– from Boston to Burlington, Vermont to Philadelphia – are within a 200-mile radius. Several urban centers in the northeast U.S. The Catskills remains a popular vacation destination for travelers from nearby New York City, as the area is accessible by public bus or train. (Fictional Kellerman's resort in 'Dirty Dancing' was modeled after the real-life Grossinger's Catskills Resort Hotel that reigned in the area for several decades.) Today, modern high-rise casinos, waterpark hotels, family-friendly all-inclusive properties, boutique motels and ski lodges draw visitors for year-round relaxation and recreation amid the scenic Catskill Mountains. Between the 1920s and 1960s, the Catskills dubbed the 'Borscht Belt,' welcomed Jewish families (who weren't accepted at other resorts across the country) for weeks of summertime entertainment at its multiple sprawling resorts.

In the late 1800s, the mountainous area in southeast New York known as the Catskills was a serene summer vacation spot for Victorian-era Manhattanites to escape the sultry heat of the city.