Catskills

Plateau from Stony Clove Notch
After a steep mile, this hike up Plateau rewards with three great scenic lookouts — and then an easy walk across a stunningly wooded ridge.

Thru-Hike North Dome & Mount Sherrill
This intense bushwhack route over two of the most difficult Catskills peaks is challenging and rewarding.

Silver Hollow Notch & Edgewood Mountains
This short hike to a quiet Catskills double-peak proves how the Lower Catskills can often out-reward the Classic 3500 Peaks.

Hunter Mountain Fire Tower (Best Route)
This moderate and very scenic hike can be completed in 4-5 hrs. This is the easiest route to climb Hunter Mountain.

Fir & Big Indian
This long hike mixes beautiful Catskills trails and fun water crossings with a long bushwhack section over two substantial mountain peaks.

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.

Eagle Mountain from Seager
Not many people hike this way to Eagle but it’s the most beautiful route. The Seager Big Indian trail which passes along Dry Brook is uniquely challenging and magical.

Kaaterskill Rail Trail
This is a short, super-easy hike to one of the most popular Catskills destinations. It includes views not seen by those who park closer to the falls. It’s the perfect trail in winter for some easy snow-shoeing or cross country skiing.

Belleayre via Lost Clove
This challenging out and back begins with one of the steepest trails in the Catskills, passes over two sub-peaks and visits two lean-tos on the way to a ski resort with a scenic view.

Mill Brook Ridge via Kelly Hollow
This is the shortest route to Mill Brook Ridge’s summit over public land. It includes a full loop of Kelly Hollow, one of the most beautiful hiking trails in the Catskills. A short-but-steep bushwhack connects the two locations.

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.

Rocky and Lone via Fisherman’s Path
Due to the remoteness of its two mountains, the ruggedness of the terrain, and the skin-shredding forest, this is widely regarded as the toughest hike in the Catskills.

Fisherman’s Path
The Fisherman’s Path is an unmaintained hiking trail in Denning, New York, popular with casual hikers for weekend campouts and used regularly by 3500 hikers to access Rocky & Lone mountains. The entire trail is exceptionally beautiful.

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.

Little Ashokan
The bushwhack to Little Ashokan is one of the steeper and sketchier routes I’ve hiked in the Catskills: craggy ledges, loose dirt and rocks, lots of blowdown. But the summit is magical, and the view it affords it is startlingly beautiful.

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.
