It's Official: New York's Very Own Goshen Is One Of The Country's Best Small Towns To Visit This Year
By Christy Articola|Published September 01, 2022
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Christy Articola
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Christy Articola has lived in Colorado since 2013 and considers herself a Centennial State enthusiast and expert through and through. She's based in Denver metro, but over the past decade, she has traveled to every corner, river, village, park, town, and city in the state and continues to explore it deeper and further whenever she can. Christy simply can't get enough of Colorado, and loves sharing all her adventures with you through Only In Your State! She graduated with a degree in journalism from Fordham University and is thrilled to be working as a full time travel writer for this and other sites - she finally found her perfect niche - and is so grateful for that.
Not long ago, Smithsonian Magazine released a list of the 15 Best Small Towns to Visit This Year. Of course, and lucky for us, one of those small towns was right here in New York. Have you ever been to Goshen? Goshen is a small town with a population of less than 6,000 in Orange County, just west of Newburgh. There’s plenty to see and do there, but not too much, and that’s exactly what makes it one of the best small towns to visit in the country. Read on to learn more about Goshen.
Goshen was first settled in 1714 and it was incorporated in 1809. It's always been a small town.
People are drawn to this small town because it's quiet, simple, and quaint, but it also has a lot to offer and the people are friendly. In general, it's just a nice little community.
Others have been turned into offices or stores. You can drive around Goshen and see many of them from the road. The people of Goshen take pride in their village and all the buildings are well-maintained.
There are a number of historic churches in Goshen. This one is the First Presbyterian Church of Goshen. It was completed in 1871. Today it is the centerpiece of the Church Park Historic District.
There are other historic buildings as well, like the 1841 Goshen Courthouse. It was used as the town's courthouse until the 1970s. Today it is used for court offices.
Many people visit Goshen to visit the historic half-mile harness track. It opened in 1838 and is the oldest continuously operating horse racing track in the country.
After your visit to the racetrack, you should check out the nearby Harness Racing Museum to learn more about the sport. There's a Hall of Fame to explore there as well.
If you're traveling with children, or if you're an adult who loves Lego, you'll also want to visit Legoland. It just opened in 2021 and is an exciting addition to Goshen.
As you can see, Goshen is a lovely place to spend a day or a weekend. There’s so much cool history and things to see and do in Goshen, it’s no wonder that it’s one of the best small towns to visit in America!
