Catskills Hiking

[Anonymous]

Going to be in the Hudson River Valley region come mid-September. Will have 2 free days to do what i wish. Anyone with first-hand knowledge have trail suggestions? Looking to do 8-10 mile day hikes. The harder the better! Will be staying west of the river in Ulster county/Kingston,NY. Gracias.

[Anonymous]

FYI, I live in Kingston but haven't done all the hikes around here yet. Here are a few that are recommended:
- Huckleberry Point (near West Saugherties). Good workout and fantastic views over the valley at the end.
- Overlook Mountain. This is the most popular hike near Kingston. The trail is mostly a road, so not that scenic, but the views from the top & old hotel are good.
- Slide Mountain. Haven't done this - highest point in the Catskils. Supposed to be a real workout but in summer views may not be great due to overgrowth.
- Mohonk Preserve. This is really a network of trails west of New Paltz, with lots of "options" depending on which switch you take. There are some great views from the Shawungunks to both east and west. I think there's a $20 fee for non-members to park. It's also possible to hike from the Preserve onto the grounds of the Mohonk Mountain House (you can see the gardens and the outside of the resort), and then to the overlook tower.

Other tips - if possible go on a weekday. The trails are much less crowded and parking can be a problem on weekends. Also, AllTrails is a great app that provides detailed maps & trail reviews. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

We just came back from there. We did Overlook Mountain - view from the fire tower is fantastic (there is also another vista) and the old hotel is cool. It is an old fire road and literally straight uphill, total maybe 4.5 miles.

We also did part of the Devil's Path. It was challenging - my only criticism would be that the downhill was very rocky in an unpleasant way. Challenging hike though - we did around 7 miles, but you can make it longer by hiking through to other peaks.

[Anonymous]

Here’s the map that Mohonk Mountain House hands out for their guest hiking on their property/in the preserve. Note that some of the hikes in this area are really rock scrambles (bonticou crag for example, I think has options to do rock scrambles or less demanding hikes).

https://www.mohonk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mohonk-Hiking-Map-Guest-18.pdf

[Anonymous]

Rent a quality bike to ride The Rail Trail. You can also cycle on Ashoken Reservoir, which is super cool. The reservoir is actually part of New York City - you’ll see NYPD all over the place guarding the city’s water supply!

[Anonymous]

Escarpment trail/artists rock/sunset rock and beyond on a clear day. https://www.challengedhiking.com/2018/07/16/escarpment-trail-hike-north-lake-north-point-mary-glen-trail/

[Anonymous]

Thank you posters! Exactly what I was looking for!

[Anonymous]

FYI Bonticou Crag Rock Scramble is no joke...its climbing straight up a rock face...just be aware. We did this hike and half the group did he scramble (with kids) and it was terrifying It is no Billy Goat C

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI, I live in Kingston but haven't done all the hikes around here yet. Here are a few that are recommended:
- Huckleberry Point (near West Saugherties). Good workout and fantastic views over the valley at the end.
- Overlook Mountain. This is the most popular hike near Kingston. The trail is mostly a road, so not that scenic, but the views from the top & old hotel are good.
- Slide Mountain. Haven't done this - highest point in the Catskils. Supposed to be a real workout but in summer views may not be great due to overgrowth.
- Mohonk Preserve. This is really a network of trails west of New Paltz, with lots of "options" depending on which switch you take. There are some great views from the Shawungunks to both east and west. I think there's a $20 fee for non-members to park. It's also possible to hike from the Preserve onto the grounds of the Mohonk Mountain House (you can see the gardens and the outside of the resort), and then to the overlook tower.

Other tips - if possible go on a weekday. The trails are much less crowded and parking can be a problem on weekends. Also, AllTrails is a great app that provides detailed maps & trail reviews. Have fun!

I think it is more like $50 these days? It is quite pricey. The rock scramble at Mohonk to the overlook tower lookout is a lot of fun but the hike from the parking lot and back is about 3 hours total so if you are looking for longer you can just hike the other trails there.

