What a cute little village to just wander into, with various unique shops and getting to know the locals. Be sure to check out Bruce's Collage Outlet for some hard-to-find items and great prices on jewelry, Peter's Candle shop, and the Lightclub Curiosity Shop for some potions and scented oils, and finally enjoy a coffee break at Valkyrie. read more

See all

We arrived a little after 10:30am on a Sunday to discover that nothing was open yet. So, we walked around a bit until things started opening at 11:00am. But, even so, at least 1/3 of the places on the strip never opened at all while we were there for the next 2.5 hours. I grew up near here and remembered a lot of home made craft shops, and some antique stores. But, now a lot of stores are selling "made in china" mass produced wares like you might find at the Hallmark Store. The few shops we enjoyed included the candle maker, a potter on the edge of town, and an antique store. read more

Quaint village of artists and craftspeople. Many shops make what they sell including candles, soap, art, photography, jewelry, pottery... There's about 20 shops in all and easy to walk about. Buildings are authentic from the 1700's & 1800's and charming each in their own way. There's 2 restaurants and a nearby craft brewery, also close to many apple orchards, wineries and pumpkin patches. A really cute area to spend a day. read more

Justin's review is pretty much dead on. This place is very quiet during the week, and most of the stores will be closed. That said, even on lazy fall weekdays this is still a nice place to visit if you don't mind just walking around and enjoying a quiet walk down the street with the beautiful falling leaves. During the weekend it changes completely--and in a good, fun, energetic way. It's worth visiting either way. Check the candle shop for sure. read more

See all

The other reviewer here doesn't know what the hell she's talking about. It sounds like she expected the place to be bustling in the middle of the week, even though she only had a brochure for information. The Hudson Valley is not very conducive to tourists outside of Woodbury Commons--which is both good and bad--so if you're gonna go anywhere I'd suggest calling ahead just incase. People aren't going to wait around special just because you might be coming. Now to give the actual village a fair review. I'd suggest going on a craft fair day, as shop hours can vary and the owners mostly look towards weekends; most of the people who come here live in the valley, and thus are at work during the week. On craft fair days the streets have plenty of vendors selling a variety of crafts, and it can get quite busy. The buildings are ancient and exploring them is actually cool in itself. The stores actually have a great variety of art if you have the common sense to go inside them, ranging from Native American, to ceramics, to leather, to primitive crafts, furniture, paintings, pottery, jewelry, candles, homemade jam/honey, wind chimes, and just about everything else I can think of (hey give me a break! they have a lot of stuff! look at their website, I'm shocked they have one). The village has been hit pretty hard by the recession as well as wear and tear, but the people who live/work there seem to be taking it in stride. Keep a level head when going here, go on a weekend, and prepare to get lost as the place is a maze (in a good way though). As noted, the village was founded in 1749 and contains several historical sites, so although it may not have the best business development strategy, it damn sure ain't going anywhere. If you had told me when I was a kid getting dragged here to craft shows that I'd be defending Sugar Loaf on the internet years later, I damn sure wouldn't have believed you. But looking back as well as at it now, I appreciate the place as yet another unique piece of the Hudson Valley that lives on. And if you're going as a tourist, plan ahead for Christ's sake. read more

YAWN as in "are you kidding me?" Okay, this is a craft village in Sugar Loaf, NY established in 1749 and died sometime between then and 2009. Okay, I was there off season (April) and nothing was open at 11am on a Thursday. STILL the place looked like a ghost town and did not fit the description of the brochure I had picked up which states "Best Kept Secret In NY". I was really looking forward to visiting and arts and craft village, but was very disappointed. This place looks like it was dying off long before our current recession hit. Plenty for rent signs and the stores that remained did not have many tempting things to offer from the looks of their window displays. Don't bother at all, it's a sad boring place now. read more

Frankly, I wanted to give Sugar Loaf Village a better score yet, after evaluating the village on many levels, I could not, with the exception of "Exposures", a photo gallery displaying the artistic photographic talents of the owner, Nick Zungoli. Nick has travelled the world, capturing a myriad of images with his camera, the amazing results of which can be seen, and purchased, in print and framed form, at Exposures. Situated just over the rise on King's Highway, Exposures Gallery stands apart as the remaining "gem" of the village; it's images waiting to be digested along with the visual bounty that Nick has assembled over the years. So, on a recent Saturday, with the weather being very fair and, the leaves still showing their glorious coloration, we ventured out from our home in northern NJ to Sugar Loaf Arts and Crafts Village. Half a tank of gas later, we arrived in the early afternoon and had no problem finding a parking spot directly on King's Highway, the main drag through the village. My wife immediately remarked that "no one else is here...!" Clearly, she was correct. We saw no evidence of people walking around or, entering or leaving any of the shops. It had been several years since we were here and, it did feel somewhat strange not seeing families and singles mingling about. We did, however, begin our "shopping" on one side of the street with the intent of visiting as many shops as we could on both sides. The village has essentially remained unchanged over the years. You will not find sidewalks fronting the shops on either side of Kings' Hwy. This does lend an air of country living to the venue, yet one must be careful not to stand too close to the road as cars do tend to drive by quickly. The village is not situated on a side road so Kings' Highway is used quite heavily by local drivers. Many storefronts have wooden platforms positioned in front. These help when considering the irregular angular grassy knolls that are situated along the front of most of the shops. Also, with heavy rain, both sides of the street serve as rain gutters due to the lack of sidewalks and curbs. Also, several shops looked very weathered and in need of repair. Many shops displayed hand-made "OPEN" signage, beckoning shoppers to enter hoping to make a sale. Several shops were closed. The one iconic restaurant, The Barnsider, located in the center of the village, was recently closed, a testament to the lack of visitors. From speaking with several local shop keepers, it became clear that The Barnsider was the focal point for many travelers following a day of shopping. I did have a feeling of sadness following our visit to Sugar Loaf Village. Other than our stop at Exposures Gallery, our experience was nothing close to our previous trips. Also, I took the time, prior to this trip, to examine several internet travel brochures that featured Sugar Loaf Village; the photos of happy families and crowds of shoppers seemed to fade from memory. Walking back to the car for our trip home, I paused, gazed up the road through the center of King's Highway, and thought I saw a lone tumbleweed caught up in the Autumn wind as it bounced along down the empty street. read more

