Hiking in New York State's Catskill Mountains

There are plenty of options and plenty of things to consider with all of the options that the Catskills have to offer. If you'd like, there are hikes that will only last a few hours. For the more adventurous, there are multi-day hikes that will take you across some really rugged, yet beautiful terrain.

The Catskills

The Catskill Mountains, which are located within the Catskill Park, are about 50 miles southwest of Albany and around 150 miles north of New York City. The Hudson River runs just to the east of the mountain front and in the west, the mountains taper out into rolling hills.

The highest peak in the Catskills is Slide Mountain at 4,204 feet. Slide is located in the Southern Catskill Mountains along with several other tall peaks. However, the majority of the high peaks and rugged terrain of the Catskills is in the northeastern portion of the mountains.

Planning Your Trip

The first thing to consider when you are planning a hiking trip to the Catskill Mountains is what kind of hikes you are interested in. Do you want to do a series of day hikes and you'll stay at a hotel or motel in one of the local towns? Do you want to do a multi-day backpacking trip where you'll be camping in the woods?

Either choice gives you plenty of options. The vast majority of the Catskills Mountains' trails can be accessed via day hikes, while the overnight backpacking trips tend to link together trails and mountains into a multi-day trip.

The best way to start planning your trips is to take a look at the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference's "Catskill Trails" map set. This is the definitive map set to the Catskills and provides map coverage for all the major portions of the Catskills. The maps also feature trail descriptions for all the official, maintained trails in the Catskills. This makes them indispensable for trip planning and for guiding you when you are out on the trail.

Like I said, if you're planning on doing day trips, most of the Catskills are available to you to explore. You should stay in a hotel or a motel in one of the mountain towns such as Hunter, Tannersville, Windham or Phoenicia. This will give you quick access to the mountains and the trails that surround them. All of these towns have plenty of lodging options. There are also state run, public campgrounds located near Tannersville (North-South Lake Campground) and Phoenicia (Woodland Valley Campground). All of the major peaks and trails are accessible from these towns with only a short drive in most cases.

Some great day hikes include the various mountains of the Devil's Path Range. These mountains are located in the northern portion of the park and all have maintained trails over them. They offer a number of different trips and depending on the location, offer the potential to make loop trips so you don't need to backtrack what you've already hiked. Further to the northeast the Blackhead Range near the Town of Windham offers some rugged climbing and some great views northward to Albany and beyond. In the south, the Catskill Mountains tallest peak, Slide Mountain is a great day trip, as are Wittenberg and Cornell, two mountains near Slide.

If you aren't looking so much for mountain climbing and instead just want some great scenery, there are several trails that offer this. The Escarpment Trail, running along the eastern edge of the Catskill Mountains doesn't climb or descend too much, but it offers stunning views across the Hudson Valley almost constantly. The Dutcher Notch Trail offers a walk through mostly levels woods to some stunning fields and a quiet, wilderness notch. Trails in the more western parts of the Catskills are also gentler, as the mountains out there are more rolling and generally lower than they are in the east. The hike up to the base of Kaaterskill is short, though it is a bit rugged. However, you are rewarded with a view of the highest waterfall in New York State when you reach the end of the trail.

If you are planning on an overnight or longer backpacking trip, several other options open up. The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference's Long Path travels through the Catskills and you can follow this trail through the area. There are also longer trail sections you can string together to create multi-day trips.

One of the premiere hikes is the trail along the Devil's Path. This is a famous route that starts in Spruceton Valley and travels over Westkill Mountain, Hunter Mountain, Plateau Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, Twin Mountain and Indian Head Mountain. You gain and lose thousands of vertical feet over the many miles of this trail. Another option is a hike from Mount Tremper in the south to Warner Creek and then up to the summit of Plateau Mountain where you join the Devil's Path. If you continue eastward to the Devil's Path terminus, you are looking at an almost 25 mile hike where you don't cross any roadways. That makes it the longest roadless section of trail in the Catskills and probably one of the longest roadless sections of trail in New York.

If you are planning on camping within the Catskill Park, there are some regulations to consider. On State owned, public lands, you are allowed to camp anywhere below 3,500 feet during the summer months so long as you are at least 150 feet away from any roadway, parking lot, open water or trail. In the winter months, the rules are the same, except that you are allowed to camp above 3,500 feet so long as there is snow on the ground.

Mountain Conditions

While the weather in the Catskill Mountains isn't as variable as other, higher mountain ranges, in the northeast, the weather can change quickly and is often quite different from the weather in the Hudson Valley at lower elevations.

In the Spring and the Fall the Catskills will often experience wintry weather when its only raining in the valleys. In addition, the summits of the mountains are often much colder than the valleys, especially in the winter months. Winds can be strong any time of the year. In the summertime the differences generally aren't as distinct, though the summit areas are usually cooler than the valleys.

The mountains can get a lot of snow, especially in the higher elevations. If you are planning on wintertime hikes, you should be prepared for full winter conditions and have snowshoes and crampons with you. You should also have plenty of warm clothes.

In the summertime unexpected thunderstorms can roll through the mountains. They can be dangerous along the summits, where the potential for lightening strikes is very real. They can also soak you, so it's always a good idea to carry at least some amount of extra clothing with you.

Hiking Experiences

For what some would consider being "little" mountains, the Catskills are surprisingly rugged. The trails on the mountains tend to either be steep or very steep and the geology of the Catskills means that there are often ledges and cliffs that must be climbed up and over to get to the summit of the mountains. This can be a challenge in the summertime and in the wintertime you often need crampons and ice axes to make it as ice forms over these ledges.

People shouldn't take hiking in the Catskills lightly. They are tough mountains and are home to some of the most rugged hiking trails around. The Devil's Path is considered by many to be one of the roughest hiking trails in the east.

Accidents can and do happen. Every year people hurt themselves or get lost in the woods and must be found and rescued by the Ranger staff that patrols the mountains. The best way to avoid these problems is to prepare. Plan out your hikes, plan on taking the right gear and when you are out on the trail, avoid situations where your hiking party could get lost or seriously injure itself.

Get Out There!

The Catskills are a unique and interesting natural area that has been protected by New York State as Forest Preserve in the Catskill State Park. While the Catskill Mountains are not as high or as imposing as some other mountain ranges, they do have a charm that is all their own and are well worth exploring.

So go out and get yourself the map set, plan out your hike and get into the Catskills to start exploring!