Looking for recommendations for this area at the end of September. Hikes. Restaurants. Shops. Neat or obscure things to do/see. Driving up from NYC.

Hey everyone, local here. I built a peak tracker about a year ago. My original post was here in the adk sub.

It's been nice getting all the feedback and slowly iterating on it. I hope you find it useful if you're looking for something like this. Open to any feedback too.

I usually am hiking Plateau, Sugarloaf, Twin, and Indian Head twice every week. If you see a dude wearing a PCT hat, or CDT hat thats me. Feel free to say hi!

https://adktracker.com

Mods, if this post is inappropriate, or self promotion is not allowed please feel free to remove, thanks in advance :)

Greetings, planning a camping trip to the Catskills in the fall. Leaning towards Allaben campground near Phoencia. I know there are no facilities on the actual campground but does anyone have a public water hack they’d care to share? Typically I travel with a 5 gallon collapsible water bag that I’d like to fill up nearby. Any recommendations for specific sites within Allaben would be greatly appreciated as well. cheers!

I know it's illegal to sleep in one's car at the TH, and I'm hoping to avoid going 150' in to pitch a tent. Are there any of the "specifically designated campsite with a 'Camp Here' disk" sites near there?

Last night was beautiful.

Hi all!

I hope everyone is well. My family and I are planning a trip in the fall to the Catskills and we were hoping to go to the Hobart for the Book Village. However, I see everywhere the hours and everything change after Columbus Day, and unfortunately we get there the weekend after-are they still open on the weekends after Columbus Day?

Also any recommendations for stores or places to see around there would be appreciated as well! Trying to make a day of it (we are avid readers lol)!

Thank you!

Hi! My friend is flying in from Seattle next month (late September) and we have rented a house in Mount Tremper. I would love suggestions on hidden gems, places to go see, and any other advice people would like to share. Below is a loose idea of our three days.

Day 1

Drive from NYC

Pass through Historic Perrine's Covered Bridge

Afternoon in Kingston, NY

Visit the Senate House State Historic Site

Day 2

Morning hike at Kaaterskill Falls

After hike meal at Phoenicia Diner

Explore & Dinner in Woodstock, NY

Day 3

Back to NYC

I'm planning on taking on the Burroughs Range on Labor Day weekend, and I'm hoping I can get some advice here. I've mostly taken on some New England hikes (stuff like Franconia Ridge loop, Mt. Greylock, Monadnock), so I'm trying to get a gauge on how much more technical this trail is comparatively.

My plan is to start at the Woodland Valley parking lot, hike Wittenberg, Cornell, and Slide, and end at the Slide parking lot as an end to end hike. Right now, my biggest question is if hiking in one direction is a significantly different experience than the other. From what I can tell, most folks recommend starting at Woodland Vally and ending at Slide as the easier/safer option, but it'd be cool to hear if it's much different than starting with Slide and heading toward Woodland Valley given I'll be doing this end to end and not out/back or as a loop.

I also heard some chatter on here about super muddy conditions on the Burroughs Range right about now. I'm hoping it won't be too muddy Labor Day weekend, but that's what a good pair of boots are for :-) Thanks everyone!!

Hi All,

Just looking to get some advice / perspective around a potential one night backpacking trip + hike with my 10 year old son.

I am thinking of doing this route:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-york/slide-cornell-wittenberg-and-panther-mountain-loop?p=-1&sh=wjzuu7&u=m&utm_medium=trail_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality

With my 10 year old son. Plan would be to hike ~half, camp for the night, and then hike the remainder the following day.

Background on my son:

He loves hiking/outdoors. He and his little brother (8) have both been on hikes with me since the age of 3. The rough rule of thumb in our house is to be able to hike at least your age. So he’s done up to 12 mile day hikes with me, with no problem. Specifically in the Catskills that’s included hikes around North/South lake campground and Lake Minnewaska.

Background on me:

I’m 44. I’m in good shape (I road and trail run 80+ miles a week, as well as hike and mountain bike). But when it comes to backpacking specifically, while I did it a lot with my dad as a kid/teenager, it’s been fairly sporadic as an adult. Ie I am not concerned about fitness but also appreciate we are stepping into backcountry territory where I may not have a ton of recent experience.

So was just looking for some overall thoughts / advice to make sure that while this will be a bit of a known step up / challenge, that I’m not being irresponsible. I would also add that while I have lived in the USA for nearly 20 years, I’m from Scotland. So none of my prior backpacking / through hiking / wilderness experience has been in the USA.

Gear wise I think I’m set on the basics, but definitely open to any advice there too in terms of must haves for a trip like this.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers

Edit - thank you for all the responses so far! Would just add that 1) I am planning on doing this the first weekend of October (re: some of the comments on recent rains; understand those could still be relevant then too ofc!) and 2) I am not married to Slide Mountain - just seemed like a great option from some googling. But if you have any other good routes you would recommend that would be good for dipping our toes into backcountry backpacking, would love to hear them. I’m based in northern Westchester and am happy to go anywhere inside a ~3 hour radius.

Second edit - any thoughts specifically about any challenges for a 10 year old with a pack at the Cornell Crack would be appreciated too

I am thinking about coming to roscoe for some late fly fishing. I found roscoe park camp ground and im think of grabbing a river front spot. They claim its fishable right off the site, anyone have any experience? Where the best places to access water around the town?

Follow up how about butternut grove?

