Fall Catskill Mountain Driving Tours feature Open Roads and Interesting Stops

MOUNT TREMPER – Our two Fall Driving Tours for Enthusiasts are open to all cars and are noncompetitive ways to explore the far reaches of our Catskill Region in company with a varied group of participants. Guided by a curated set of professional maps, you drive at your own pace. Both Tours start at the Catskills Visitor Center, 5096 State Route 28, Mount Tremper, NY.

The 9th Catskill Conquest Rally commemorating the 1903 Automobile Endurance Run is on Saturday, September 20th. This year we are taking a literary turn in our route, with a stop at John Burroughs’ Woodchuck Lodge in Roxbury and the Hobart Book Village, where we will be served a BBQ lunch by the Hobart Rotary. We start by following the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway and stop at the Cauliflower Festival in Margaretville. After Hobart, we continue to the Hanford Mills Museum, a working sawmill, and Polar Bear Ice Cream. The return follows Route 28 through Delhi and Andes. John Burroughs was the Catskill naturalist who pioneered nature writing and was befriended by Henry Ford, who gave him a Model T to further his Catskill ramblings. Hobart is a village of 400 with seven Book Shops, all with varied specialties. The roads we drive include West Settlement Road and Narrow Notch Road in Northern Delaware County. The total mileage with return to Mount Tremper is 146 miles. We gather at 9am for a light breakfast and are given orientation and the rally pack with maps, a Rally Book with lots of history, magnets and decals. This is when we are all together to meet and greet. Then, at 10am you are released for your day to enjoy all the attractions and beautiful roads. We drive all day and see two stop lights. The fee is $100 per car and the entry form can be found at www.1903autorun.com.

The 7th Catskill Covered Bridge Rally is on October 18th. Starting at the Catskills Visitor Center in Mount Tremper, we follow the Esopus Creek to its headwaters and then pick up the Neversink River and follow eleven additional creeks and rivers on a 130-mile romp through Ulster, Sullivan and Delaware Counties. We cross four historic restored Covered Bridges at Livingston Manor, Beaverkill, Downsville and Hamden, crossing both Branches of the Delaware River. This drive is a hoot in late fall color. We drive all day and see two stop lights. This is an exciting drive that has been characterized as the most fun you can have in a car with your clothes on! Your route will be guided by professional maps, and you travel at your own pace, stopping wherever you wish. We gather about 9am and depart by 10am; this is when we are all together. The fee is $50 per car and the entry form can be found at www.1903autorun.com.

Rally Master Robert Selkowitz developed this program after serving on the committees to form the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway and the Catskills Visitor Center. A landscape painter with many years of roving the Catskill Mountains, he was drawn to the story of the 1903 Automobile Endurance Run as an opportunity to combine history and experience in promoting enjoyment of our region.  Our beautiful maps are produced by cartographer Liz Cruz of Cruz Cartography.

Contact: Robert Selkowitz   1903autorun@gmail.com   845-616-4550