The line between living and playing blurs when you live in a village like Warwick, NY. The downtown is a vibrant and busy business district, larger and more active than in the towns around it. It carries an old-fashioned small-town feel, but with an assortment of sophisticated shops, restaurants, galleries and stores that make it truly a pleasant place to live.
Surrounding Warwick is the rolling foothills of the Catskill mountains, replete with dairy and horse farms, wineries and farm stands. But what makes Warwick’s rural nature truly unique are the six apple orchards, ranging from 45 acres to 200 acres, all in a five-square-mile area around the village. These orchards are one of the mainstays of village life, bringing with them an active tourist industry and plenty of entertainment for locals during the warm weather months.
The Town of Warwick, NY includes three unique villages (Florida, Greenwood Lake, and Warwick) and five hamlets (Amity, Bellvale, Edenville, New Milford, and Pine Island).
History
The Warwick area was one of the earliest New York regions to be settled by British immigrants in the early 1700s. The region had been referred to as Warwick since the early eighteenth century, but a governmental form for a town named Warwick was officially created in 1788. Warwick thrived after railroads arrived in the 19th century. A caboose, made in 1890, sits east of Main Street and is now home to the village’s Chamber of Commerce.
Activities
Warwick provides opportunities for a wide selection of outdoor activities, including cross country and downhill skiing, bicycling, golfing, horseback riding, hawk watching, and hiking on the Appalachian Trail. A farmers’ market selling locally produced fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, and dairy products is held in-season weekly on the main street. Local area farms invite customers to pick their own strawberries, apples and pumpkins.
Annual Events
The Hudson Valley Jazz Festival originally named the Warwick Valley Jazz Festival, takes place during the summer, as does the annual George Washington Celebration, a tradition that commemorates a visit during the Revolutionary War from General George Washington. This free community-wide event is held by the Warwick Historical Society.
Applefest
Warwick’s most popular event, drawing upwards of 30,000 visitors over the course of one Sunday, is Warwick’s Applefest, held on the first Sunday in October on the streets and parks of the village. The festival features over 250 craft vendors displaying their handmade jewelry, stained glass, pottery, wood carvings and more, dozens of food vendors offering traditional American favorites and ethnic cuisine and fifty local non-profit exhibitors, free music and entertainment.
Dining and entertainment
The Warwick area contains the usual upstate mix of American-style restaurants, from full-service gourmet establishments to cozy bistros and loud roadhouses to pizza joints, Chinese, Indian, and delicatessens. Fortunately for Warwick diners in particular and for the entire Hudson Valley as well, the proximity of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY produces a steady stream of talented chefs, some of whom choose to land not far from the tree. Three notables are:
Iron Forge Inn
CIA grad Erik Johansen is the Chef/Owner of the Iron Forge Inn. He emphasizes local ingredients as he changes his Modern American menu each season.
Grappa Ristorante
Grappa is a modern Italian restaurant featuring the creations of CIA-trained Chef Driton “Tony” Sylaj, who celebrates the authentic, traditional specialties of Northern Italy, featuring homemade fresh pasta and seafood dishes, choice meats and a constantly changing list of nightly specials.
Landmark Inn
Chefs and Co-Owners of the Landmark Inn, Michael and Rachel DiMartino, create an atmosphere and menu to match the rich history of the Inn, with a focus on locally sourced ingredients from the Hudson Valley. Both are CIA alums.
Staying over.
The Warwick area has been popular with tourists for decades, and a significant number of hotels and inns have grown up around the area. With the popularity of the “Air B&B,” visitor’s options for overnight or longer stays have increased dramatically. Here are some highlights from the Warwick area’s list of places to place your head at night.
Warwick Valley Bed and Breakfast
Ironically, not all Bed and Breakfasts actually prepare breakfast. This one does, using fresh ingredients, many sourced from local farms, to prepare you a delicious full breakfast each morning of your stay. Breakfast includes fresh fruit, farm-fresh eggs, quality breakfast meats, whole wheat/grains and natural sugar. The inn is decorated with antiques and comes with free Wi-Fi and full bathrooms in every room.
Ashford Cottage
This charming B & B is located in Warwick proper and describes itself as having “Two frilly suites and 1 guestroom in a quaint bungalow B&B with free Wi-Fi, an outdoor pool & a gazebo.
Warwick Arms Hotel
A 19th-century coach inn, the Warwick Arms is the town’s oldest hotel, established in 1717. Its 40 rooms have been fully refurbished, and the hotel offers a full restaurant and bar, and a location in the heart of Warwick proper.
Commute/Getting there
There is no commuter rail access to Warwick, but the town’s proximity to NYC is only 56 miles by car. A New Jersey Transit bus from Port Authority takes about two hours.
Warwick School System
The Warwick Public School System uses the following statistics to communicate the quality of their Grade 9-12 schools.
Students: 1,294 students
Student:Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Minority Enrollment: 21%
NY Graduation Rate: 96% (Top 10% in NY)
NY Overall Testing Rank: Top 10%
NY Math Proficiency: 93% (Top 10%)
NY Reading Proficiency: 98% (Top 5%)
NY Diversity Score: 0.36 (Btm 50%)
To read more about living in Warwick, NY, go to Global Property Systems’ Warwick, NY Neighborhood Page.
