Catskill Mountains are now OPEN!

[Mikie]

The DEC has opened all trails in the Catskill Mountains except for 6 trails.

Four DEC campgrounds will be closed for the season. Four DEC campgrounds will open tomorrow.

Spruceton Road is still partially closed. Rt 47 is still partially closed. Big Hollow Road can be accessed from 296 -> 23c.

You can get the full report of Trail, Campground, and Road status here: http://www.catskillmountaineer.com/pdf/DEC-trail-status-110915.pdf

Enjoy!

 

[Tom Rankin]

You can get the full report of Trail, Campground, and Road status here: http://www.catskillmountaineer.com/pdf/DEC-trail-status-110915.pdf

That file says 'recommended open', not 'open'. Has the recommendation been approved?

 

[Mikie]

That file says 'recommended open', not 'open'. Has the recommendation been approved?

Yes.

It is my understanding that the report came from the Rangers and was sent to Legal and Mgmt for approval. It was approved and posted on the DEC web site. We were sent the Ranger's report, and we posted it on our web site.

Technically, many of the trails in the Catskills have been open since last week. The official position of the DEC was that if the trail was posted as Closed, it is closed to the public. If you hiked on an officially closed trial, you could be fined. If the trail was NOT posted as closed, you can hike on it. As some people already know, thousands of people did hike last weekend.

Some of the Rangers wanted more trails closed, but there were regulatory reasons why they could not be closed. The Rangers wanted to bring in a large group to assess and fix some of the trails / bridges. We gave the Rangers pretty much what they wanted, even if the DEC didn't agree.

The issue started with what the definition of what "Managed Properties" are, and if people misunderstood the definition, would they be fined. After a number of conversations, we received an official written reply that if the trail was marked closed, then it is legally closed. If it is not marked as closed, it is open. Bushwhacking would be allowed if they didn't access it from a closed TH. Pretty complicated situation. We didn't want someone misunderstanding the rules and getting fined. So, we considered all trails in Greene and Ulster county closed.

We gave the Rangers what they wanted. They also promised that they would recommend lifting many of the closed trails within a week. They followed thru with this promise.

Complicated situation. What you see in the report has been approved. From my own knowledge, I think they may close the trail to Acra Point and BH/BD from the BH TH. They claim that they cannot get up there. We have been able to get there, but they may not know the way. They also posted that the Colgate Lake Trail is closed. But, the access from Maple Lawn Road was repaired over 10 days ago. That may open. As time goes on, the trail status may change, so beware.

But, right now the report is accurate.

 

[TrailConferenceCatskills]

The Trail Conference along with other Trail Partner Organizations and Businesses have been assured by the DEC that Catskill trails in Ulster & Greene County (notwithstanding those specific trails that remain closed) are now open. We have put up the list of specific closures on our website here:

http://nynjtc.org/news/postirene-message-hikers-trail-maintainers

This reopening was possible because of the extensive work of volunteers including members of the 3500 Club, the Trail Conference and other local organizations and businesses who assessed the trails for DEC, which allowed DEC to reopen trails without major damage or access issues.

DEC is supposed to issue a press release this afternoon, however campgrounds have already reopened today and the trails from this point on are considered open.

Jeff