Hike Recommendations

Another good two-day hike in the Catskills is Hunter Mountain, starting from Spruceton Road.  You can make a loop via the Spruceton Trail, Hunter Mountain Trail and Devil's Path and stay at either the John Robb Lean-to or the Devil's Acre Lean-to.  If you want to make it into a three-day trip, you can stay one night at each.  There are excellent views from the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower as well as from a number of viewpoints along the trails.

You don't say if you need a loop or will be bringing multiple cars. Nor do you mention how many miles you are willing to hike in a day.  Here are a few ideas:

Start in Woodland Vallley. Hike over Wittenberg, Cornell and Slide Mtn. Great views there. Then there is a road walk of about a mile.  You can spend the night at Giant Ledge (be sure to use a legal campsite because I've seen the rangers up there checking in the evening), then hike back out to Woodland Valley the next morning.  Awesome views on Wittenberg, Cornell and Giant Ledge.  Slide has a great view from the spring on the eastern slope.I think this one is about 15-18 miles if I recall correctly.

For something shorter, starting at Prediger Road take the Devils Path to the Jimmy Dolans notch trail. Take it to its end on the Devils Path and go east over Indian Head. Then head up the Overlook Trail and depending on how ambitious you are, camp near the shelter, or go further on to Echo Lake.  Then the next morning double back on the Overlook to the Devils Path and take that back to your car.

If you have two cars, Pather Mountain and Giant Ledge is a nice end to end hike. Great views along the way and it's short enough for a very leisurly hike.

Another good end to end is taking the Peekamoose-Table Trail over Peekamoose and Table mountians. Camp along the Neversink, then you can take the unmarked but distinct trail along the Neversink to the Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide trail and out to Woodland Valley.  Or when leaving the Neversink catch the Phonecia East Branch and take it over the shoulder of Slide and out on Slide Mountain Rd (this offers fewer views on the 2nd day than going the Cornell Wittenberg route).

For views galore start at North/South Lake and take the Escarpment Trail south,then east and stay on it as it wraps north.  You can camp somewhere around Stoppel Point. Then return via the Marys Glen and Rock Shelter trails. This offers the most views, but also the most crowds, at least until you get beyond North Point.

Hard to beat the Catskills in the Tri State area.  If you want to avoid people try the trails that don't have the awesome viewpoints.  If you insist on visiting the great views you will encounter a lot of people (esp. on Slide Mtn and around North/South Lake), unless you go midweek.  I've found the Catskills to be overall less crowded than much of the Adirondacks, though once you get away from the High Peaks and head west the crowds thin out, but so does the scenery somewhat.

I'm looking for the same thing.  I would like to do an overnight hike, pitch a tent and set up camp for the night.  I understand it's legal under 3500 feet and 150 feet off the trail, but the environment isn't always accommodating and there's nothing worse than being tired at the end of the day and the sun goes down without a campsite set up...  Let me know if you find anything out!!!

Do you plan on camping in one spot and then hike around returning to your camp?Or are looking for a multi day backpack trip.

 I do think you would like the southern Catskill's.

Andy Garrison - srtmaintainer@gmail.com

Thanks to you both.  Will check out all those options!

There are AT leanto's plus camping in High Point State Park; lean to in Wawayanda State Park.  In addition, overnite camping is offered in Mahlon Dickerson Park (Morris County) and Stephens State Park, and others.    Check our parks listings for where camping is provided and you can plan weekend hikes from that. 

There is the AT in the Kittatinnies, but I think that's about the same distance as the Catskills. Real back country camp sites don't exist in Northern New Jersey, but a great compromise would be http://www.glengray.org/. Great hiking all around.

There is the Town of Ramapo Equestrian Center which is just a little north of Kakiat on Route 202.  I have no idea about overnight parking but we've parked there for day hikes,  The SBM is just 1/2 mile in off the Pine Meadow.  I am sure you could find their number and ask them.

Neil,

 Use Smiley's Taxi as they serve the ski slopes and such in that area. They are in Tannersville and can be reached at (518) 589-6533. We used them when we did the Long Path through the northern Catskill's. The service was very good. I suggest parking your car at the end of your hike and taking the cab to the beginning.

Have fun,

Andy Garrison

As one who enjoys cross-country skiing, I think I can answer the question.  The ski tracks make it possible tor one to glide with one's skis, thereby enhancing the skiing experience.  If hikers walk in the tracks, they become uneven, and it is much more difficult (and much less fun) to follow those tracks in skis.  Common courtesy to skiers should require hikers not to step in the ski tracks.

Given the near record temperatures we had today, I found it somewhat ironic that you chose this day to pose your question.  So far this season, your question has been solely a theoretical one!

