New York State Route 212

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NY Route 212
Length: 21.92 mi[1] (35.28 km)
Formed: 1930[2]
West end: NY 28 in Mount Tremper
Major
junctions:
I-87/Thruway in Saugerties
East end: US 9W/NY 32 in Saugerties
Counties: Ulster
Numbered highways in New York
< NY 211 NY 213 >
Interstate - U.S. - N.Y. - Reference

New York State Route 212 is a state highway located entirely within Ulster County. It runs from the interior of the Catskill Park to the west bank of the Hudson River, providing a key interchange with the New York State Thruway along the way.

It visits the picturesque and historic villages of Woodstock and Saugerties, deep woods and the largest natural body of water in the Catskills.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Communities

The commercial center of Woodstock (it is not incorporated separately as a village), is located at about the midpoint of 212 and also marks a change in the character of the surrounding lands.

[edit] West of Woodstock

The western terminus of Route 212 is an oblique intersection with NY 28 alongside Esopus Creek at the hamlet of Mt. Pleasant in the Town of Shandaken. 212 follows the creek for a little while in a more north-south direction, then crosses over its tributary, the Beaver Kill (not the better known fly fishing stream in Sullivan County), and follows it along its northside, gradually turning more toward the east.

As it passes through the quiet forest communities of Willow and Shady, it leaves the Beaver Kill. At Cooper Lake, the largest natural lake in the Catskills (though it has been expanded to serve as the main reservoir for Kingston), it picks up the Saw Kill River, another tributary of the Esopus.

It winds on into Bearsville, home of Todd Rundgren's eponymous record label, and then reaches Woodstock itself.

[edit] East of Woodstock

212 goes through the hamlet, often populated with visitors on warmer summer weekends, as its main street. Many of the boutiques along it and the side streets live up to the area's bohemian reputation as a hippie refuge (although the famous 1969 Woodstock Festival, which has the most to do with this, was actually held in Bethel, 50 miles away in Sullivan County). Tie-dyed clothing and scented candles are in abundance, although they do not come cheap.

Eventually 212 reaches its junction with NY 375, which ends the downtown section. In more open rural country here, it crosses the Blue Line and leaves the Catskill Park, although Overlook Mountain begins to loom to the north. Winding past the nearly-vanished hamlets of Veteran and Centerville, it at last reaches the Thruway, joined by NY 32, which comes in from the north just before the overpass.

On the other side of the toll road is the heavily developed outskirts of Saugerties itself, where 212 finally comes to its eastern end when 32 joins with US 9W.

[edit] History

All of NY 212 was assigned in the 1930 renumbering. The route was previously unnumbered.[2]

[edit] Major intersections

County Location Mile[1] Roads intersected Notes
Ulster Mount Tremper 0.00 NY 28
Woodstock 12.09 NY 375 Northern terminus of NY 375
Town of Saugerties 20.58 NY 32 north Western terminus of overlap
20.66 I-87/Thruway Exit 20 (I-87/Thruway)
Village of Saugerties 21.92 NY 32 south
US 9W
Eastern terminus of NY 32/212 overlap

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Traffic Data Report - NY 121 to NY 213 (PDF). NYSDOT (2007-07-16). Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
  2. ^ a b Leon A. Dickinson. "New Signs for State Highways", New York Times, 1930-01-12, p. 136. 

[edit] External links