Gina Hansut, a member of the Ulster County Legislature, was born and raised in Highland, a hamlet in the Town of Lloyd, whose slogan is “where the mountains meet the river.” The lifelong resident treasures Highland for its natural setting, sense of community, and small-town feel. “I love the location, the beauty of the Hudson River, and the fact that it’s 10 minutes from a train station that can take you into the city,” Hansut says.
The location has been a selling point for new residents for 270 years. European settlers first came to Lloyd in 1754, when Anthony Yelverton crossed the river from Poughkeepsie and built a home, store, sawmill, and a ferry service that cemented Yelverton’s Landing (now Highland’s Landing) as a crucial port for shipping goods to NYC.
Today, people flock to Highland not only for its accessibility to the city (the Poughkeepsie Metro-North station is a short drive across the river), but also to Poughkeepsie, New Paltz, Kingston, and Albany—all while preserving natural spaces for the public to enjoy.
The lifestyle afforded by Highland’s desirable location was one of the reasons Town Supervisor David Plavchak, who retired from a career at IBM in 2018, moved to the region back in 1980. “It was less congested than where I was working in Poughkeepsie, and you still have the mountains and access to lots of trails.” Plavchak is not the only one who sees the allure of the area—the Census Bureau estimates a population of 6,545 in 2022, up from 6,385 in 2020 and 5,647 in 2010.
The Culture
In the downtown area of Highland, along Vineyard Avenue and Main Street, you’ll find a handful of galleries and schools to view visual arts and learn performing arts. Studio 89 is an artist-run gallery, shop, and workspace that shows and sells pieces from local makers, and Knaus Gallery & Wine Bar lets visitors sip on vino while admiring pottery, prints, paintings, and more. For instrument lessons, head to Jacobs Music Center; enroll your child in a theater program at From Stage to Screen; and all ages can learn dance at Gina Marie’z.
According to Plavchak, regular gatherings play a major role in creating Highland’s tight-knit community. “Everybody pretty much knows everybody. We try to have at least one event a month to get people to congregate in the town,” he says. Seasonal events include the Fall Night Out in September, Walktoberfest at the Walkway Over the Hudson and Halloween in the Hamlet in October, and holiday fetes come December.
Family Life
Children attend schools in the Highland Central School District, rated the second best in Ulster County on niche.com. Hansut says Highland was a great place to raise her family, citing the small school district as a factor. In the 2022-2023 school year, 1,565 kids were enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Highland’s semi-rural setting offers an array of family-friendly walking, hiking, and biking trails. You can view the ruins of a 19th-century estate on one of the trails at Franny Reese State Park; trek to Poughkeepsie on the 1.28-mile-long Walkway Over the Hudson (part of the Empire State Trail); and enjoy the waterfront at the Bob Shepard Highland Landing Park. For more fun—like horseback riding and a waterpark—head to Rocking Horse Ranch.
On the Town
Despite its size (the hamlet is only 5.4 square miles), Highland has a business district buzzing with eateries. Near the Walkway, try Pomodoro for pizza, and Frozen Caboose for ice cream; grab drinks at brewpub Hudson Ale Works; get espresso, beer, and small bites at café-slash-bar Underground Coffee & Ales; order your morning BEC at On a Roll Deli; dine on Italian at Vigneto Café; sample Filipino fare at Hapag Bistro; and go to El Paso Paso for Mexican food. A few shops are sprinkled between the restaurants, including gift store Lilly Rae in the Hamlet and Sari Sari Boutique & Asian Grocery.
Hansut recalls, “[Years back,] someone said that Highland was not on the map. Now, Highland is a destination. You can see it when people go from the Walkway to the Rail Trail and then walk into the village for a meal.” Highland is not the sleepy hamlet Hansut grew up in, but its small-town feel remains. “We’ve grown, but I hope that, as people move to our area, they can gain that sense of community that’s always been around.”
To find a real estate agent in Highland or any Hudson Valley town check out near-me.hvmag.com/realtors
Related: Rosendale Is a Sweet Hamlet to Settle Down in the Hudson Valley
