Popular Catskills Hikes
The Most Popular Catskills Hiking Trails
These Catskills mountain hikes are beloved and often busy to the point of being beleaguered, especially at weekends. But they’re popular for a reason: most offer stunning scenic views from ledges or fire towers.
High Use Areas
Use this list to plan your visit — either to avoid known popular locations during busy times, or to visit them during off-peak hours and days.
Staff & Volunteers
On busy weekends, several high-use areas — e.g. Peekamoose Blue Hole, Kaaterskill Falls, Plattekill Clove — are staffed with specially trained Catskill Stewards. You may also come across forest rangers. Their collective job is to help preserve our wild lands, though we can all be stewards through our sensitive use of the outdoors.
Timing is Everything
If you’re desperate to get away from people, these are definitely not the hikes for you — at least not at peak hours on peak days. Friday / Saturday / Sunday will see many of their trailheads overflowing by 9am.
Tip 1: Choose well. I prefer to do these hikes mid-week, when most people are at work. Or I will hike them in the very early hours, in the dark, on my way to a summit sunrise.
Tip 2: Have a concrete alternate hike in mind in case you need to switch to Plan B. Especially in 2020, during COVID times, trailheads seem twice as busy as they’ve ever been.
Tip 3: Leave No Trace. Carry out every single item you carry in. Leave zero trash, not even a single scrap of orange peel — it takes six months to decompose!
Kaaterskill Falls via Kaaterskill Rail Trail – Upper Route
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, and is the perfect trail in winter for some easy snow-shoeing or cross country skiing.
Huckleberry Point Trail
Huckleberry Point is one of the most beloved Catskills destinations. For a mountain hike, this hiking trail is short and relatively easy. With very little effort, in 75 minutes or so, you’ll get out to one of the most dramatic vistas in these hills. This is an extremely popular and memorable hike.
Ashokan High Point Trail (with Plane Wreck)
This wonderful loop hike has an easy start with almost three miles of beautiful riparian trail. Then a steep climb leads to the summit where there’s a great view of Mohonk and the Shawangunk Ridge. The hike down Ashokan High Point’s west side is notable for its beautiful meadows and views, a plane wreck, as well as a handful of steep trail pitches.
5½ Catskills Fire Tower Hikes You Can Absolutely Do
Everything you need to know 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
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.
Overlook Mountain Trail
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 an insanely scenic hike.
Mount Tremper Fire Tower Hiking Trail
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 Giant Ledge & Panther Mountain
This classic route to Giant Ledge is a short moderate hike with a huge pay-off: a series of ledge views which are spectacular in all seasons. This is one of the most popular hiking trails in the Catskills.
Hike Windham High Peak from Peck Road
One of the easiest Catskill high peaks to hike is also one of the most rewarding — with an enchanted spruce forest, great views of the Blackhead range, and three awesome summit lookouts.
Hike Rochester Hollow
An easy hike through beautiful woods leads to a series of magnificent stone fences, ruins, and a memorial to John Burroughs. This is an underutilized and under-appreciated trail. Especially suited to skiers, trail-runners and animal track lovers.
Indian Head Hiking Trail (Best Route)
Fantastic terrain, epic views, a beloved cliff ascent, a long boreal summit, a steep and rugged descent, and an easy walk out through beautiful woods — this is my absolute favorite single-mountain hike in the Catskills.
Balsam Lake Fire Tower Hiking Trail
Even light snow cover turns Balsam Lake into a glittering winter wonderland. And it’s a cinch to hike. A cold fall morning is the perfect time to take in the fire tower’s incredible 360° view. Winter hikes to the tower are absolutely spectacular.
Hike Kaaterskill High Peak & 2 Plane Wrecks
KHP’s summit is a Catskills classic with a spectacular view from Hurricane Ledge. This route takes in two eerie plane wrecks, and there is much to see on the long trek in and out. This a tough, muddy, rewarding hike.
Hike Vly & Bearpen
Personal opinion: these are the only two boring Catskill 3500 hikes. Vly has a few small ledges to keep things interesting, barely, but I swear the trailed route up Bearpen has almost nothing to recommend it. Luckily, you can bag both of these hills together on a single, easy out-and-back.
Slide Mountain Loop (Best Route)
This loop features an easy ascent, great Catskills views, and a beautiful walk-out that passes through varied woods and terrain.
