The Catskills (New York)
The Catskills is one of many beautiful areas of New York, full of fresh air and outdoor activities.
Below are some memorable eats, hikes, and unique lodging options within an hour of NY-28 West at Exit 19 (Kingston) of the New York State Thruway (I-87) including Phoenicia, Big Indian, Oliverea, Woodstock, Windham, and Haines Falls. A map at the bottom of this page shows where everything mentioned is in relation to each other.
Eat and Drink
The Phoenicia Diner is a popular spot offering traditional diner favorites with a modern twist, as well as a cocktail bar and an outdoor lot with live music in the summer. Try the Greek salad or Cuban sandwich.
Brio’s Pizzeria is among the finest Neapolitan-style pizza in upstate New York.
Woodstock Brewing has refreshing local beer and excellent food. Dog and family friendly with a relaxing outdoor seating area. Don’t miss it!
Peekamoose offers upscale American fare with locally sourced ingredients in a peaceful restored farmhouse.
Tremper Hill Farms is a small market packed with locally sourced goodies including produce, baked goods, breads, cheeses, and meats. Try the black truffle butter and a loaf of rustic bread to bring home.
Cucina is a spectacular Italian restaurant based on seasonal and local ingredients with excellent fresh pastas and cocktails. The restaurant has a warm atmosphere in a country setting with modern touches — like a NYC restaurant with more space. There are also tables set up along the large wrap around porch in the summer.
Hikes & Walks
Ashokan Rail Trail
11.5 mile walking trail with multiple entrances along NY-28
The Ashokan Rail Trail is a flat 11.5-mile recreational trail that runs along the Ashokan Reservoir between West Hurley and Boiceville. You can park right next to the trail and walk as far as you’d like. The trail is 12 feet in width, flat, and surfaced with highly compacted fine crushed stone, so it’s good for hiking, walking dogs, biking, and running. Both the trail and trailhead parking areas (including the portable restrooms) are ADA compliant and accessible for persons with disabilities.
Access from three public trailheads:
Boiceville Bridge Trailhead (where we usually enter) located at 5080 Route 28A in Boiceville. The Trailhead entrance is at the intersection of Route 28A and Cold Brook Road, approximately 16.5 miles west of the NYS Thruway Exit 19 Traffic Circle.
Ashokan Station Trailhead located at 3045 NY-28 in Shokan. The Trailhead entrance is 11.3 miles west of the NYS Thruway Exit 19 Traffic Circle across from Mountain Road.
Woodstock Dike Trailhead located at 1285 NY-28 in West Hurley. The Trailhead entrance is 5.3 miles west of the NYS Thruway Exit 19 Traffic Circle and approximately 1,500 feet west of the Stewart’s Shop (by Zena Road).
Kaaterskill Falls
1.6 miles roundtrip, AllTrails
Kaaterskill Falls has become extremely popular over the years because it is so beautiful and easily reached. A well marked trail leads you to the viewing platform and lower falls. The difficulty increases as you approach the waterfall but there are stairs for convenience. A long time ago we hiked behind the waterfall and enjoyed this peaceful and unique spot, which may no longer be permitted. Additional routes to the waterfall exist if you wish to plan a longer hike.
Rochester Hollow
Up to 6 miles roundtrip
Rochester Hollow offers a quiet and remote network of three trails (blue, yellow, and red) totaling up to 6 miles round trip. An elevation gain of about 900ft takes place in the first 2 miles after which the trails are relatively flat. The blue trail is a wide carriage trail that runs along a stream while the yellow and red trails veer off from this main path to wind through the woods. A John Burroughs Memorial is located on the blue trail between its intersections with the yellow and red trails.
Note: The trailhead parking lot is a bit difficult to find and located on an unpaved dirt road that at times might require a higher clearance vehicle (I’ve visited this trailhead three times with a normal SUV). The location of the trailhead on Google Maps is correct but sometimes directions to the trailhead are mistaken. Take a look at the map below: The trailhead is reached by turning onto Matyas Road off NY-28. Once on Matyas, keep driving straight past the homes on your left, further than it feels you should go, and you will soon see the trailhead and a big parking lot.
Giant Ledge
3.5 miles roundtrip, 980ft elevation gain
Giant Ledge is a popular and steep ~1.75 mile climb to a series of east-facing ledges with panoramic views of Wittenberg and Slide Mountain. The trail continues beyond the ledges, extending to 6.9 miles roundtrip to the 3,720ft summit of Panther Mountain, but for most of us seeking the shorter 3.5 mile round trip, turn around after enjoying the views and retrace your steps back to your car.
Note: Since the turnaround point is not set in stone, you will see a range of distances reported for this hike between 3-4 miles. I decided to list the midpoint and I can say with confidence that you can reach most of the ledges and return to your car within 3.5 miles and within 2-3 hours for most hikers.
Trailhead Parking: This trail is NOT the “Mohonk Preserve Giant Ledges Trail” (nearly an hour away) which you can mistakenly be led to when typing “Giant Ledge Trailhead” into GoogleMaps. Park here and the trailhead is located across Oliverea Road (Rt. 47) at the hairpin turn.
Tremper Mountain Fire Tower
6 miles roundtrip, 2000ft ascent
On a clear day you will be able to see the summits of Friday (3,694’), Wittenberg (3,780’), Slide (4,180’), Giant Ledge (3,250’), Panther (3,720’), and Balsam (3,600’) from the top of this fire tower (2,740’) erected in 1917, not to mention a cool wooden shelter/campsite (the Baldwin Memorial) on the way up the mountain. The photos below were taken in the month of March.
