Boating, Fishing, and Travel Information for Kingston, NY

Kingston, in Ulster County, New York, has three recognized area neighborhoods. The Uptown Stockade Area, The Midtown Area, and The Downtown Waterfront Area. The Uptown Stockade District was the first capital of New York State. Meanwhile, the Midtown area is known for its early 20th century industries and is home to the Ulster Performing Arts Center and the historic City Hall building. The city is on the west bank of the Hudson River. Neighboring towns include Hurley, Saugerties, Rhinebeck, and Red Hook.

The downtown area, once the village of Rondout and now the Rondout-West Strand Historic District, borders the Rondout Creek and includes a recently redeveloped waterfront. The creek empties into the Hudson River through a large, protected tidal area which was the terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, built to haul coal from Pennsylvania to New York City.

The Rondout neighborhood is known for its artists’ community and its numerous art galleries; in 2007 Business Week online named it as among “America’s best places for artists.” It is also the site of a number of festivals, including the Kingston Jazz Festival and the Artists Soapbox Derby.

Midtown is the largest of Kingston’s neighborhoods, home to Kingston High School and both campuses of HealthAlliance Hospital, part of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network; HealthAlliance Broadway Campus (formerly The Kingston Hospital) and HealthAlliance Mary’s Avenue Campus (formerly Benedictine Hospital).

While the Uptown area is noted for its “antique” feeling, the overhangs attached to buildings along Wall and North Front streets were added to historic buildings in the late 1970s and are not authentically part of the 19th century Victorian architecture. The historic covered storefront walks, known as the Pike Plan, were recently reinforced and modernized with skylights. In the Stockade district of Uptown, many 17th century stone buildings remain. Many of these old buildings were burned by the British Oct. 17, 1777, and restored later.

See our weather radar, buoy data, marine forecast, and current weather for Kingston, NY. 

Other Helpful Resources: 

• Boat Launch Sites for Ulster County, NY
• Hudson River Cruises
• Marinas near Kingston, NY