Slide

The tallest mountain in the Catskills is one of the easiest Catskills to hike. Slide Mountain also features a number of largely unknown treats…

Peak Details

Height:  4,184ft  (1,275m)

Range:  Southern Catskills

Level:  Easy

Scenic:   Yes 

Trail Type:  Fully Trailed

 Slide Hiking Trails & Hikes

slide mountain view

Slide Mountain (Best Route)

This loop features an easy ascent, great Catskills views, and a beautiful walk-out that passes through varied woods and terrain.

catskills sunrise/sunset view

Burroughs Range Trail Loop

Incredible two-day hike over the highest and finest terrain in The Catskills.

boulders in stream

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.

mountain view at sunset

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.

View from Wittenberg

Best Day Hike in the Catskills: Wittenberg, Cornell, Slide

As rugged as I suspected — but more beautiful than I imagined.

 Slide Topography

 Summit Forecast: Slide

The page URL below shows the weather at Slide’s summit for the next six days.

If a foreacast for a peak is not directly available, this page may display a link to a nearby location.

https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Slide-Mountain-Ulster-County-New-York/forecasts/1280

Slide Information

Slide Mountain & John Burroughs

John Burroughs (1837-1921) was an American naturalist and nature essayist, active in the U.S. conservation movement. Many of Burroughs’ essays came out his deep love and intimate knowledge of the Catskills. In the late 1880s, he chronicled an ascent of Slide Mountain. Speaking of the view from the summit, he wrote:

“We saw the world as the hawk or the balloonist sees it when he is three thousand feet in the air. The works of man dwindle, and the original features of the huge globe come out. Every single object or point is dwarfed; the valley of the Hudson is only a wrinkle in the earth’s surface. You discover with a feeling of surprise that the great thing is the earth itself, which stretches away on every hand so far beyond your ken.”

Today, Slide Mountain with neighboring Cornell and Wittenberg are known collectively as the Burroughs Range.

Best View

The best vantage point to see Slide Mountain is from the west side of Cornell’s summit. From a rocky outcrop just above a lemon squeeze, you can take in Slide’s immense scale.

View of Slide Mountain
Slide Mountain seen from Cornell Mountain

From the same spot, to the right of Slide Mountain, Giant Ledge and Panther mountain are clearly visible…

Scenery: Giant Ledge, Panther, Balsam
Giant Ledge & Panther, seen from Cornell Mountain (with Balsam looking in the background)

New to Mountain Hiking?

Learn what to pack on every hike so you stay safe. Start with the ten essentials.

Try one of these fantastic kid-friendly Catskills hikes.

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