The Town of Ulster, NY, home to Hamlets Lake Katrine and Ruby, is known as the business hub of Ulster County and “the Hudson Valley’s Gateway to Beauty and Business.” Nestled in the Valley at the foot of the Catskill Mountains, Ulster is 90 miles north of New York City and 50 miles south of Albany, directly off Route 87. The Town almost completely surrounds the City of Kingston, New York State’s first capital, and also provides easy access to Rhinebeck and Red Hook, as well as Saugerties and Woodstock.

Created by an act of the Ulster County Board of Supervisors in 1879, with land taken from the Town of Kingston, Ulster is popular today for its summer festivals and County fairs; shopping along Ulster Ave/Route 9W; and skiing, fishing, boating and hiking outside the Town center.

Residents and visitors enjoy the Town’s Charles Rider and Robert Post Parks along the Hudson River, as well as Esopus Creek, which flows northward through the center of town.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Town of Ulster was created in 1879 as protest against what was considered political malfeasance by the authorities of the Town of Kingston. Earlier that year, a New York Times article stated, “The election today in the Town of Kingston, famous for plunder and pauperism, the Ring and the ruffian element combined to defeat the tax-payers’ ticket…”