May 26, 2026
SCHOHARIE COUNTY, NY — Visit Schoharie County is officially becoming ‘Upstate Vacations’ - a new brand identity, a redesigned inspiration guide, and a fresh way of telling the stories that have always made this corner of New York worth the drive.
The new name isn't a departure. It's a doorway.
Most of the people who find their way to Schoharie County aren't searching for "Schoharie." They're searching for upstate. They're driving up from the Hudson Valley for a weekend that doesn't feel like the city. They're heading northwest out of New York and New Jersey toward Cooperstown, looking for a place to break up the drive and finding a spot they didn't expect.
They're on a foliage loop, a farm trail, a cave tour, a covered-bridge crawl. They've found the version of New York that still has barns, ridgelines, and small towns where the diner knows your order by Sunday.
That's what Upstate Vacations says out loud. It meets visitors in the language they already use. And once they're here, they find what's always been here: Schoharie County - the farms, the falls, the trails, the caves, the people, the seasons. The name is how they find us. The county is what makes them stay.
"Schoharie County has unmatched wholesome charm that people crave. Upstate Vacations more accurately describes the vibe our visitors feel while they’re here,” says Cass Majestic, CEO, Destination Marketing Corporation.
A Reimagined Guide
Alongside the new identity, Upstate Vacations is launching a fully redesigned inspiration guide - and it's nothing like the brochure rack standard. Gone is the old "stay, play, eat" formula. In its place: a guide built around how visitors actually experience this county. Itineraries that follow a feeling, not a checklist. Stories told in the voices of the locals living them. Sections that lean into atmosphere, season, and the things you don't find on a map.
Featured chapters include:
- Choose Your Own Schoharie - itineraries shaped around how you travel, not where the algorithm sends you
- Taste the Seasons - a year-round look at what's growing, harvested, brewed, and served
- Where Wonder Lives - the caves, the falls, the places that don't quite fit a category
- After Dark and Wild - the county after the sun goes down
- At the Heart of the Valley - the towns, the people, the heritage, the stories
- Love Local and Local Bites - the makers, growers, and kitchens worth the trip
The guide also features audio - playlists and recorded interviews that let visitors hear directly from the farmers, story-tellers, shop owners, and lifelong residents who shaped it.
A Renewed Voice for the Visitor and Resident Experience
The redesign goes deeper than the cover. Upstate Vacations is rethinking how visitors and residents connect to the county and to each other — treating residents as the storytellers they already are, and treating visitors as guests being let in on something, not sold to.
The new voice is warmer, sharper, and more honest. It trusts the place to speak for itself.
"This has always been a county we’ve been proud of, and worth sharing on its own terms. The new guide does both."
~ Sam Forehand, DMC Marketing Manager and Schoharie County Resident
From the Guide
"The best kept secrets aren't secrets forever. But for now, this one's still yours to find. Tucked into the hills of Upstate New York, Schoharie County is built on real things: farms that have fed families for generations, trails that reward the climb, caves that go deeper than you'd expect, and towns where people actually know each other's names. It's not chasing attention. It doesn't need to."
"People come here to get away. They leave wishing they could stay."
About Destination Marketing Corporation
Destination Marketing Corporation for Otsego and Schoharie Counties (DMC) was established in 2014 as a not-for-profit 501(c)(6). The DMC's mission is to steward local economic vitality through tourism generation and destination management, resulting in business development, pride of place, historical preservation, enhanced quality of life for residents, and a memorable visitor experience.
For further information, visit UpstateVacations.com and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok @UpstateVacations.