A “Love Letter” to Upstate New York’s Pretty “Red Door” Churches!

New York State is filled with many great, gorgeous, historic churches.  In Upstate New York we have hundreds of small churches that dot the land, many of them 150 and 200+ years old.  They are beautiful and come in various architectural styles.

But, what is it about all the "red doors?"

I have traveled almost all the highways and backroads of Upstate over the past 20 years while writing and researching my many travel guides pertaining to the region.  And I am always struck when I come upon the sight of a small stone church, in the (seemingly) middle of nowhere, tucked under some towering maple trees, and the church proudly displaying a bright red painted front door.

These red doors seem so welcoming, so quaint, and so, well, architecturally perfect on these historic houses of worship.  And there a a lot of them.  Perhaps hundreds.  And they always bring a smile to my heart when I see one.  I bet, it is the same for you.

Over the years I have meant to document these red door churches with the hopes that one day I could do a book about them, or at the very least a calendar of Upstate New York Red Door Churches.  Wouldn't that be lovely?  Well, my time for that has passed, so I gladly offer up this idea to any and all of my readers.

Take a country drive in any region of the state, from the Adirondacks to the Finger Lakes and to the Hudson Valley and I can guarantee you that within a very short time span you will come upon one of these beautiful churches with the bright red door.  And, yes, you will smile.

Here is a "love letter' to 21 of the most beautiful of these churches, knowing full well that there are dozens more of them.

In fact, if you know of a "red door" church that is not on this list, please give it a mention over on our Facebook page.  I'd like to see how long of a list we can come up with!