The CMC was featured in the Oneonta Daily Star recently. We are grateful for the recognition of our work on behalf of outdoors enthusiasts and of the communities of the Catskills that benefit from the great recreational assets of our region.
Photo contributed by the CMC – The Pepacton Reservoir as seen from the Shavertown Trail.
April 24, 2019 With the growing interest in the Catskills All Trails Challenge (CATC), we have created a Facebook group dedicated to the folks who are hiking the Challenge. The page gives you a place to connect with one another, share information and advice about the trails, ask questions, make plans, share routes, find hiking and carpooling partners and post pictures and descriptions of your adventures on the trails of the Catskill Park.
Anyone who has hiked or is interested in hiking the All Trails Challenge is welcome to join the group. You’ll need a Facebook account to join. Simply go to the following link and ask to join. Catskills All Trails Challenge on Facebook.
We welcome all hikers who share our values of good stewardship of the Catskill Park. We endorse Leave No Trace principles and compliance with the rules and regulations written by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in order to protect the Catskill Forest Preserve, which was created to protect these lands as “Forever Wild” by an Amendment to the New York State Constitution. These regulations include limited hiking group sizes, with a legal limit of 20 without a special permit. We suggest a limit of 12 to limit impacts on sensitive and endangered plant communities, and to preserve the quality of the wilderness experience. For more, visit our page Recreational Use Regulations for the Catskill Park Forest Preserve.
Two weeks from tomorrow on Tuesday, February 5th the CMC and our many partners in the Catskill Park Coalition will head up to Albany on Catskill Park Day. Our purpose is to talk to legislators, the governor and officials at the DEC about the recreational needs of our region, including stewardship of the Catskill Park, aid to our communities, protection of our environment, conservation and many other things that impact on the health and quality of our area’s great outdoor spaces.
Click here for a summary of our goals and how you can help advance them, even if you can’t go to Albany. Find the contact info for your legislators and for the Governor and give them a call or write a letter supporting our requests. And please join us on February 5th as we make our case to our state’s leaders. Thanks in advance for helping to protect and improve the Catskill Park!
For more info, contact us at wendell@catskillmountianclub.org.
Register to go, get contact info and find a sample letter here.
Follow on Facebook here.
Note: For an updated post see here.
November 15, 2018 Beginning November 17th and lasting through December 9th, the popular regular deer and bear hunting season means that everyone who goes into the woods in the Catskills needs to be aware, be alert and ALWAYS BE DRESSED IN ORANGE (dogs included). Whether you are on forest preserve, state forest or NYCDEP lands, the three week period during which hunters are permitted to use rifles is a time for added care.
Alternatives where hunting is not permitted do exist. Most are not within the Catskills proper, but all are close enough to make a day trip practical. It is advisable to wear orange even when hiking on these trails. The added precaution affords peace of mind.
Listed below are 16 great places to get outdoors where hunting is not permitted. We suggest that you consider exploring new territory or revisiting your favorites. Happy Trails!
Andes Rail Trail/Bullet Hole Spur (in Andes)
Bear Mountain State Park (near West Point)
Black Creek Preserve (near Esopus)
Delhi Trails (in Delhi)
Ferncliff Forest & Fire Tower (Rhinebeck)
Harriman State Park (near Harriman)
High Banks Preserve (near Ulster Park)
Highland Lakes State Park (near Middletown)
Mills-Norrie State Park (near Staatsburg)
Minnewaska State Park Preserve* (near New Paltz)
Riddell State Park (near Laurens/Oneonta)
Thacher State Park** (near Voorheesville)
The Willows at Brandow’s Point (Athens)
Wallkill Valley Rail Trail (Kingston to Gardiner)
Walkway Over the Hudson &
Franny Reese State Park (can be combined) (Poughkeepsie/Highland)
The North-South Lake Day Use Area is one place in the Catskill Park where hunting is not permitted. Be aware that the area does not include Kaaterskill Falls or the Escarpment Trail to the south of the intensive use area. It does extend on all trails north to Badman Cave.
*No bear season. For deer seasons, no hunting in the vicinity of hiking trails – check map here: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/attachments/Minnewaska2017HuntingMapMinnewaska.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0c-LusE0CwKNafcBrJidoc2K73nagbtsEll1HXmv4a3iyKKLo-aSllsJY
**hunting allowed in a some areas. See map for details: https://parks.ny.gov/…/ThacherThacherStateParkHuntingMap.pdf
With great company, it was a nice way to spend a summer’s day. We hope to see many more of you at next year’s festivities!
