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Getting 12 people to agree on a weekend away is an exercise in logistics. Someone wants to hike; someone else would rather browse antique shops; a few people are already asking what’s for dinner. My ideal group getaway? One that leaves room for all of it, with a house you're excited to return to in between excursions. On a recent October weekend, my friends and I—a total of six couples—found that combination at Schoonmaker Retreat, tucked in the quaint Hudson Valley hamlet of High Falls.
As a lifelong New Yorker, I’ve made plenty of trips to the Catskills and Hudson Valley, but High Falls, Rosendale, and Accord were towns I hadn’t yet gotten to know. Rosendale had been on my radar thanks to the introduction of Six Bells Countryside Inn, a delightfully whimsical, British-inspired hotel, and the surrounding area seemed ripe for a fall weekend of vintage shopping, cider tasting, and lots of leaf-peeping. We lucked into a real Goldilocks window, with timing just right for trees to stand ablaze with reds, yellows, and the last bits of green. The weather was crisp, but still sunny enough to sit outside for hours, from long orchard lunches to cozy s’more nights.
The Schoonmaker Retreat is in Ulster County, which straddles the towns of Rosendale and Marbletown. With two separate houses, a rushing creek running through the grounds, and a sauna and a cedar barrel hot tub beside the water, the sprawling estate gave our group a place to gather (or rather, frolic) between outings.
We arrived on a Friday, trickling in at different times before tackling the first order of business: choosing bedrooms. The property has two historic buildings—the main, more contemporary Schoonmaker House and the slightly smaller, rustic-chic, and creekside Coach House. The latter is the property’s original base, used as a fort used for Mr. Schoonmaker himself during the Revolutionary War.
With six couples, having two separate houses gave us space to spread out while keeping everyone close enough to gather for dinner, drinks, and games. It was an ideal size, too, with a bedroom for each couple, all filled with vintage finds, modern-rustic finishes, and loads of cottagecore design. There was no fussing over rooms—everyone agreed their bed was ultra-cozy. Since I’d found the house, my friends let me claim the primary bedroom in the main house. (How could I say no?) It had a vaulted, beamed ceiling; cloud-like king bed; and bathtub-and-rain-shower combination straight out of my dreams.
While there’s no kitchen, the more rustic Coach House did have some impressive modern conveniences, including an automatic water dispenser for filling water bottles. Between the appliances and the design details throughout, we were all impressed by how much thought the hosts had put into making the houses feel both beautiful and genuinely comfortable to stay in.
Once everyone had staked out their sleeping quarters, we took a quick drive into High Falls for dinner at the buzzy Ollie’s Pizza. Housed in a renovated barn, the restaurant serves wood-fired pizzas alongside salads and meatballs—a crowd-pleaser that spared us the feat of cooking for 12 immediately after arrival. Back at the retreat, we reconvened in the main house for a Top Chef–inspired cocktail competition game. The kitchen was more than equipped for the chaos, with an electric kettle, cocktail shaker, cutting boards, and plenty of counter space.
Saturday was our day to get out and explore: After cooking up some eggs and facing a crossword puzzle in the sunroom-like den, we started with a hike up Joppenbergh Mountain, less than a 10-minute drive away in Rosendale. Afterward, we stopped at The Big Cheese on Main Street for coffee and made our way to Creekside Bar and Bistro for a relaxed lunch outside beside the creek; sitting outside by the water was the perfect post-hike move.
We went home to change, and then it was on to Westwind Orchard in Accord, one of my favorite stops of the weekend. The orchard and cidery serves pizzas and pastas alongside hot or cold cider, and hosts live music as folks linger along the outdoor tables with drinks and games. With the fall foliage showing off, I wouldn’t wish to spend an October afternoon any other way.
Dinner was at Accord Social, just a 15-minute drive away, for pastas, salads, and branzinos galore, plus our fair share of martinis and wine. For dessert, we returned to the house for s’mores roasted around the firepit. There are two on the property: a larger one near the Coach House, beside the creek, and a smaller one closer to the main house. We chose the latter, which made it easy to pop inside for extra chocolate and marshmallows.
Sunday brought the only rain of the weekend, and our group split off to pursue all different kinds of plans. One group drove to the ever-endearing town of Kingston, about 20 minutes away, while my partner and I used the day to explore more vintage stores, shops, and farm stands nearby. We popped into Clubhouse Vintage, Postmark Books, and Soiled Dove, all shops I could've happily lingered longer in—but the prospect of returning home to the sauna and hot tub had its own magnetism.
While some jumped in the creek as a sort of cold plunge, others warmed up in the hot tub, and watched the creek rushing past faster than the day before thanks to the rainfall. Fairy lights surrounded the area like a storybook, and somehow it all looked even more magical in the day’s fog. It was a lovely reminder that we didn’t need perfect weather—or another outing—to make the most of our time here.
Even with the rain, the sunroom-like den remained my favorite corner of the house to read, sip on coffee, or take a moment to myself before breakfast. A huge picture window looked out onto the surrounding greenery, while a gallery wall and plush sofa bed made it a comfortable place to curl up with Bernie, our friends’ dog (the house is super dog-friendly, with no added fee), or simply turn a book’s pages.
That night, we regrouped in the main house to cook dinner together and play even more games. The kitchen and outdoor grills had everything we needed to make a family-style meal for the group, while the two long dining tables, each seating six, meant we could all sit down together. We rushed to the sprawling living room after dinner, and talked about how we really ought to do trips like this more often.