A few hours north of New York City, the Hudson River gives way to an idyllic mountain landscape of storybook towns, fertile farmland and hundreds of miles of hiking paths.

This is the Catskills, a fast-growing rural retreat that has become a favorite for New Yorkers seeking everything from a quick weekend reset to a scenic farm venue for their wedding.

The region has experienced a notable revival over the past decade, with momentum accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic as travelers and new full- or part-time residents brought fresh energy to local villages and towns.

That surge of interest extends well beyond the usual weekend crowd.

Joseph Satto, broker and principal of Fresh Air Team at Compass, a firm focused on high-end Catskills real estate, said demand for second homes and weekend properties has risen sharply.

‘We still have a slight supply shortage,’ Satto told the Daily Mail. ‘And it just seems like there’s always more demand than there is supply, even in a high interest rate environment.’

Most of those buyers come from urban areas, Satto said. New York City residents account for the largest share, followed by purchasers from New Jersey and Long Island.

Foster Supply Company, which launched its first hotel, The Arnold House, in 2014, has since expanded to operate four Catskills properties. 

The Daily Mail was invited to stay at one of Foster Supply Company’s properties, the luxurious DeBruce hotel in Livingston Manor, New York, where rooms start at $449 per night.

The DeBruce is one of several upscale hotels that have opened in the area over the past decade as visitor numbers have grown – a trend that has accelerated as Americans increasingly look for getaways that offer the escape of an international vacation without the airfare, airport delays and exhausting itineraries. 

But travel planner Andrés Serra, head of operations at Optimise Travel, said he would not describe the trend as Americans abandoning international travel altogether.

‘I don’t think Americans are giving up on international travel,’ Serra told the Daily Mail. ‘Instead, I notice that people save long-haul flights for trips that feel worth the cost and effort and pick domestic spots for shorter getaways.’

Cost is also playing a role. According to Deloitte’s 2026 summer travel survey, just 45 percent of Americans planned a summer vacation with paid accommodation, the lowest level in six years.

Among those staying home, 35 percent said they could not afford a trip, while 32 percent said travel was too expensive. Those who were traveling expected to spend 17 percent more on their longest summer trip than they did in 2025.

For New Yorkers, Serra said, the Catskills can offer something that is difficult to replicate on a short international trip – ample vacation time without flights cutting in.

‘If you live in New York City and want to get away for three or four nights, the Catskills let you spend more of your time actually on vacation,’ he said. ‘Many areas are just a two to three-hour drive away.’

A short trip to Europe, by comparison, can involve an overnight flight, arriving at the airport hours early to get through check-in and customs and dealing with transfers at both ends.

‘All of that can eat up most of your first and last days,’ Serra said.

Driving also gives travelers more control over what they pack and when they leave – while allowing them to bring pets and avoid some of the costs associated with flying.

‘One car can replace two return plane tickets, checked bag fees, airport transfers, and some local transport,’ Serra said.

The shift comes as lodging continues to outperform, with short-term rental demand rising 2 percent and hotel RevPAR climbing 8.2 percent nationally, according to July 2026 data from the US Travel Association’s Travel Insights Dashboard.

For New Yorkers, that can mean swapping a European getaway for a three-hour drive to the mountains.

Kirsten Harlow Foster founded Foster Supply Company with her husband and partner, Sims Foster. She told the Daily Mail they are seeing more and more guests turn their Catskills trips into extended vacations rather than just a quick weekend escape.

‘You’re not getting on a plane, you’re not dealing with all sorts of logistical chaos,’ Harlow Foster told the Daily Mail. ‘You’re just getting in your car and throwing your hiking boots in the back.’ 

The company’s guest data shows that visitors are becoming increasingly loyal to the region.

Some 3,856 of their guests have returned after visiting one Foster Supply property, while the company’s most frequent guest has made 49 visits totaling 79 room nights.

More recently, Foster Supply has noticed guests staying at two of its properties on a single trip – turning a weekend getaway into a more deliberate regional tour.

Serra said the Catskills’ variety makes it particularly well suited to longer stays.

‘The Catskills are great for planning because you can stay in one place and still enjoy different kinds of trips,’ he said. ‘I can organize hiking, restaurant visits, and time in different small towns without needing to switch hotels.’

‘This way, a four-night stay feels varied, but you don’t have to schedule every day full of activities.’