[Anonymous]

If you are looking at Mohonk, you can also look at Minnewaska State Park - beautiful, lots of different trails, two lakes you can swim in, and only $10 entry. they have bathrooms and also changing rooms for the swimming area on lake Minnewaska (not sure about Lake Awosting beach). There is a beautiful waterfall. If you go, you should have dinner at Rough Cut Brewery - great food and even better beer. Agree on the advice to go midweek or at least on a Monday or a Friday - the parking lots can fill up quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rent a quality bike to ride The Rail Trail. You can also cycle on Ashoken Reservoir, which is super cool. The reservoir is actually part of New York City - you’ll see NYPD all over the place guarding the city’s water supply!

Don't forget to stop at the rail trail cafe for live music and delicious food! Check that they'll be open beforehand. We recently had a great week up there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, I live in Kingston but haven't done all the hikes around here yet. Here are a few that are recommended:
- Huckleberry Point (near West Saugherties). Good workout and fantastic views over the valley at the end.
- Overlook Mountain. This is the most popular hike near Kingston. The trail is mostly a road, so not that scenic, but the views from the top & old hotel are good.
- Slide Mountain. Haven't done this - highest point in the Catskils. Supposed to be a real workout but in summer views may not be great due to overgrowth.
- Mohonk Preserve. This is really a network of trails west of New Paltz, with lots of "options" depending on which switch you take. There are some great views from the Shawungunks to both east and west. I think there's a $20 fee for non-members to park. It's also possible to hike from the Preserve onto the grounds of the Mohonk Mountain House (you can see the gardens and the outside of the resort), and then to the overlook tower.

Other tips - if possible go on a weekday. The trails are much less crowded and parking can be a problem on weekends. Also, AllTrails is a great app that provides detailed maps & trail reviews. Have fun!

I think it is more like $50 these days? It is quite pricey. The rock scramble at Mohonk to the overlook tower lookout is a lot of fun but the hike from the parking lot and back is about 3 hours total so if you are looking for longer you can just hike the other trails there.

You’re confusing the Mohonk Mountain House resort with the Mohonk Preserve. The Preserve surrounds the resort, and is significantly cheaper to visit. It is possible to hike into the resort grounds from the Preserve parking lot & save a bunch of $$.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure how many 8-10 mile hikes there are in the CAtskills. And I'm not even sure if it's technically in the CAtskills, but is in the HV...but I just hiked Breakneck Ridge. Short, but quite challenging. Check it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, I live in Kingston but haven't done all the hikes around here yet. Here are a few that are recommended:
- Huckleberry Point (near West Saugherties). Good workout and fantastic views over the valley at the end.
- Overlook Mountain. This is the most popular hike near Kingston. The trail is mostly a road, so not that scenic, but the views from the top & old hotel are good.
- Slide Mountain. Haven't done this - highest point in the Catskils. Supposed to be a real workout but in summer views may not be great due to overgrowth.
- Mohonk Preserve. This is really a network of trails west of New Paltz, with lots of "options" depending on which switch you take. There are some great views from the Shawungunks to both east and west. I think there's a $20 fee for non-members to park. It's also possible to hike from the Preserve onto the grounds of the Mohonk Mountain House (you can see the gardens and the outside of the resort), and then to the overlook tower.

Other tips - if possible go on a weekday. The trails are much less crowded and parking can be a problem on weekends. Also, AllTrails is a great app that provides detailed maps & trail reviews. Have fun!

I think it is more like $50 these days? It is quite pricey. The rock scramble at Mohonk to the overlook tower lookout is a lot of fun but the hike from the parking lot and back is about 3 hours total so if you are looking for longer you can just hike the other trails there.

You’re confusing the Mohonk Mountain House resort with the Mohonk Preserve. The Preserve surrounds the resort, and is significantly cheaper to visit. It is possible to hike into the resort grounds from the Preserve parking lot & save a bunch of $$.

Yeah, I’m not sure but I think it’s like $10 for a day pass to the preserve and $20 for a hiking day pass to the resort (if you want to park at their gatehouse) but it’s possible to hike onto the resort grounds without buying their day pass.

[Anonymous]

Bumping since we're planning a September trip to this area. Glad to see these recs!