New York State Route 212

New York State Route 212 (NY 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.

1 Route description
- 1.1 West of Woodstock
- 1.2 East of Woodstock
2 History
3 Major intersections
4 References
5 External links

Route description

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.

West of Woodstock

The western terminus of Route 212 is an oblique intersection with NY 28 alongside Esopus Creek at the hamlet of Mount Tremper 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.

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 (80 km) 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.

History

All of NY 212 was assigned in the 1930 renumbering. The route was previously unnumbered.^[1]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Ulster County.

Location	Mile^[2]	Destinations	Notes
Shandaken	0.00	NY 28	Hamlet of Mount Tremper
Woodstock	12.09	NY 375	Hamlet of Woodstock; northern terminus of NY 375
Town of Saugerties	20.58	NY 32 north	Western terminus of NY 32 / NY 212 overlap
Town of Saugerties	20.66	I-87 / Thruway	Exit 20 (I-87/Thruway)
Village of Saugerties	21.92	US 9W / NY 32 south	Eastern terminus of NY 32 / NY 212 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

^ ^a ^b Dickinson, Leon A. (January 12, 1930). "New Signs for State Highways". The New York Times: p. 136.
^ ^a ^b "2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. p. 188. https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/NYSDOT%20TVR%202008%20by%20Route.pdf. Retrieved February 1, 2010.