Accessible Trail at Little Pond Campground
Most of us take for granted the almost endless opportunities we have to get out into the great outdoors. Whether we’re hitting the trail, casting for trout, paddling, or going rogue by ‘whacking our way into the unknown, we know well how important that chance to connect with nature is. And we appreciate it deeply.
For some of us, getting that feeling isn’t so easy. Our friends and family members who have limited mobility need and deserve resources that can accommodate them so they can get out and experience that connection with nature, too. The Americans with Disabilities Act has encouraged the development of infrastructure to make getting out easier. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, other governmental agencies and even some non-governmental organizations have accessible facilities all around the Catskills, including trails, fishing areas, water access points, picnic pads, camping pads, pavilions and restrooms. Recent improvements have been completed at Kenneth Wilson Campground, a DEC facility in the Town of Woodstock and the DEC has filed notice for comments on a plan to improve and add to the accessible facilities at the North-South Lake Campground near Haines Falls. Accessible attractions also include iconic spots like Kaaterskill Falls and the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade. For travelers, easy to get to trails and other amenities can be found at the Catskill Interpretive Center in Mt. Tremper.
Here are links to pages that list where many of these facilities are located.
NYSDEC Accessible Recreation Destinations listed by county.
Accessible Catskills Hiking, Camping and Outdoors
NYS Parks – search by the park name or location and look for the “Amenities and Activities” section.
DEP TO UNVEIL BOOT BRUSH STATION AND HOST COMMUNITY HIKE AT SHAVERTOWN TRAIL IN DELAWARE COUNTY
Boot brush, designed to combat invasive species, is among the first in the Catskills
DEP will also co-host community hike at Shavertown on July 13 with Catskill Mountain Club
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will co-host a community hike and unveil its new boot-brush station at the Shavertown Trail near Pepacton Reservoir on July 13. The event, which is free and open to all, will begin at 10:30 a.m. The Catskill Mountain Club and DEP will lead the hike, which will take participants along a new section of the trail that was recently constructed by volunteers.
The event will begin at the trailhead on County Route 1 in Andes, just north of its intersection with Route 30. DEP this month installed a boot-brush station at the trailhead to help minimize the spread of invasive species. The station is among the first of its kind in the Catskills. It includes a mounted brush on which hikers can clean their boots, information to help identify several invasive species that are approaching the region, and a gravel pad that is intended to trap any seeds that might get brushed off.
The boot-brush station will help prevent the spread of many types of invasive species, especially invasive plants such as bittersweet and barberry. Invasive plants cannot move far on their own. Even wind-dispersed seeds generally do not blow too far. Most new infestations are started by people who unintentionally move the seeds through recreational activities such as hiking, hunting or fishing. That’s why boot-brush stations are becoming more common throughout New York, especially in the northern and western parts of the state where outdoor recreation is popular. Continue reading
There are two recent additions to the trail system on Overlook Mountain. The Meads Meadow Trail and the Overloop Trail provide new easy to moderate hikes that loop north off the Overlook Spur Trail, which has been extended to the new Meads Meadow Trailhead parking area. Together they add 1.8 miles of new trails. Going forward, those trails are being added to the list of trails that must be hiked in order to complete the All Trails Challenge requirements. With their inclusion their are now 347 miles of designated hiking trails that must be hiked to receive your cetificate, patch and shirt. More Happy Hiking!
Overlook Mountain Wild Forest map.
April 10, 2018
Parking has always been a bit tricky for visitors to the Andes Rail Trail and Bullet Hole Spur, but no longer. There has been a great improvement to the parking situation thanks to the Town of Andes, landscaper Mel Bellar and CMC board member Ann Roberti. The entrance to the Trail and to the historic train station has been opened up and improved so that parking is now available adjacent to the trailhead. The trailhead itself has a newly redesigned
entrance. The parking area was paved with crushed stone by LaFever Excavating. While there, they generously donated work to improve a long existing drainage problem on the trail. The CMC thanks all those involved in these projects for a great job.
Do You Have Some Time to Spare? Love to Pitch in on a Community Project? Looking for a Good Excuse to Get Out of the House (and Into the Woods)? We’ve Got You Covered!
We admit it. We’ve got big eyes. We look around at all of the great things happening in the Catskills and we want to jump into the action. But, alas, we could use lots more help. Here’s what’s coming up. See something that appeals? Just get in touch with us and we’ll tell you how you can help.