Besides cultivating and caring for the natural beauty of the grounds, Mohonk has provided land for a nearby CSA, the Brook Farm Project. Operated by the husband of Mohonk’s staff naturalist, the organic farm supplies the resort’s dining room with fresh produce in season. Although they are separate entities, the farm and the resort mirror the symbiotic relationships of area wildlife as Mohonk Mountain House’s extensive resort composting program provides the farm with its fertilizing needs.

Many businesses might claim to be built on a foundation of eco-friendly principles, but in Mohonk’s case, this is true in a more literal sense. When it was decided to offer guests an expanded Spa experience, the location of the facility was picked and excavation of the Shawngunk Ridge rock began. The resort recycled 600 tons of this rock to create the Spa interior and façade. Even one of the Spa’s offerings, the “Shawangunk Grit Body Treatment,” is an exfoliater made of just that, ground indigenous rock.

Participating in other ecologically sound methods of business, such as replacing light bulbs in guest room and public spaces, extensive recycling program for both administration offices and resort operations, use of biodegradable laundry products, use of non-aerosol cleaning materials, and use of an integrated pest management system to reduce pesticides have combined to cause this resort with its 138-year history of environmental stewardship and conservation, to be honored by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Mohonk Mountain House is one resort where they won’t leave the light on for you!