Rusk & East Rusk

The steep bushwhack up the south side of Rusk is never a ton of fun, but Rusk’s summit is lovely; adding East Rusk makes your day even lovelier.

Hike Length: 5.3 miles (8.53 km)

Total Ascent: 1,685ft (514m)

Intensity: Difficult Catskills Hike

Route Type: Lollipop

Includes: Blazed Trail, Herd Path, Easy Bushwhack, True Bushwhack

Parent Rusk

Similar Entries In: Catskills, The Difficult Hikes, , , , , , , .

woody summit

Rusk’s summit and 3500 Club Canister

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 Some pretty tricky terrain on the east side of East Rusk

Hiking Trail Description

The very steep bushwhack up the south side of Rusk is never a ton of fun. But Rusk’s summit is lovely and, if you hike over to East Rusk, your day just gets lovelier.
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The parent mountain for this hike is Rusk.

If you do this hike, LMK how it went…

2 responses to “Rusk & East Rusk

  1. I climbed Rusk with my friend Ariel this past June. We found a very clear herd path leading up the mountain from the hairpin turn on Spruceton Road, and we followed it all the way to the canister. We lost the herd path at the ledges around 3500 feet, but soon found it again. On the way down, though, we lost the herd path at the ledges and bushwhacked down to the Spruceton Trail. We had heard that there is a south-facing viewpoint near the summit, but could not find it.

    1. Yes, this report is from a hike I did last year but I’ve heard the herd paths are strong there now, and on North Dome/Sherrill too.

Your comments are welcome here…

Trailhead Info for this Hike

Large but popular lot also serves Hunter and its fire tower. Get there early.

Google Maps Location: 42.184468, -74.271411

The map below shows the exact topographic location of the trailhead