And not all visitors are capitalizing on their PTO. In fact, these longer stays are also being helped by the flexibility of remote work.

Catapulted to popularity during the height of the pandemic, Serra said remote work can allow visitors to add nights to a trip without using additional vacation days. 

Deloitte’s survey even found that 34 percent of surveyed travelers planned to work during their longest summer trip in 2026, up from 23 percent in 2025.

‘Someone might arrive on Thursday evening, work from the accommodation on Friday, take the weekend off, work on Monday, and return that evening,’ he said. ‘That turns a two-night weekend into a four-night stay.’

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Staying longer can also have a bigger economic impact on the communities visitors are exploring.

‘Someone staying two nights might just pay for a place to stay and one dinner out,’ Serra said. ‘But if they stay four or five nights, they’re more likely to buy groceries, try different cafes, book a guide, and spend money in more than one town.’

That longer-stay model is particularly significant in a region where tourism has become a major economic engine. In 2025, visitors spent about $2.77 billion in the Catskills, more than they did the year before, according to the latest New York tourism report.

Ulster County saw about $1.24 billion in visitor spending, while Sullivan County received around $1.03 billion.

Tourism supported 18,848 jobs in the region, making up 15.7 percent of all local employment.

Serra cautioned that the figures do not prove remote workers or New York City residents alone caused the region’s growth. 

‘They just show how large and active the Catskills visitor economy is, even though people travel for many different reasons,’ he said.

Foster Supply is one of many boutique stays in the area that have capitalized on this interest, putting their own spin on the Catskills by investing heavily in culinary, design and wellness offerings, from restaurants sourcing produce from nearby farmers to spas at two of its properties. 

At The DeBruce, the restaurant offers a seasonal tasting menu that changes throughout the year, using ingredients tied to the surrounding region.

‘You don’t have to fly to Paris to get a great meal,’ Harlow Foster said.

Harlow Foster told us the company is not trying to compete with the Ritz, but wants to offer guests beautiful properties, thoughtful design, good food and amenities in an environment where they can actually slow down.

‘Less is more, as long as that less is executed perfectly,’ she said.

That idea is playing out beyond Foster Supply’s properties, too.

Livingston Manor’s Main Street has a nice mix of longtime local businesses and newer restaurants, shops and galleries that have arrived alongside the influx of New Yorkers. 

There is Johnny’s barbershop and Viv’s salon alongside Main Street Farm, a small bookstore and CAST, an arts organization that offers free exhibitions and art classes.

Harlow Foster said the result is a town that feels like a community rather than a tourist development dropped into the mountains.

‘It’s a nice combination,’ she said. ‘It doesn’t feel like it’s been cut and placed here.’

The same pattern can be seen in nearby hamlets including Jeffersonville, Callicoon, Narrowsburg and Roscoe, where new residents and businesses have arrived alongside long-established local institutions.

That growing appetite for the Catskills has also continued to push up property prices.

Satto said prices have continued to rise since the pandemic boom, driven largely by a mismatch between demand and supply.

‘Even though prices spiked, you’re still seeing prices go up,’ he said. ‘It’s just a function of supply and demand.’

For appropriately priced properties, he said, the region remains ‘very much’ a seller’s market – although sellers who overestimate what buyers are willing to pay can struggle to move their homes.

The bigger shift, Satto said, is in the type of buyer willing to spend millions on a Catskills retreat. Before COVID, $1 million was considered a high budget in the area, he said. Now, properties are increasingly trading for $2 million, $3 million, $4 million and even $5 million.

‘We’re seeing more of those numbers be achieved,’ Satto said, as buyers with greater resources compare what they can get in the Catskills with other high-end weekend destinations.

That surge in second-home buying was one part of a much broader transformation accelerated by the pandemic.

People who had once visited only for weekends began buying homes, in some cases without ever seeing them in person. Some eventually stayed, sending their children to local schools and becoming involved in the community.

For the hotels, COVID initially presented an obvious threat. But their rural locations and outdoor-focused layouts ultimately became an advantage as travelers looked for ways to get away without being surrounded by crowds.

Today, Harlow Foster said many guests are still discovering that they can get much more out of a trip when they don’t have to spend hours getting there.

And the region’s proximity may be its biggest selling point.

