Rental has become a staple of the Catskills. Housed in a giant red barn, the Town Tinker rents inner tubes for riding the rapids of the Esopus Creek. The Town Tinker has designated sections of a five-mile portion of the Esopus based on the experience levels of guests—safety equipment is readily available for those who desire or require it.