The Best Hikes
The Best Hikes in the Catskills, Hudson Highlands, Adirondacks, and beyond
This hand-curated selection of the most rewarding hikes you can do for scenery: the best trails, the best bushwhacks, the best views, and the most fun.
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.
Wherever you plan to hike, this list guarantees an awesome time, every time.
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Breakneck Ridge
Super scenic and super sketchy — this is the funnest and most popular day hike in New York’s Hudson Highlands.
West Kill via Diamond Notch Falls
One of my favorite hikes in The Catskills, the route from Diamond Notch Falls to Buck Ridge Lookout and the summit of West Kill Mountain is just so beautiful.
Twin Mountain via Jimmy Dolan Notch
This quick ascent to a gorgeous two-peaked Catskill ridge includes a fun, tricky rock scramble — and one of the truly great views in the Catskill Park.
Huckleberry Point
Huckleberry Point is one of the most beloved Catskills destinations. The trail is short, relatively easy, and leads to one of the most dramatic vistas in the Catskill Mountains.
Ashokan High Point (with Plane Wreck)
This loop hike features easy riparian trail, then a steep climb to views of Mohonk and the Shawangunk Ridge, as well as stunning blueberry meadows and a plane wreck just feet from the trail’s edge.
Hike Slide, Cornell & Wittenberg
This is my favorite tough-but-beautiful Catskills hike. Long, rugged, technical and remote, it brings you over three summits to some of the most stunning lookouts in the Catskill Park.
Hike Windham High Peak from Cross Road
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 Classic Trail
This short, easy hike up beautifully-maintained trail in bucolic New York leads to dramatic views of the Southern and Western Catskills.
Tremper Mountain Fire Tower Classic Hike
Tremper Mountain Fire Tower offers incredible 360° views 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.
Twin from Roaring Kill
Twin from Roaring Kill is one of the most entertaining trails in the Catskills — but it also contains what might be the Catskills’ most challenging trail section.
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
Sloan Gorge Preserve offers an absolutely delightful, short, and family-friendly nature walk.
Ashokan Quarry Trail
A short, super-easy hike almost anyone can do with fantastic terrain and scenic views — and a superb set of ruins to explore.
Kelly Hollow Loop
Short, easy and thoroughly absorbing, Kelly Hollow Loop is one of the most beautiful hiking trails in the Catskills. It came highly-recommended and it absolutely delivered.
