10 Prettiest Roads in Sullivan County

Yesterday I was driving along the Pine Kill Road outside of Westbrookville. It's been a couple of years since I've been on that road, and was struck by how stunningly beautiful it is, with a rushing creek cascading down along the west side of the road, and pine covered hills clad in snow rising to the right. I'm very lucky, in that I have a job where I find myself in places that often take my breath away.

I got to thinking about the most beautiful roads here in Sullivan County, those stretches that reliably elicit "oohs" and "aahs" from my clients when we're driving around the county. Those spots that make New York City seem light years away, as though we've fallen through a rift in Time and Space. (That's my new thing, as I've become addicted to the BBC Series Torchwood available on itunes and Netflix, but I digress.) So I've put together a list of my 10 favorite stretches of road here in Sullivan County.

1. Beaverkill Road (CR151) NE of Livingston Manor, from Edgewood Lakes north through Lew Beach, turning into Turnwood Road as it crosses into Ulster County.
2. Radio Tower Road, north of Beechwoods Road, between Callicoon and Jeffersonville.
3. Pine Kill Road, north of Westbrookville, in Mamakating Township southwest of Wurtsboro.
4. Ulster Heights Road (CR154) in Fallsburg Township east of Route 42 heading into Ulster County.
5. Bethlehem Road running north outside of Callicoon Center. (Note this road does not go all the way through to Tennanah Lake Road in the winter. Only winter access is from the south out of Callicoon Center. Best view is on the way back down into Callicoon Center.)
6. Plank Road south of Forestburgh along the Rio Reservoir.
7. Rio Dam Road (off of Plank Road) that crosses on top of the Rio Dam.
8. SR 55-A that runs along the north side of the Rondout Reservoir east of Grahamsville, and the Sundown Road spur that runs out to Sundown.
9. Hartwood Road (CR48) east of Forestburgh that turns into Oakland Valley Road (CR49).
10. Craigie Claire Road east of Roscoe to the covered bridge across the Beaverkill River.

If you have a favorite road or vista here in Sullivan, please post it as a comment. While I'm pretty familiar with most of Sullivan County, I don't know every nook and crannie.

Comments

[Rod]

How long before the first poster brings up gas drilling and the 'industrialization of the countryside" (their phrase, not mine) to spoil your party.

I like Hust Road on the backside of Jeff, going towards Callicoon Center/North Branch Road, as you peak the hill and start heading downward. Bayer Road is pretty too.

[Moishe P.]

Feh! {http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/feh}

Where is the December 2009 report Dave?

It's almost mid Januray already!

Moishe Pippic

[David Knudsen]

It's coming, it's coming! This thing called 'life' (you now, that irritation that raises it's head between bouts of work which, as we all know, is our main purpose on Earth!) intervened last week.

[mp]

Alright already Dave.

A little bird tweeted me that the December 1 2009 through January 10 2010 closing sales do not look at all pretty with the trend lower.

45 closings with the median closing sale price at $118,000 for the forty day period.

Also, look into the pipeline with pending transactions for the next sixty to ninety days as a leading indicator of activity to come.

Yours,

mp

[ames]

my favorite road is on your list and i aint tellin which one.

[Rod]

Your sexless drought is over?

[Tom P]

Looks like I've got a lot of new exploration ahead later this year. Thanks Dave, great post.

[Bix]

Great list, Dave.

Hemmer Road heading east toward 52, where it curves, is stunning. So are some of the roads heading west from Shandalee, south of Livingston Manor.

[Bix]

Moishe Pippic! That brings back memories.