The upper reaches of Ulster County extend along the Upper Hudson Valley, where, in the glory days of train travel from New York City in the late 19th century, steam trains brought thousands of people seeking country refuge at grand hotels like the Catskill Mountain House and Mohonk Mountain House to the station at Catskill. There they were met by horse-drawn carriages for their long rides up into the mountains. But most of the northeastern section of the Catskills is rural Greene County, the biggest ski destination in the Catskill Mountains. Though for years, much of the region lived off of ski tourism and little else, today a number of the sleepy little towns in Greene County are receiving new injections of life in the form of inns, restaurants, and cultural organizations.
