The Catskill Mountains were the premier resort area of America from 1820 to 1920. During this point, it was as accepted to vacation in the Catskills as it was in Europe.
The place to be seen soon became the Catskill Mountain House, which offered amazing views of the Hudson Valley and two lakes for recreation. The hotel opened in 1824.
This amazing hotel set the standards for all other hotels to come.

Overlook Mountain Hotel is located near Woodstock, New York. (For those interested, it's actually located on a hiking trail, so it is legal to visit.) The first attempt at building a hotel on what was then known as Woodstock Mountain or South Peak occurred in 1833. The first attempts all failed.
The ruins that can be seen to this day was the third hotel in this location. Constructed in 1871 by Lewis B. Wagonen, it could accommodate 300 guests. Just 4 years later, it was destroyed in a fire.
It was rebuilt in 1878 but by this point there was competition from numerous other first class hotels.
Overlook became irregularly used between the late 1880's and 1917. Soon after it was purchased by Morris Newgold, it fell to its second fire. It began to be redesigned and rebuilt, but was never completed. A chapel, power station and stables were added, but the hotel was never finished again.
It suffered numerous other fires, including one in 1941 and another in the 1960's.

Now you can take the Overlook Mountain Hike, for 2.5 miles and see the ruins of this ones prosperous resort. The ruins of the burned out hotel peak out through the woods as you reach the top of the trail. Directly behind it, the ruins of the lodge also remain. There are also numerous other ruins behind the Resort and lodge. There seems to be the remains of a cellar, back by a fountain behind the resort.

~Tory

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