Trailhead/Parking: Here
Detailed Guide: Here
Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide Mountain
10-11 mile through-hike requiring two cars
A strenuous hike involving challenging rock scrambles and steep pitches with a ~3700ft elevation gain. Do not attempt this hike unless you are in good physical condition and have experience hiking. Always carry a topographical trail map, compass, and sufficient layers, food, and water before setting out. Have a plan. Proper hiking shoes and attire required. There is only one trail through these mountains so once you start, you either finish, or have to hike back the same distance you’ve already covered.
Park one car at the end of the hike in the Slide Mountain West Trailhead parking lot and drive the second car to the start of the hike in the Woodland Valley Campground parking lot.
Straightforward from a navigation standpoint. Follow red blazes from the Woodland Valley Campground to summit of Wittenberg Mountain (3780ft). Proceed to Cornell Mountain (3860ft), navigating the “Cornell Crack”. You soon reach Slide Mountain (4180ft), the highest mountain in the Catskills, and the plaque dedicated to John Burroughs. As you conclude the hike, you have two options: (1) Remain on the red blazes until meeting up with yellow for the shortest and steepest descent for a total hike of 10 miles; or (2) Follow the blue blazes to the yellow blazes for a significantly less steep but one mile longer descent for a total hike of 11 miles.
John Burroughs wrote of his first summit:
Slide Mountain had been a summons and a challenge for me for many years. I had fished every stream that it nourished, and had camped in the wilderness on all sides of it, and whenever I had caught a glimpse of its summit I had promised myself to set foot there before another season should pass. But the seasons came and went, and my feet got no nimbler, and Slide Mountain no lower, until finally, one July, seconded by an energetic friend, we thought to bring Slide to terms by approaching him through the mountains on the east…
We saw the world as the hawk or the balloonist sees it when he is three thousand feet in the air… All was mountain and forest on every hand. Civilization seemed to have done little more than to have scratched this rough, shaggy surface of the earth here and there. In any such view, the wild, the aboriginal, the geographical greatly predominate. The works of man dwindle, and the original features of the huge globe come out. Every single object or point is dwarfed; the valley of the Hudson is only a wrinkle in the earth's surface. You discover with a feeling of surprise that the great thing is the earth itself, which stretches away on every hand so far beyond your ken.
Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide Mountain Route (Through Hike / Two Cars)
Other Slide Mountain Options with One Car:
Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide Out-And-Back Variation (12 miles roundtrip): Start and end the hike at the Woodland Valley Campground by turning around at the summit of Slide Mountain.
Slide Mountain Only Variation (5.6 miles round-trip): Start at the Slide Mountain West Trailhead, and embark on a 5.6 mile round trip out-and- back to the summit of Slide Mountain. Not quite the same experience as the full traverse, but a worthy endeavor all the same.
Stay
Some of the most memorable weekends in the Catskills came from booking an affordable AirBnb or VRBO cabin at the last minute and finding refuge in the woods. That being said, below are some unique lodging option if you are able to extend your budget:
Woodstock Way (Woodstock)
Woodstock Way offers peaceful rooms, some within view or earshot of waterfalls, tucked inside the town of Woodstock. Seconds from town and yet somehow remote.
Hiking: Woodstock Way is a 2 minute drive or 10 minute walk from a short network (1-2 miles) of relatively flat, often stream-lined trails known as the Comeau Property. You can park here and follow the loop in either direction from the parking lot. Here is an AllTrails link of one variation of the loop. Note there is an additional 0.6 miles to explore to the right of that map.
Urban Cowboy (Oliverea)
Urban Cowboy is a trendy spot with emphasis on decor, cocktails, atmosphere, and an excellent kitchen. This would be an option for those looking to escape into the country without losing the comforts of urban life.
Hiking: Urban Cowboy is centrally located amid most of the hikes listed in this post. Minutes from Rochester Hollow, Giant Ledge, and Slide Mountain, and within 20 minutes of the Ashokan Rail Trail and Tremper Mountain Fire Tower.
Eastwind Hotel & Bar (Windham)
Eastwind Hotel & Bar is another trendy spot offering regular lodging as well as glamping Scandinavian “lushnas”. Windham is a bit out of the way from the focus of this post, however there are still versions of a weekend getaway that can encompass a meal or a hike mentioned above in the drives to/from Windham.
Hiking: Eastwind is a 3 minute drive from the Elm Ridge Parking Area which provides access to hikes of all lengths and difficulties largely originating from the Escarpment Trail south of the road and Long Path north of the road. Here is an AllTrails link to hikes originating from this location. You could also just explore!
North South Lake Campground
North-South Lake in Haines Falls is the biggest and most popular state campground in the Catskill Forest Preserve. It is minutes from Kaaterskill Falls and 30 minutes from Woodstock and Tremper Mountain Fire Tower, but excellent hiking options can be found straight from your campsite. The areas circled in yellow in the first map below are just some of the beautiful scenic outlooks accessible from trails originating within the campground, including the vista from the former site of the Catskill Mountain House which stood from 1823 to 1963.
If you are interested in a longer adventure requiring two cars and some driving logistics, the route highlighted above in blue is a great ~8 mile, 2500ft elevation gain through-hike along the Escarpment Trail originating about 35 minutes north of the campground.
Park the first car at the North Lake Picnic Area inside the campground and drive the second car 35 minutes to the start of the hike at the Stork Nest’s Trailhead. Depending on your itinerary, you may need to drive another 70 minutes roundtrip to retrieve the car at Stork Nest’s Trailhead thereafter. The rewards of the hike are worth the extra effort.
Here is an AllTrails link of the route. Highlights included North Point, Badman Cave, Newman’s Ledge, Artist’s Rock, and the Catskill Mountain House Site. The route passes the remains of a small personal aircraft from a tragic plane crash in 1983 which demands another form of reflection.