Most Foster Supply guests come from New York City, particularly Brooklyn, yet Harlow Foster said she is still surprised by how many first-time visitors tell her they had no idea the Catskills were so close – or offered so much.

‘With 48 hours, you can really reset,’ she said – not that there’s anything wrong with a whirlwind trip to Paris, but she detects a growing appetite among her guests for vacations built around doing less.

‘You don’t need a hundred things to do,’ she said. ‘You just need a few good ones.’

Serra said that ultimately, travelers should compare not just the price of a trip, but how much of their time they actually get to enjoy.

‘Being closer doesn’t always mean the trip is cheaper,’ he said. ‘A popular cabin, rental car, meals, and activity fees can sometimes cost more than an international package.’

‘I always compare the total cost with how many vacation hours you actually get.’

The Catskills, he said, are the better choice when they offer more time away, less hassle with transportation and a trip that fits into a few days without feeling rushed.

Fifty years ago, a modestly budgeted film about a down-on-his-luck Philadelphia boxer became one of Hollywood’s most improbable success stories. “Rocky” was written by and starred a then-unknown 30-year-old New Yorker named Sylvester Stallone.

United Artists had little confidence in the project at the time. The studio allotted “Rocky” just $1 million and did not even give it the splashy red-carpet premiere usually reserved for major releases.

Half a century later, Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky” has arrived carrying a similarly underestimated aura. The “Green Book” director chronicles Stallone’s Balboa-like struggle to make his passion project — and to play its lead role himself.

Its 27-year-old star, Long Island native Anthony Ippolito, has only a handful of credits, inviting the same question once asked of Stallone: Who is this guy? After the trailer drew mixed reactions in July, “I Play Rocky” appeared headed for the kind of respectfully conventional Hollywood backstory seen in “Hitchcock,” starring Anthony Hopkins. Instead, the film received an enthusiastic world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday night.

And it is far better than that: stirring, funny, inspiring and remarkably easy to embrace. At a time when biopics often revisit stories whose every turn is already familiar, this one offers genuine surprises. More importantly, it avoids the reverential, museum-piece approach, embracing the scrappy, unconventional determination that made “Rocky” endure.

This is not another lazy exercise in conveyor-belt nostalgia, relying on old songs and recognizable faces for easy affection. It makes viewers actively root for Sly.

Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now” does not arrive until more than an hour into “I Play Rocky,” yet the film generates the same chills throughout, as though the iconic theme were playing on a constant loop.

When producers Irwin Winkler (P.J. Byrne) and Bob Chartoff (Toby Kebbell) finally agree to let Stallone star in the film he wrote from the heart in just 3½ days, the moment lands with the force of Rocky reaching the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps.

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The road there is anything but easy. Before accepting the meager $21,000 contract, Stallone is shown in New York City with barely $300 in the bank, working at a fish market and briefly appearing in softcore porn. Once he can no longer afford a $7.50-a-night fleabag motel, he sleeps on the street.

It’s in those early scenes that we first meet the excellent Ippolito. The initial encounter is reminiscent of seeing Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” At the start, you have to get used to a very distinctive voice, to say the least, coming out of another man’s mouth.

However, Ippolito’s performance, like Chalamet’s, is not a skit’s caricature. Never over the top, he captures a tenderhearted, well-read, hardworking dreamer who just so happens to have a gym rat’s body. And importantly Ippolito radiates a movie star’s energy.

Sly meets his future wife Sasha (AnnaSophia Robb, a chemistry class), and they move to LA so he can pursue acting. Screenwriting comes first, though, after he sneaks a script onto a “to read” pile at Winkler and Chartoff’s office. Impressed, the producers of Martin Scorsese’s movies ask him to go drum up something else. Something unique.

One night in 1975, while watching the Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner fight at a bar, Stallone is gripped by the Bayonne Bleeder’s spunk and against-all-odds determination. Not to mention the room’s emotional reaction to his doggedness. Thus, the idea for “Rocky” was born.

The middle of Farrelly’s movie has Stallone playing hardball to ensure he gets to also play Rocky. They want Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood. A big name. Tart-tongued Tracy Letts is so damn funny as Sandy Maddox, a fictional composite of studio execs, who cannot believe he has to deal with this crap.

When Winkler and Chartoff make Maddox watch “Lords of Flatbush,” a 1974 movie Stallone had a supporting role in, Letts bitterly snaps, “Yeah, let’s watch ‘Lords of F–kbush,’.”

