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New Paltz's Dirtiest Secrets, Best Bites & Hottest Drama — Don't Miss This!
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New Paltz's Dirtiest Secrets, Best Bites & Hottest Drama — Don't Miss This!
History, hidden gems, local eats, pampered pups & August events — New Paltz has it all! 🐾🍽️
Rep Manager AI

Rep Manager AI

Jul 31, 2026

Trivia Question❓

What name do geologists give to the dramatic ridge of resistant quartzite and conglomerate rock that looms over New Paltz and was scraped clean by glaciers during the last Ice Age?

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter

Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz is one of the oldest surviving streets in America — and walking it feels like stepping through time itself.

 

Seven stone houses, built from locally quarried quartzite in the late 1600s, still stand on their original foundations — no reconstructions, no replicas.

 

French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in France purchased land from the Esopus Munsee people in 1677 and built to last. The full history is complicated — enslaved Africans helped build and maintain these structures, and Historic Huguenot Street's tours don't shy away from that truth.

 

As a National Historic Landmark District, guided tours bring visitors inside the DuBois Fort and Hasbrouck houses, where hand-hewn beams and walk-in fireplaces still carry the weight of centuries.

 

An adjacent 18th-century cemetery adds quiet, unexpected gravity to the visit.

 

Give it an hour — two if you let yourself slow down. This is the New Paltz experience that stays with you long after you leave.


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New Paltz Mayor Alexandria Wojcik is navigating a pivotal moment for her village in New York's Hudson Valley. After considering full dissolution in 2024, New Paltz instead pursued consolidation with the surrounding town, producing a detailed 65-page joint agreement designed to protect the village's distinct character.

Wojcik highlights the community's unique mix: a large rental population, a thriving tourism scene — from Pride celebrations to fall leaf-peepers — and a close partnership with SUNY New Paltz.

As the village's first openly LGBTQ+ and female mayor, she sees her identity as both a platform and a tool for stronger community representation and civic engagement.

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The Midtown Kingston Arts District is hosting its sixth annual Draw-A-Thon, and this year the event is expanding its reach. The Draw at 22 Iwo Jima Lane will be open for twelve hours straight, welcoming artists of all skill levels — yes, even if you're a complete beginner. No drawing skills required, which is exactly what makes this event so accessible.


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Let's be honest — nobody puts "my favorite laundromat" on their social media. Laundromats live in the background of daily life: essential, overlooked, and only noticed when they aren't working. But some of New Paltz's most talked-about businesses are the ones quietly doing the unglamorous work of keeping the town running. Cherry Orchard Laundromat, at 7 Cherry Hill Road, is exactly that kind of business.


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Diane Kowalski · 2 months ago

My daughter is a junior at SUNY and she actually uses the wash and fold service during finals week. She drops everything off and picks it up…

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Joke Of The Day

Why did the GPS quit its job after routing someone through New Paltz?

It got tired of being told to "recalculate" every time a road turned into a hiking trail up the Shawangunks.

Whether you're planning a wedding at Mohonk, a corporate retreat, or a milestone birthday, New Paltz has no shortage of talented caterers — but each brings a different strength to the table. Here's a look at three of the most acclaimed and how they compare.


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If you've eaten at the Bistro at Hasbrouck House in Newburgh — the fine-dining gem tucked inside one of the oldest stone houses in America — then you know Chef Tommy Ingoglia's food. Elegant. Precise. Beautiful on the plate. But here's the thing about cooking inside a historic manor house: the building gets a vote in every menu decision. After years of pulling off that balancing act, Tommy walked away from the job everyone wanted and opened Tommy I's in January 2026 on his own terms.


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Your dog deserves a spa day — but not every groomer is built the same way. Whether you need a quick nail trim, a full breed-specific haircut, or a stress-free experience for an anxious pup, New Paltz and the surrounding area has options that go well beyond the basics. Here are three of the most trusted names and what makes each one stand out.


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Interesting Facts

New Paltz, New York holds some genuinely surprising chapters in American history and geology — here are a few you might not expect.

 

  • America's oldest surviving street: Huguenot Street in New Paltz contains a row of stone houses dating to the early 1700s and is recognized as one of the oldest streets in the United States with its original structures still standing — predating the American Revolution by decades.
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  • A Huguenot refugee colony: The town was founded in 1678 by a small group of French Huguenot refugees who had fled religious persecution in Europe. They named it after the Palatinate region of Germany, where many had taken temporary shelter before emigrating.
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  • The Wallkill's peculiar direction: The Wallkill River, which runs through the New Paltz area, flows northward — one of the relatively rare rivers in the eastern United States to do so, a quirk that puzzled early settlers accustomed to southward-draining waterways.
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  • A geological magnet for climbers: The Shawangunk Ridge just west of town exposes some of the purest quartzite conglomerate rock in the northeastern U.S., rated by many as among the finest crack-climbing rock in the world, drawing elite climbers from across the globe.
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  • Early same-sex marriage milestone: In February 2004, New Paltz Mayor Jason West performed same-sex marriages before it was legal statewide, making the village briefly the center of national legal and political debate over marriage equality — years before New York legalized it in 2011.

August in New Paltz hits different. The days are still long, the Shawangunks glow gold in the late-summer light, and the calendar fills up fast. Here are five confirmed events worth clearing your schedule for — each one a reason to get out and make the most of what's left of summer.


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💡 Answer to Trivia Question:
the Shawangunk Ridge (the Gunks)
The Best New Paltz NY Local Newsletter

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