The Ulster county hamlet of Mt. Tremper is hidden between the centers of Phoenicia and Woodstock, and its inhabitants like it that way. "It's not much more than a zip code," says weekender and artist Laura Levine, who has been frequenting the area since she was a child. Its center is little more than a crossroads where Route 212 meets Old Plank Road, named because it was paved with wooden planks in the 1800s.

Mt. Tremper attracts residents and visitors because of its phenomenal beauty and peaceful atmosphere. It's surrounded by mountains, and along its southern boundary runs the Esopus, a legendary trout-fishing creek, drawing fishers as well as day-trippers for swimming and tubing fun.

While there are no stores, Mt. Tremper does have a great outdoor produce market during the warmer months, some very good restaurants, including La Duchesse Anne, Tiso's, and Catskill Rose, and several places to stay, from the super-luxurious Emerson Resort & Spa to Kate's Lazy Meadow Motel, which is owned by Kate Pierson, of the B-52's fame, and features Airstream trailers decorated in a variety of kitschy themes. It's also home to the Zen Mountain Monastery, open to the public on most Sunday mornings.

Dolly Shivers, associate broker at Ruth Gale Realty, says, "If my clients want Woodstock, I take them to Woodstock. But if they want something a little more out of the way, woodsy, less touristy, with lower taxes, I bring them here. And the Trailways bus stops here too."