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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Opens in a new tab/window. Click on the small °F or °C boxes to toggle between US and Metric.
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 his native 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.
From the same spot, to the right of Slide Mountain, Giant Ledge and Panther mountain are clearly visible…
New to Mountain Hiking?
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Try one of these fantastic kid-friendly Catskills hikes.
Looking for something less strenuous? You’ll love a Catskills Nature Walk.
