The blur of beach days, park movies, and boozy al fresco brunches fondly known as summer is a wonderful thing—if unremarkable compared to all the summers before it. You try to do something different, but always seem to end up enjoying the heat like everybody else.
This July, you have a chance to go where no New Yorker has gone before: The Spruceton Inn. It’s a new B&B (that’s bed and bar) in the Catskills, less than three hours from the city. Here, there’s everything you never knew you always wanted—or could actually afford—in a summer retreat. It’s got mountains and creeks, eight acres of meadows, games like horseshoe, bocce, and croquet, and outdoor BBQs for grilling fresh trout and sausages.
Owners Casey and Steven are a husband and wife team from Brooklyn who had a crazy idea and, like many New Yorkers with a dream, made it happen. Outdoor expert Steven will start your bonfire and send you off towards the best hike. Creative Casey will give you a push on the swing along with graphic design tips for your blog. There is complimentary breakfast, Cafe Grumpy coffee, Waldo the friendly hound, and a thousand stars you haven’t seen in a while.
There wasn’t a television when the property came to be in the early 1800s, and there aren’t any around today. While there is free wifi, you’ll enjoy the pleasures of unplugging at this place, once a Dutch farm then a motel operated by a Schwarzenegger, and now your best bet for some serious R&R (that’s running wild and rocking out to nature).
Besides Steven and Casey and Waldo, there will be a few other visitors that will become lifelong friends (or not), but you can be sure that no other guest will be as lucky as you (and your travel mate) since you’ll be staying there for two nights—on the house. Plus, you’ll have free brunch at the Phoenicia Diner, a whitewater tubing adventure, a scenic mountain train ride, and roundtrip transportation by Carpingo. That is, if you enter to win it all.
Send us a postcard, will ya?
This contest is brought to you by our wonderful partners, Brooklyn Based, Well + Good NYC, and Carpingo. To enter to win a getaway to the Catskills, visit http://bit.ly/getupstate.
Top shot: Mitchell Joyce
The co-founder and editor-at-large at offMetro, Lauren is a sustainable travel specialist and freelance journalist with frequent bylines in National Geographic, Bicycling Magazine and Shape. Follow Lauren’s adventures at @laurenmati.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram