Best Hikes
The Best Catskills Hiking Trails & Hikes
This hand-curated selection of the most rewarding hikes you can do in the Catskill Park combines the best of the High Peaks, the best of the lower peaks, the best hiking trails, the best bushwhacks, and the best views.
Below, you’ll find a mix of hiking trails and routes that cross a variety of terrain. Most of the hikes are fully trailed, a few are bushwhacks. Some you can tackle solo. Others should definitely be undertaken with a partner or as part of a group hike.
However you plan to hike the Catskills, this list guarantees an awesome time, every time.
Hike Sugarloaf Mountain (Best Route)
A rugged, tough hike over one of the Catskills’ greatest and most beautiful mountains. This counterclockwise route uses Mink Hollow as a pleasant leg warm-up before the difficult climb up the western side of the mountain, and saves the beautiful hike through Pecoy Notch and Dibbles Quarry for the end of the hike.
5½ Catskills Fire Tower Hikes You Can Absolutely Do
All about the five classic Catskills towers — plus the newest (sixth) addition. Includes links to the gear and maps you’ll need to hike safely.
Hike Windham High Peak from Cross Road / Route 23
This might be my new favorite way to hike WHP. The easy first mile and the hemlock-rich woods at the start of this route make it such a pleasant way to begin and end this beautiful day hike.
Red Hill Fire Tower Hiking Trail
This short, easy hike up beautifully-maintained trail in bucolic New York leads to dramatic views of the Southern and Western Catskills.
Hike Overlook Mountain Fire Tower for Sunrise
One of the most popular hikes in the Catskills can be completed in 2-3 hours. Overlook’s fire tower is 60 ft tall and is placed for one of the best views in the Catskills. An excellent view from a large ledge near the summit trail caps this insanely scenic hike.
Hike to Mount Tremper Fire Tower
This short, moderate hike to one of the most popular fire towers in the Catskills ends with an incredible 360° view of dozens of classic Catskill mountains.
Hike Blackhead & Black Dome via Batavia Kill
This route crosses some of the most beautiful hiking trails in the Catskill Mountains. I think this is the best route for hiking Blackhead.
Hike Twin from Roaring Kill
This is one of the most entertaining hiking trails in the Catskill Park, leading up to one of its grandest panoramic views — but it also contains what is maybe the Park’s most challenging, technical and potentially dangerous trail sections. The Devil’s Path is famous for being one of the most difficult hiking trails in the US.
Hike Balsam From Rider Hollow
A truly delightful Catskills hike. Climb Balsam Mountain by hiking up Mine Hollow and down Rider Hollow. One of the most picturesque hikes in the Catskills.
Sloan Gorge Preserve
You don’t have to climb a mountain to experience the Catskills. The lowlands have so much to offer. Sloan Gorge Preserve is a great example: an absolutely delightful, short, and family-friendly nature walk.
New Hiking Trail: Ashokan Quarry Trail
The Ashokan Quarry Trail is a brand new, short, but highly entertaining hike most people will be able to do in under an hour. It’s so varied in terms of terrain, flora, views and ruins, it’s a hit with younger hikers, too.
Kelly Hollow Loop: An Easy & Exceptionally Beautiful Hike
Short, easy and thoroughly absorbing, Kelly Hollow Loop is one of the most beautiful trails in the Catskills. It came highly-recommended to me from several friends and it really delivered.
Hike Plateau via Daley Ridge
This is one of the most outstanding and exceptionally well-designed trails in the Catskills. It offers multiple scenic viewpoints, some of which are the best in the Park. The rocky terrain and rolling woods on Daley Ridge are epic the whole way up.
Best Hike in the Catskills: Wittenberg, Cornell, Slide
This hike does not disappoint. It’s long and difficult, with some hairy sections, but the rewards are enormous and regular, pouring generously into your day, one after another. I’ve decided it’s the best hike in the Catskills. This hike has a lot of elevation gain.
Hike Indian Head
Indian Head is the smallest mountain on the infamous Devil’s Path trail. But it’s also the most delightful. The other five peaks are wonderful too, of course, each in their own way — the scale! the drama! the views! — but hiking Indian Head is a very special, intimate, and rewarding experience.
Snow Hike Balsam Lake Mountain
This route combines the easiest ascent to any summit in the Catskill Park with a much more interesting (and far less trafficked) descent down the south side of the mountain. I also tried to find the scenic view, and visited a lean-to.
