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An extremely challenging bushwhack through some unforgiving terrain.
Hiking Trail Description
The Van Benschoten Trail in the Catskills was first cut in the 1920s by Golden Van Benschoten, the caretaker of the old Moon Haw Hunting Club.
The Moon Haw camp, active during the prohibition era, was well-known for being a hideaway for Kingston lawyers engaging in gambling and other escapades—until it was reportedly burned down by their angry spouses.
The area of Moonhaw itself, where the Van Benschoten Trail is located, was named after two Indian chiefs who “transferred the land to settlers”. Since then, the land has seen multiple claims, one notable being its original owner—Andrew Perry Every, a War of 1812 veteran—who received the land post-war as a gift.
Nelson Shultis owned 3,000 acres in the area before he sold most of it to the State. Nearby Shultis Lane speaks to the family’s historical ties to the area, which included a well-known lumber mill in Wittenberg.
The Van Benschoten Trail is an intense bushwhack route, with a mix of old woods roads, stream crossings, abandoned trails, faint blazes, an oxcart road, giant boulders, loose earth, many cairns, cliffs and caves, and one of the steepest headwalls in the Catskills.
My understanding is that Benschoten is pronounced with a hard ‘k’, i.e. “ben-SKO-ten”.
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Van Benschoten Trail
Please note: this route is extremely challenging and requires excellent backcountry off-trail navigation skills.
The Van Benschoten Trail hiking trail includes…
- Old woods roads
- An oxcart road
- Challenging, beautiful terrain
- Cliffs, caves, lose soil, blowdown
- Perhaps the steepest col in the Catskills?
- Several return route options
Fall may be the best time to hike this trail, after the leaves are off the trees and the winter views open up—without the additional stress of ice and snow.
A full breakdown is provided in the hike notes below, with 11 photos.
Van Benschoten Trail Elevation Gain
The elevation gain for this hike is 3000 feet (apx 900 meters). The graph below does a solid job of showing how steep things feel near the top…
Van Benschoten Trail Hike Time
Allow 5-6 hours for this hike.
Van Benschoten Trail Notes & Gallery
Beginning at the classic Moonhaw lot (see exact location below), the route begins by winding around the west side of a private property parcel, which is very important to avoid. Cross an unnamed stream that comes down from Dink, before connecting with the old orange-paint-blazed Van Benschoten trail proper. Or…
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Similar Hikes
If you like challenging off-trail hikes, check out this list of true Catskills bushwhacks.
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The parent mountain for this hike is Wittenberg.
If you do this hike, LMK how it went…
Trailhead Info for this Hike
Small lot but with additional roadside parking.
Google Maps Location: 41.983740, -74.327215
The map below shows the exact topographic location of the trailhead
Cell Service
Moonhaw Road has unexpectedly decent cell coverage because it scoops up signal from Kingston on the far side of the reservoir. However, as always, prepare to lose signal in the Catskills depending on your exact location in the terrain. My network is Verizon. YMMV.
