Warwick, Chester, & Sugar Loaf

Thomas Smith

Black farm soil in Chester.

It's a cliché to say a view looks like a painting, but there's really no better way to describe the views one sees driving through the communities of Warwick, Chester, and Sugar Loaf. Here, the mountains and hills frame majestically rolling fields, and this time of year fall foliage lights the region in multicolored splendor. The area is known as the black dirt region and is home to a rare, dark and extremely fertile soil. This dark earth provides a striking contrast with the green corn fields and cow grazing pastures.

But there's more to the region than the views. These hills are alive with the sound of music (there are several wonderful concert venues in the area) and also with the sounds of artisans hard at work and villages bustling with high end shops that offer unique wares. Main streets in quaint villages maintain their historic charm, and despite the peaceful country vibe there is plenty for visitors to do. The area is a great destination for hikers and bikers in the warmer months and in the winter is a skiing hotspot.

Thomas Smith

Peter and Manin Vonuchtrup at 18th Century Furniture and Builders in Sugar Loaf.

It's the type of place that residents say people come to in order to escape from the stress of their regular lives, where visitors can wander for an afternoon, a day, or even a week. However, visitors should be warned it's a place where—as made evident by the abundance of farms all around—roots tend to take hold.

Warwick
Occupying over 100 square miles of land with multiple hamlets and three villages (Florida, Greenwood Lake, and the Village of Warwick), Warwick is a big area and has a big country feel. It's the kind of place where it's easy to picture John Wayne galloping across a field. A historic area (it was here that Sterling Iron Works built the Hudson River Chain that kept the British Navy from sailing up the Hudson during the Revolutionary War), Warwick continues to honor its past. Main Street in the Village of Warwick remains free of generic chain stores. Shops such as Blue and Frazzleberries Country Store sell products in a specific style.

Thomas Smith

Fresh tacos at Taco Hombre in Warwick.

"We call it country-politan," says Katie Schlichting, who owns Frazzleberries with her mother-in-law, Mary Beth Schlichting. The rustic and simultaneously high-end and sophisticated wares offered at Frazzleberries include jewelry, candles, and country-themed furniture. "It's things that make people feel good," Katie says.

She adds that Warwick also gives off a feel-good vibe: "It's a step back in time, I think Warwick provides an escape for a lot of people."

While wandering along Main Street, you'll find places like the Sugar Shack Café, a cute pastry shop overlooking a brook that offers tasty, gluten-free options, and Fetch Bar & Grill, a canine-themed restaurant that caters to humans but also offers complimentary water and small treats for our four-legged friends. Main Street is also home to classic bars, such as Yesterday's Restaurant and Pub and Eddie's Roadhouse. Hungry visitors won't want to miss a chance to dine at Taco Hombre, where this reporter enjoyed an extensive burrito with everything in the name of field research.

One of the newer additions to Main Street in Warwick is Ye Olde Warwick Book Shoppe. A bookstore that features new, used, rare, and collectible books. Owner Tom Roberts opened the store about a year and a half ago. He had wanted to open a shop in Warwick for a while but available spaces "rent very fast." So far business is booming for the new bookstore, and Roberts hopes to expand to the floor above his current shop by November. He says he's happy to be a part of Warwick's Main Street. "It's just a charming, Victorian-esque village," he says.

Leaving the Village of Warwick, one can be moved by the spirits at the Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery and the Applewood Winery. Hikers can pick up the Appalachian Trail at several points within Warwick. A popular stop for travelers is the community of Greenwood Lake, located on Orange County's biggest freshwater lake. Celebrities including New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter have homes here, and the community served as the backdrop for last year's film The Magic of Belle Isle, which was directed by Rob Reiner and stars Morgan Freeman.

The views from Thomas P. Morahan Beach, the town beach, are stunning. The gazebo at the beach is bordered on three sides by water and is an ideal picnicking spot. In warm weather months, there's a concert series held at the park on a waterside stage.

When leaving Greenpoint Lake Village and heading down the mountain, visitors won't want to miss the chance to stop at Bellvale Farms Gourmet Ice Cream Creamery. The ice cream shop location offers an unparalleled view of the valley below, not to mention the ice cream, which is produced from cows at the farm and will delight your taste buds.

Sugar Loaf
If you leave Warwick, you can drive a short distance to the nearby village of Sugar Loaf, a hamlet within the town of Chester. As you enter Sugar Loaf a sign welcomes you with the words "Sugar Loaf—Community of Craftsmen—Founded Circa 1749"; banners throughout the village state the community's proud slogan "Shop—Work—Live." Visitors will find that the signs don't lie; here, the word artisan can be used again and again to describe almost everything you encounter. Located under Sugar Loaf Mountain, the village is home to about 30 independent business people, many of whom live and work in original barns that date back to the 1700s.

Thomas Smith

At Sugar Loaf Candle Shop, visitors can choose from a variety of wellcrafted candles that provide a soft, comforting light, as well as various scents. They can get clean with fewer chemicals if they shop at Rosner's Traditional Soap Makers. Owned by Kiki and Yaron Rosner, who learned the art of soap making while living in France, Rosner's offers soaps, body oils, and bath salts that come in a variety of styles and scents.

There are multiple resident artists in Sugar Loaf and visitors can tour open art studios and meet the artists who live and create in the village. Sugar Loaf is a place that visitors will want to linger in—just remember to bring a bag to fill with new purchases.

In addition to the galleries and stores, Sugar Loaf is home to a bustling music scene. The Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center is a nonprofit volunteer run organization that brings world-class entertainment to the village. The village also hosts the Sugar Loaf Music Series, which will present jazz guitarist Jack Wilkins and bassist Harvey S. on November 17 at the Seligmann Center for the Arts.

Chester
In nearby Chester, you'll find a small but quaint downtown. From the downtown you can see the black earth of nearby farms, and there's a strong sense of the region's agricultural connections. Chester was a major player in the 1800s dairy industry, and it was here that Philadelphia Cream Cheese was born­­—despite what you might expect from the product's name. In the 1870s, Chester dairy man William Lawrence accidentally developed a method of producing cream cheese while trying to reproduce a French cheese, and Philadelphia Cream Cheese was born—much to the delight of bagel lovers everywhere.

Thomas Smith

The Castle Fun Center in Chester.

The downtown connects to the Heritage Trail behind the old train station. The Heritage Trial is an 11.5-mile, paved rail trial that runs from Goshen to Monroe passing through Chester on the way. This trail is great for biking, rollerblading, or just strolling. Walking on this peaceful trail, one gets more views of the black earth farms and a powerful sense of the land. Visitors can sample some of the agricultural offerings of the region at the Chester farmer's market on Sundays from 9am to 3pm from June to October.

You can end your visit to the region at Touch Base Bar and Grill. Located across the street from the Chester entrance to Heritage Trail, Touch Base is a bar dedicated to sports and craft beer. At Touch Base there's a concerted effort never to be snobby about the bar's craft beer offerings, as the about section on the bar's website states it is "a fine craft beer bar and grill without the pretentiousness of a Manhattan gastro pub." Recent tap offerings at the bar include the Warwick-brewed Doc's Pumpkin Cider, Twisted Pines IPA, and Lake Placid Ubu Ale. There are others as well, but they proved too numerous for this journalist to sample, even in the name of journalistic integrity. All and all, Touch Base is a great place to sip a cold brew as you toast your day's adventure and maybe catch a game or two.