Great lil art and crafty 'village'. Was here for a festival over columbus day weekend. so cool I came back for more the following weekend. From the home made candles and soap to the other funky shops, my friends and I had a fun time in the 'country' but found very cool art and handmade stuffs to get a headstart on holiday shopping! (much more friendly prices than nyc!) Eats were decent and most shopkeepers were very friendly and fun. Its the kind of place you can hang and enjoy while shopping, no pressure. Found some really unique stuff at the Pisces Art and Angel stores not to mention a handmade jewelry shop with live music in their garden, sweet :) Highly recommend for a day trip with friends or family. Easy drive from the city. read more

This destination deserves more than the three stars it has garnered. We stopped by on a Sunday afternoon after visiting some of the local wineries. There were some great stores. There is a small candle shop that has been hand making candles for more than 40 years. We purchased some beautiful unscented tapers that they offered in an array of different colors. One set are probably 30" high? and were $8. We also purchased a scented column candle. They have one scent and it is really nice. The soap shop has hand made soaps that they make themselves as a well as other soaps for sale. Very nice offerings, and the prices are a bargain. We bought several bars and have used one so far and it is great. The 18th century furniture store is the most interesting. Everything is made from reclaimed 18th century wood. Beautiful furniture and wood items. We picked up candle sticks for our new tapers, but the offerings of furniture were great to look at. They also carried various other antique items, in particular old antique quilts.The owners are very nice as well. The rest of the town has a sweets/bake shop, clothing shops, antiques, restaurants ect.... Looking forward to coming back in the autumn! Great stop if you are traveling through the area. read more

Quaint and lovely with unique items in a great atmosphere. I've been coming to Sugar Loaf since 1980s and it has been through some ups and downs but still one of my favorite places to wander and discover things. Don't miss it! read more

I came here to support some local artists with my family and it was a complete waste of my time. Drove an hour and a half to get here and only three stores were open. Ridiculous. One of the kind women whose shop was actually open told me the other stores just open when they feel like it. I don't understand how anyone stays in business here. One store's hours sign just said "open sometimes." read more

Spent the afternoon here today and it was very enjoyable. A nice eclectic mix of artists. If you are looking for original art at very reasonable prices you will not be disappointed. We left with several terrific purchases. Gave it four stars only because I felt that we probably missed some things. It would have been great if there were maps to show all of the store locations and what they sold, but I didn't find any. This is great place though for a lazy afternoon when you just feel like browsing. You'll see very unique items and meet interesting people. read more

Iagree, Sugar Loaf is a wonderful day of exploration that is if you have an imagination and do not expect others to "tap dance" for you. Gawd if she yawms at Sugar Loaf then I would expect her to be entertained only by the circus clowns. These are artisians whose work is part of their beings and if you do not appreciate that then go to Woodbury Commons, as the name suggests COMMONS.... For those who do appreciate what these craftspeople have to offer by all means go to Sugar Loaf. Albeit a small town it truly is a wonderful few hours to spend discovering the art of the local town. I would suggest however, do make it on the weekend, or during an event. There is also a great Farmer's Market on the weekends as well. read more

I visit as often ad I can because there's no place like it for art crafts and just a good old fashioned all day stroll and shop with friends. If you are anywhere in the area you MUST VISIT. You will come back because its just that kinda place that makes you happy you took the time to discover something old that never gets old. Do it for the art or do it for the shopping but just do it. :) read more

Great day in sugar loaf even with snow. Had a good time at a lot of local owned shops. Good deals and amazing artists! Check out the Candle Shop, Soap Shop, Pisces Zodiac shop and Bertolli Jewlery, the best road trip you can take in NY!! read more

We actually had a great time here recently. it is a sleepy little village that does warm up as the day goes on. Took a minute to figure out how to get there from the city (ended up driving rental car, took about an hour). But once we got there, the girls spent about an hour shopping the 'girly' shops for 'girly' thing things while my buddy and I checked out the Barnside tavern/restaurant, basic menu good hearty stuff and brews, very resonable prices. . Then we all met up and checked out some of the artists shops, where the actual shop owners make their own goods, no made in taiwan stuff! Bought some cool candles, soaps and even a leather vest, all made on premesis for good prices, even by New York standards. We then went and checked out a free concert in a public garden by one of their art galleries, which had some good blues bands. Then found a shop that had some nice fantasy sculptures and trinkets, dragons and fariies and such, very good prices and helpful owner who pointed us to a local winery, where we topped off the trip! Definitely recommended if you like quaint shops, good road trip for sure. . We did get there about 11am too, and some shops were closed but most we all open by noon, and though there were some for sale signs like the previous poster said, that's just a sign of the times, there were plenty of places to shop and hangout on our visit. Plan to go back again for holidays and get some hand made gifts. Looks like it would be a fun place during the holidays. Theres also a bed and breakfast there which looks worth checking out. read more