Byrne and Kebbell make a tight and quick-witted showbiz comedy duo, like a pair out of a Kaufman and Hart play only with parental care.    

The final third of the movie is the unbelievably scrappy filming process of “Rocky.” They change the setting to Philly to save money because there are no unions to deal with there. Stallone has to painfully pound his bleeding fists into a frozen beef carcass. Director John Avildsen (Jay Duplass as a fun crank) uses the brand-new Steadicam, not to innovate but to save time. Carl Weathers (Stephan James) doesn’t know how to box!

And Ippolito finally takes the emotional gloves off as Sly films the fight scene with Mickey at his apartment door while channeling all the people in his life, like his dad, who never believed in him. I was KO’d.

“I Play Rocky” is a rare thing, a film that gets more enjoyable as it goes on — right till the end. There’s no sag. I never once got tired of it. Frankly, I wouldn’t have said “no thanks” to another fifteen minutes.

Which makes me think Farrelly’s kind of a Rocky Balboa himself. The director of the best picture winner “Green Book” seemed down for the count after the deserved failure of “The Greatest Beer Run Ever.”

But paired with a story as absorbing as Stallone’s and an actor as exciting as Ippolito, he’s back in fighting form with “I Play Rocky.”

Brian Hickerson, the former boyfriend of actress Hayden Panettiere, was reportedly handcuffed by police following an altercation at a bar in Greenville, South Carolina, on Saturday night.

While seated on a curb in handcuffs, Hickerson, 37, was heard shouting at officers over alleged leaks concerning Panettiere’s death, according to video obtained by TMZ.

TMZ reported that Hickerson and his brother Zach had been drinking for several hours at a back table inside the Wild Wing Cafe before Hickerson walked over to the bar.

The Daily Mail said it contacted the attorney representing Brian and Zach Hickerson for comment but had not received a response.

Hickerson, dressed in a green hoodie and light-colored jeans, had reportedly been speaking with others when the confrontation escalated. He allegedly grabbed a bar stool and threw it behind him.

Video from the incident appeared to show a large man wearing a red baseball cap lifting Hickerson and carrying him out of the establishment as a bartender yelled, “Let him go!”

By the time officers arrived, Hickerson and his brother were reportedly involved in a fight with several people outside the restaurant.

A source told TMZ that Hickerson began yelling after police placed him in handcuffs, saying: “GPD leaked it when my girlfriend died,” in what the outlet described as a reference to Panettiere’s death.

Hickerson managed to avoid arrest and was released. However, Zach was reportedly heavily intoxicated and ‘yelling profanities,’ leading to his arrest for disorderly conduct.

Hickerson and Zach were both present at the Greenville, South Carolina condo where Panettiere was pronounced dead at age 36.

According to the Greenville Police Department’s incident report, Zach told police that Hickerson was sleeping in a separate room of the Airbnb when he arrived and found the actress unresponsive in a chair.

Zach stated that Hickerson administered Narcan – a medication that reverses opioid overdoses – and that they performed CPR while communicating with 911 dispatchers.

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Hickerson has since met with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) amid their investigation into the actress’ suspected overdose death, TMZ previously reported.

Local and federal investigators reportedly believe the actress was sold drugs that may have caused her death, and authorities are now focused on identifying the suspected dealer.

Panettiere’s toxicology reports and official cause of death have not yet been released. 

The Nashville star had a volatile and tumultuous on-and-off relationship with Hickerson beginning in 2018.

Hickerson was arrested and charged for domestic violence involving Panettiere multiple times.

In 2021, he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend, resulting in jail time, probation, domestic violence classes, $500 in restitution, and a five-year protective order, per People.

Zach previously told TMZ: ‘There are a lot of assumptions, speculations and accusations currently swirling.

‘The truth will come out as the authorities complete and release additional details from the investigation. And that is important because the people who loved and adored Hayden deserve the truth.’

Zach described Panettiere as ‘one of the most precious individuals on this earth.’

He also argued that the star’s friends and family should be allowed to mourn her passing without any ‘additional noise.’

He added: ‘At this time, I want to clarify my involvement in effort to keep the focus on the fact that we lost one of the most precious individuals on this earth and to allow those that cared about her to mourn without additional noise, chaos, and misinformation being created and propagated by the media as well as the public.’

