page_title: New York State Route 208
section_title: Ulster County
hierarchical_section_title: New York State Route 208 / Route description / Ulster County
caption_attribution_description: English: Shawangunk Ridge from NY 208 south of the village of New Paltz
context_page_description: New York State Route 208 is a state highway located in southern New York in the United States. The southern terminus is at an intersection with NY 17M in the Orange County village of Monroe. Its northern terminus is located at an intersection with NY 32 and NY 299 in the Ulster County village of New Paltz.
  NY 208 is a two-lane road for its entire length. While connecting two bustling villages and passing through three others, it is primarily a country road and offers a variety of scenery and points of interest, from fields and meadows to a riverside stretch and orchards devoted to apples. The northern third, between Wallkill and New Paltz, boasts a near-continuous view of the Shawangunk Ridge.
context_section_description: The mile of highway along the Wallkill is at first wooded and curvy but then offers many pleasant riverside scenes. A burned-out former Borden Cheese factory is the last highlight before crossing the county line. This section of the river is popular with local fishermen and there are many informal parking spots available (In winters when it is cold enough for the river to freeze over, snowmobile trails can be seen on the ice). A Ulster County sheriff's substation is the first in a string of buildings that indicate the road has reached the hamlet of Wallkill.
  Immediately east of the hamlet's business district, at Wallkill Library it turns right onto Main Street and takes a more easterly course out of town, past some rolling fields and John G. Borden Middle School. At the only traffic light here, the northern terminus of NY 300, it regains its northward orientation, which it will keep for its final 11 miles (17.6 km) to New Paltz.
  While remaining two-lane, the roadway itself is a little wider here, encouraging drivers to accelerate as the woodlots surrounding them give way to the cornfields of Wallkill and Shawangunk state prisons and the panoramic view of the Shawangunk Ridge across the river valley that continues most of the way to New Paltz (Sometimes the summit of Slide Mountain, the Catskill Mountains' highest peak, is visible over the ridge).
  As the drive continues, the Catskill Aqueduct crosses and recrosses the road several times and orchards become the primary agricultural use of the adjoining land. This is one of the state's prime apple-growing regions, and several local apple farmers sell fresh-pressed cider at their stands along the road in the fall.
  The only traffic light along this stretch is at Ireland Corners, the slightly developed intersection with US 44 and NY 55 just east of Gardiner. It marks the midway point between Wallkill and New Paltz.
  North of here, even better views of the Shawangunks open up with the observation tower at Mohonk Mountain House becoming prominent to the west. The Devil's Path in the Greene County Catskills appears to the north on clear enough days. Some vineyards join the orchards along the road, reflecting a developing local wine industry. The campus of SUNY New Paltz starts to form a distinct skyline to the north, and to the east the ridgeline of Illinois Mountain complements the Shawangunks.
  The views reach their peak at the New Paltz town line, then NY 208 descends from the rise it has reached. After some tight curves and bends, SUNY's athletic fields to the east herald entry into the village of New Paltz, where NY 208 becomes South Chestnut Street. A mile into the village, it reaches its northern terminus at a busy intersection at the edge of downtown with NY 299 and NY 32. Continuing north from here puts a driver on the latter.
caption: The Shawangunk Ridge as seen from NY 208 south of New Paltz
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