Welcome to Rifton ...

Rifton is located in Ulster County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Rifton, you might consider that their post office opened in 1901.

Rifton is 180 feet [55 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Rifton lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Rifton: 845 & 329<3>

The ZIP code for Rifton: 12471<4>

Communities Also Named Rifton ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found another community named Rifton - it's located in Washington.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rifton.

Websites for Rifton ...

Chamber of Commerce: www.ulsterchamber.org/

Although we don't have any websites that are specific to Rifton, the following might be of interest:

Communities near Rifton ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rifton.

Poughkeepsie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Poughkeepsie is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poughkeepsie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,447 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poughkeepsie <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Poughkeepsie
- From Rifton to Poughkeepsie
Kingston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Kingston is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22,736 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kingston <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Kingston
- From Rifton to Kingston
New Paltz
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- New Paltz is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Paltz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,198 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Paltz <5>
Wappingers Falls
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Wappingers Falls is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wappingers Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,509 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wappingers Falls <5>
Saugerties
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Saugerties is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugerties
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,793 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saugerties <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Saugerties
- From Rifton to Saugerties
Rhinebeck
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rhinebeck is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhinebeck
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,543 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rhinebeck <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Rhinebeck
- From Rifton to Rhinebeck
Red Hook
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Red Hook is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hook
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,935 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Hook <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Red Hook
- From Rifton to Red Hook
Millbrook
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Millbrook is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbrook
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Millbrook <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Millbrook
- From Rifton to Millbrook
Tivoli
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tivoli is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tivoli
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,076 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tivoli <5>
High Falls
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- High Falls is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Falls
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for High Falls <5>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Rifton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rifton.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rifton. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rifton.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rifton. See our Newspapers Page for Rifton.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rifton ...

Looking for more information about Rifton? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Rifton, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Rifton.

Adding Rifton to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Rifton in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Rifton was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Rifton post office opened in 1901.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Rifton.

Footnotes ...

<1>	If you're interested in how the shape of New York's counties, including Ulster, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rifton - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>	When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 845 code has been Overlayed with the 329 area code. New phone numbers in the Rifton area will be assigned with one of these codes: 845 or 329. As a result, placing a call in the Rifton area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>	ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Rifton). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Rifton or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>	A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/