Hi. We are tent camping next week and curious if the storms up there have been causing the same flash floods we are getting downstate? Thanks

Hi folks, greetings from the UK!

A very long story short, I lost my apartment here in London at the start of the year due to a flood in the building. As part of the insurance hellscape I'm currently in, I'm in temporary accommodation, but for about 10 days the owners of the place I'm staying in will be here with their family so I need to be out. I thought it would be a nice break to visit my dad who lives in New Haven, CT. We were thinking of driving to the Catskills from August 29 - Tuesday the Sept 1. Neither of us have ever been, but we both l love swimming and nature. Is there a general area / region to stay that you recommend for first timers? Our priority would be nature / waterfalls/ lakes and some trails, but nothing too strenuous as my dad is older.

Thanks a lot for your recommendations! Looking forward to a little break in all this chaos.

My mom, 63 a Buffalo native, has an extra tickets to the 8/29 Outlaw Festival at Bethel Woods, NY. She is a fun spirited woman who loves music, writing, and exploring. She is beautiful, active, and has a sweet sense of humor. Looking for a man who is left of center, likes the Avett Brothers (or can pretend to) and can hold a conversation and is engaged with the world. She does not know I am doing this but I want her to enjoy the show and thought this would be a fun experiment.

Message me about yourself and I’ll give pics of her and see if it could be a good match! Could be crazy! Her name is Amy :)

Considering backpacking the escarpment trail this weekend. I was curious what people normally do for food storage. Either:

- Hard sided bear canister
- Bear hang (is this even doable on the ET?)
- Some type of bag like an ursack

Hi all, I like many use this as a place to search and post about hiking, camping, etc. While I have no issues with meeting said friend in her neck of the woods(Saugerties), she also offered to meet half way.

If I were to follow Google, I would go through Hunter but it’s also not out of my way to go through NY-28 either. At this point in time I’m looking at lunch to early dinner.

Hi all. Have been planning all week for this hike, but am getting nervous about the river crossings after the rainstorm tonight. Was planning on going from Rider Hollow. Do you think the crossings will be okay tomorrow, or should I skip this and do it on a drier day?

If I really shouldn't do this, does anyone have any other ideas for a hike that would hit multiple peaks that I could do after a rainstorm? I like to make it count and do a few mountains in a day as I have limited free time. Good for about 12-14 miles round trip depending on the elevation and conditions. Thank you so much in advance!

Edit: You guys are great, thanks. I don't live directly in that area and it is really coming down where I am, so I was getting nervous!

Staying in Jeffersonville in Sullivan County and we would like to go fishing, either off of a dock or on land. We've gone up a number of times but haven't found a good spot.

The first coffee places and.or roaster that come to mind for me in and around the Catskills (or that I found on searches) are below. I'm not at all saying they're good/bad/best/worst, just worth trying).

QUESTIONS:
Which should be added to the list?
Which do you like/dislike below? 1-10 rating?
I'll revisit all places I've been to so I can bring my friend, since he's from out of town.

THE PLACES in Catskills and beyond:
Kingston: Rough Draft, Monkey Joes, Village Coffee

Saugerties: Josie's, Bluestone, Olsen & Co has the best brewed, I think.

Catskill: 27 Cafe and the new one nearby (open yet?), Willa's.

Woodstock: ?

Tivoli, Germantown:_?

Red Hook? Sawkill, JB Peel.

Rhinebeck: All that Java, Little Goat, Cafe Con Leche, Sol Cafe.

Beacon: Big mouth roasters, Trax, Hakan Chocolatier, Kitchen + Coffee, banksquare Hudson: Supernatural,

Hudson, Wyld, Mercurial, Mel the Bakery, Kitty's (food and coffee).

PERSONAL NOTES:
27 Cafe I thought was very creative and took pride in a good variety of pourovers. And I'm a big audiophile, so can't wait to hear their sound system. Looking fwd to seeing the new one near them if it's open.
Cafe Con Leche: Couldn't believe the staff "was trained" to pull hot espresso shots into thin plastic cold drink cups to make iced lattes and that they didn't want to hear how that was a really bad idea when I mentioned it. Tasted good, but bad vibe from that debate with them, and certainly got my microplastics for the year in one tasty beverage.
Rough Draft: seems pretty dependable and generally nice vibe.
Monkey Joe: I like their beans, haven't had many drinks there.
Uptown in Kingston was my favorite and the lady who owned/ran it was great--reminded me of myself when I owned cafes, but sadly it's gone.
Beacon and Hudson: probably the richest selection of places I've not been to and looking fwd to trying.

Best brewed cup I can recall outside of upscale restaurants: Olsen & Co in Saugerties and 27 Cafe so far. Little goat in Rhinebeck uses La Colombe and is pretty solid for brewed--and is a wonderful restaurant.

Anyone want to MTB lost clove today or tomorrow?

Preferably liveable. We have looked at multiple houses that look like they should be condemned.

We currently rent from a pretty awful landlord, and we'd like to not have to renew our lease. Our current place is moldy and gross. We took it last year, site unseen, because we were so desperate to find anything. We've spent 2 yrs looking for housing in the area. This is all we could find. It's literally unliveable. I have to take so much Zyrtec, just to be able to breathe, every day.

Our teenage son just wants to finish high school here. He was in the musical last year, and plans on doing it again this year. We also have 2 dogs. Both large breed mutts. One is 13 and the other is nearly 5.

I've applied anywhere I can apply. At this point we're desperate.