The 2026 NFL season opens Sunday night with a high-profile NFC East clash as the Dallas Cowboys visit the New York Giants.

Dallas travels to MetLife Stadium for the regular season’s first Sunday Night Football matchup, pitting Dak Prescott and the Cowboys against Jaxson Dart and a Giants squad beginning a new era under head coach John Harbaugh.

It is a fittingly marquee finish to the NFL’s first Sunday of the season.

For viewers looking to catch Cowboys vs. Giants, here is everything to know about kickoff time, TV coverage and streaming options.

What time is the Cowboys vs. Giants game tonight?

Cowboys vs. Giants kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 13.

The game will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcast begins at 7 p.m. ET with Football Night in America, giving fans more than an hour of pregame analysis ahead of kickoff.

What channel is the Cowboys vs. Giants game on tonight?

The Cowboys-Giants matchup will air nationally on NBC.

The contest also launches the 21st season of Sunday Night Football on NBC. Dallas and New York are no strangers to the prime-time spotlight: This will be the 14th meeting between the NFC East rivals featured in NBC’s Sunday Night Football package.

How to watch the Cowboys vs. Giants game live online

Fans without cable can stream Cowboys vs. Giants live on Peacock.

The game is also available through NBC’s digital platforms with participating TV-provider credentials. NBC and Peacock will carry the Sunday night matchup, with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET ahead of the 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff.

Peacock currently offers two subscription types: Premium with ads and Premium Plus ad-free. Peacock Premium costs $12.99/month, while Premium Plus costs $19.99/month.

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You can save a bit by subscribing to one of Peacock’s annual plans, which give you 12 months for the price of 10. These cost either $129.99 with ads or $199.99 without ads.

Peacock Premium Plus is also available to subscribe to via Prime Video with a seven-day free trial that you can’t get by subscribing directly on Peacock.

How to watch the Cowboys vs. Giants game for free

Here’s the catch: Peacock does not currently offer a standard free trial, so you shouldn’t count on signing up for Peacock tonight and watching the game for free.

However, if you already have access to NBC through your TV provider, you may be able to stream the game online without paying anything extra. You can also check whether a live TV streaming service carrying your local NBC station is offering a free trial to new subscribers.

The only way to watch shows airing live without cable is by using a live TV streaming service. Our favorite is DIRECTV, which comes with a five-day free trial before payment begins.

DIRECTV offers a number of flexible subscription options, including Genre Packs, so you can best choose which streaming plans fit your needs and budget. Packs start at $19.99/month.

And if you’re already paying for a service that includes Peacock, tonight’s game is included with your existing subscription.

Either way, Cowboys-Giants should be an entertaining way to close out Week 1. The teams split their two meetings last season, with Dallas winning a wild 40-37 overtime game in Week 2 before New York took the season finale, 34-17.

Now, the rivalry gets another chapter — this time with both teams starting from scratch.

For the Giants, it’s the first regular-season game of the John Harbaugh era. For Dallas, it’s the beginning of another season with Prescott under center, alongside CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

So, if you’re looking for something to watch after Sunday’s afternoon games wrap up, you’ve got your answer: Cowboys-Giants is on NBC tonight.

Law enforcement officers were waiting for an American Airlines flight when it arrived at Miami International Airport late Friday after reports that a female passenger had undressed and engaged in indecent behavior during the trip.

American Airlines Flight 1779 left Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport shortly after 9 p.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 11, 2025, public flight-tracking data shows. The departure was nearly two hours later than scheduled, and the flight arrived in Miami at about 11:23 p.m. EDT.

While the Airbus A319 was headed to Florida, flight attendants notified the cockpit of a disruption involving a traveler seated in row 9.

According to Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, or ACARS, datalink records published by aviation site AirLive, the lead flight attendant said a woman in seat 9D had fully undressed and performed indecent acts in front of nearby passengers.

The ACARS message said the incident needed to be reported to American Airlines’ Integrated Operations Center and that law enforcement should be requested.

Rather than diverting, Flight 1779 continued to Miami and reached Gate D2 at Terminal N, according to flight-tracking service Flightera. AirLive reported that officers met the plane at the gate and took the passenger into custody.

It was not immediately clear what steps the cabin crew took to address the disturbance while the flight was in the air.

News Media has reached out to American Airlines, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and Miami International Airport for comment.