The 4-Hour Rule: Foxfire Mountain House

Stipulated: the perfect travel time for a three-day weekend getaway is four hours. More, and you waste your vacation. Less, and you’re still near home. Hence our series, The 4hr. Rule, dedicated to revealing the best destinations that are far away, yet still close to home.

We’ve all had this conversation on a Monday:

“What did you do this weekend?” “Nothing.” “Ah man, that’s the best.”

Canceled plans are the grown man’s snow day. So today — which happens to be our National Day of Unplugging (yes, a thing) — we have a word of advice for you:

Put down your phone (as soon as you finish reading this, of course) and cancel your plans.

Then head Upstate, where a rustic, Walden-esque new getaway awaits. It’s called the Foxfire Mountain House, it’s got a two-person hot tub, and it’s far enough out there that you might just not get a signal.

Now get up there and do nothing.

STAY
Foxfire Mountain House, Mt. Tremper

Situated in the Catskills/Hudson Valley region, the 10-room, newly opened Foxfire Mountain House is a little place that you probably have yet to hear of until now. Scattered about 10 verdant acres, you’ll find the hotel, “the Mountain House,” a lily pond with conjoined gazebo and fire pit, the Foxfire Cottage and little else. To achieve maximum off-the-grid-ness, go for the Cottage, with its taxidermy-laden living room, a fireplace, a full-sized kitchen and a two-person hot tub.

EAT

Foxfire is only about 20 minutes from town, so there are options. For starters, there’s Peekamoose. If you don’t already know it, you’re in for a treat. Their Short Rib with Truffled Bordelaise? Coma-inducing. For daytime eats, go for Phoenicia Diner, Bread Alone or Scandinavian Grace. And if you’re in the mood for briefly powering up the phone to make a dinner reservation, there’s Italian cuisine set in a handsomely restored farmhouse at Cucina.

PLAY

The area offers some of the state’s best hiking. The pick of the litter: a long, steady, very doable stroll to Overlook Mountain. On the steeper, more strenuous, but worth-it-for-the-views side, try Panther Mountain. Post-hike, go for some beyond-the-lodge relaxation at the Emerson Spa followed by a brew at local dive Snyder’s Tavern.