Forestburgh
Forestburgh, NY: eagles, rivers and summer theater
A small town in Sullivan County, about 1,200 feet up, where the nearest neighbors are a summer theater and a bald eagle roost.
Photo: Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
1,212 ft
elevation at the estate
3 min
to the Mongaup Falls eagle blind
43 in
of snow in an average winter
Mid-Oct
peak foliage, four years running
December to mid-March
Bald eagles winter three minutes from the house
Wintering bald eagles gather on the Mongaup Falls Reservoir. The state runs a roadside viewing blind on County Route 43, the Dr. Ted Kerpez Memorial Eagle Viewing Blind, with a small gravel lot. The DEC says the eagles arrive in December, peak in January and February, and mostly leave by mid-March.
Best light
Early morning and near sunset
Second blind
Rio Reservoir, off Plank Road, about 11 minutes
On the water
No ice fishing on the reservoir; it is eagle habitat
The Mongaup River below the reservoirs. Photo: Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Late June to mid-September
Summer musicals at the end of the road
The Forestburgh Playhouse, three minutes away, bills itself as New York’s oldest operating professional summer theatre. The Forestburgh Tavern next door serves dinner and runs cabarets during the season. The 2027 lineup has not been announced yet; this is how 2026, the 80th season, ran. It closed with Once, September 8 to 13.
Forestburgh Playhouse
Murder for Two
The Bridges of Madison County
Dear Evan Hansen
Hairspray
Million Dollar Quartet
Come From Away
The Delaware at Barryville
Canoe, kayak and raft liveries; river season mid-April to October · 35 min
Neversink River Unique Area
6,580 acres of gorge and waterfalls, dawn to dusk, free · 15 min
Roebling’s Delaware Aqueduct
Begun in 1847, now a one-lane bridge you can walk · 39 min
Photos: Jag9889, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; FeldBum, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Bestbudbrian, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Life jackets
Required on the Upper Delaware from November 1 to April 30, and whenever the river is at 6 feet or higher.
Mongaup releases
Scheduled whitewater releases from mid-April to the end of October, for experienced paddlers rather than tubing.
Trout season
April 1 to October 15 on most streams, then catch-and-release with artificial lures.
Four seasons, one heated pool
Winter
Highs near 33°F in January and about 10 inches of snow a month. Eagle season, and skiing at Holiday Mountain when there is snow.
Spring
Last frost usually in early May. Trout season opens April 1 and the river liveries open from mid-April.
Summer
July highs near 80°F. The Playhouse season, Bethel Woods concerts and the busiest weeks on the Delaware.
Fall
First frost in early October and peak color in mid to late October, by the state’s weekly foliage reports for Forestburgh.
Month by month on the home page
When the group wants a day out
Map of every place
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Concerts and a 1960s museum on the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival
Resorts World Catskills
Casino, restaurants and bars in Monticello
The Kartrite indoor waterpark
Year-round, closed some weekdays; day passes required
Holiday Mountain
Skiing and snow tubing, roughly mid-December to March, weather permitting
Lake Superior State Park
Sand beach and boat rentals in summer, sledding in winter
Sullivan County Museum
County history museum, library and archives in Hurleyville
Forestburg Town Hall
Photo: Bkswrites, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Make the estate your base camp
Eagles in winter, theater in summer, color in October, and a heated pool in every month.