If you are a very experienced hiker in excellent shape and thoroughly prepared for adverse conditions, a through hike of the Devil's Path can be done even in the winter, when the trail is covered with snow and ice.  But I would not recommend this.  Many sections of the Devil's Path -- particularly the west face of Sugarloaf Mountain -- can be very treacherous in the winter, and crampons are absolutely essential.  Even with crampons, the west face of Sugarloaf is extraordinarily difficult to negotiate in the winter, and if you want to do a through hike, it makes much more sense to wait until the spring, when conditions are more favorable.  Once the snow and ice has melted (probably sometime in early April), you might want to do your hike before it becomes very hot in the summer.  But even in the best conditions, the Devil's Path is a real challenge, due to its steep ups-and-down and huge total elevation gain.  Good luck!

Jack, you'll find several good trail and woods road runs in Harriman/Bear Mtn. The bike path at Anthony Wayne; 2 excellent loops starting from Sebago boat launch area using the ski trail & woods roads encircling Lake Wanoksink and the 3 reservoirs. There are 2 runs near Lake Stahahe and Island Pond Road & a great loop around Doodletown. All will be covered in the upcoming Circuit Hikes in Harriman book coming out from Trail Conference this fall. Hope that helps. Don Weise

Are you driving or taking public transit?

Do you want to do a loop, or out and back?

Do you want to run the entire time, or are you comfortable with some hiking/scrambling mixed in?

Have you been to Harriman before? Shoes with a rock plate are strongly advised.

I hope you made it.  It was beautiful yesterday on Schunemunk.  Did you take the route you proposed?  I've not used any of the wood roads although they are clearly marked on the map.  Last time I did it I found the Long Path up Little Knob and High Knob very steep especially for descending but once you're up, that walk along the side of the mountain is breathtaking.  

We did a loop from Hi-Mar Lodge on the Long Path up to Barton Swamp.  There was clear evidence of hunting activity (blinds and ATV tracks) in that section of private land after the Long Path passes the Western Ridge and then again on the private section of Barton Swamp.  I would probably avoid that area in hunting season from now on.  But overall it was a beautiful hike - not quite long enough :-)  

Very good idea to wear orange.  We saw one other couple and the man had an orange hat on too.  

Schunemunk Mountain is made up of a patchwork of lands owned or managed by private owners, land trusts and NY State Dept of Parks. Much of the private land has open hunting season in accordance with the southern region DEC regulations. This means that much of the State Parks managed land is surrounged by active hunters durring the season, although, currently there is no hunting on the State property. (Consideration is currently being given to opening deer hunting next year.) Advise, if you plan to hike in the Schunemunk Mountain S. P. wear blaze orange by all means.

For a full list of regulations go to: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28182.html .

You can see a clear breakdown of the hunting seasons for each of the states regions at http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/huntingseasons1112.pdf   

The NY State areas of the Mountain are under the management of the Sterling Forest State Park. If you'd like to contact them you can try (845) 351-5907. They may have some additional information. 

At this time only bow hunting is allowed in hunting areas. Regular gun season begins Nov 19th and runs through Dec 11. 

Hi- The Smiley Carriegway runs right through the Witch's Hole State Forest. A very reliable pipe spring can be found along Smiley within this state forest. Best spot for camping can be found on the uphill northern end of the state forest near a stream.

Andy Garrison

witches hole state forest [ dec state land ] there is a pipe spring there along hike from the sams point area perhaps 8 miles , look at the trail conference map for detail. not many flat spots at witches hole.

Can't help you wiht the parking since i always use public transportation, but i will say this:

1- your day 1 is at least 8 miles, and will feel like more with all the ascending/descending you will be doing

2- if you take the SBM trail north from the shelter, you may have to do some serious rock scrambling. I hiked the entire SBM trail 2 years back (but in the opposite direction), and i remember one section where i had to climb down a ways, and it was one of the toughest scrambles i've done. At one point i almost wished i had a rope for safety. I can't say for sure that this section you would be hiking is where this scramble is, but just be aware that it is a possibility. Other than that, i am not familiar with the trails in this part of Harriman.

Have fun!

I also want to do the same hike- I want to head out this Monday, and want to do atg least 3-4 days(will take other connecting trails if Dev's P will be too short). Have you done the hike already?If so - how was it? If not, maybe we could do it together? I am looking for other people to join because I prefer not to be there on my own...

Thanks!!

Dan 

Hi Dustin,

The Catskill's map set shows the entire length of the Devil's Path, it's on map 141. Trail Conference maps show shelters, water and view points to name a few things. currently the western trailhead in Spruceton for this trail is closed because of Irene. You can stay updated on this matter with this link http://www.nynjtc.org/news/postirene-message-hikers-trail-maintainers

The maps also have trail descriptions on the backs of them. I suggest that you buy a map set as they cover many miles of trails in the Catskill's. The coverage area is NE Sullivan, Ulster, Greene, Southern Delaware and Extreme Southern Schoharie Counties.

Andy Garrison