Copake Falls State Campground-Info

[Quietman]

Hello,

Does anyone have any info on this campground? Is this a nice spot?

I'm looking for a spot for our annual Columbus day family hiking get together. My dad is 76 so we need a campground. Looks like short hikes to Sunset Rock and Bash Bish that we could do with him. My brothers and I could do Sage's and Race one day while he is sightseeing. We've done Alander, Brace and Frissell in the past.

Thanks for your help!

 

[halia and flammeus]

Yes - it is a nice spot. They have cabins as well as tent sites. Columbus Day weekend should be peak foliage.

The trail from the campground area to the base of the falls is fairly wide and not too steep - I think it is .5 miles one way. If you drive up the road to the second parking area, the trail to the falls is shorter (I think) but way steeper and trickier. Much more exciting for those who can manage it safely. Bash Bish is gorgeous - enjoy!

The Race Brook Trail is probably my fave in that area - great waterfalls (two nice ones - could be more if there's lots of rain). Above (west of) the second (main) waterfall, the trail does a strange jog north to a hairpin turn and then returns to the brook. There has been a herd path up the south side of the brook instead and regain the trail in many fewer steps. And the summit of Race is lovely. South of the summit there is a nice ridge walk for a while - very exposed, nice views. Be ready for big temperature changes - Sage's Ravine will be dramatically colder than ambient temps.

Great area, nice spots, have a lovely time -
H

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Yes, Copake Falls is a nice campground and is open until October 26, 2008. For details on the campground and to make reservations refer to this entry on the ReserveAmerica website.

I believe the hike into Bash Bish falls is just a bit under 1 mile from the parking area in New York, but a very easy hike. It is also possible to hike to the falls from the campground with some additional distance. There are many attractive views of the Bashbish Brook along the way to the waterfall. After you reach the waterfall follow some unmarked paths downstream below the main waterfalls where there are some additional waterfalls and cascades.

The hike up to Sunset Rock is pleasant. The views from the viewpoint are a bit overgrown, as they are from Prospect Hill further on the trail beyond Sunset Rock Road. But both are worthwhile destinations. In going to Sunset Rock you can make a loop by using the Cedar Brook Trail which has some attractive cascades (assuming it has rained recently). The Cedar Brook Trail can be a bit obscured by fallen leaves, but it is not too difficult to follow.

You will definitely enjoy Sages Ravine and the Race Brook Trail. There is usually good volumes of water in the Race Brook waterfalls during the autumn foliage season. There are great cliff top views along the Appalachian Trail south of the Mount Race summit.

Maps: An excellent downloadable pdf map is the 2002 South Taconic Range map. The New York / New Jersey Trail Conference publishes an excellent tyvek map South Taconic Trails, the coverage area can be seen here.

 

[coldfeet]

Rudd Pond campsite is app 10 min away I'm pretty sure it's on route 22 going back south....I worked at a camp 10 min from there in West Copake this summer...the Wayside Inn is 2 min from the place for eats and drinks....pics of Babe Ruth hunting in the Inn....also if you like bike riding there are flat paved trails there....during the summer you can rent bikes, I don't know about now....have fun....Great Barington in Mass is app 25 min from there...a nice small town....

 

[Chugach001]

I just drove past there yesterday coming from the train in Wassaic. Is there an actual falls and is there ice climbing?

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I just drove past there yesterday coming from the train in Wassaic. Is there an actual falls and is there ice climbing?

The hamlet of Copake Falls in the town of Copake derives its name from Bash Bish Falls on the Bashbish Brook. The brook flows through the hamlet although the waterfall is in Bash Bish State Park in Massachusetts. There is a photo of the waterfall in that link. The waterfall is less than a half mile east of the state line, and just under a mile walk on a trail from the parking area in New York. There is also a shorter trail from above in Massachusetts.

The Bash Bish State Park site states that the waterfall height is about 60'. It is closer to 50'. I have not heard of ice climbing there, but I suppose it might be possible. Climbing may be complicated by the deep pool at the base of the falls which may not freeze over in our milder winters.

Bash Bish Falls is named after a condemned, but innocent legendary Indian woman who leaped from the waterfall. Her body was never found, and according to the legend she became the spirit of the falls.

How to pronounce Copake. Most people pronounce it with two syllables: Co-pake. However, I have met a few old timers who insist it should be pronounced Co-pa-key, which does sound more quaint.

 

[halia and flammeus]

Co-pay-key, huh? How long do you need to live in Columbia County before you're allowed to use that pronunciation? I never heard that one, but there are lots of localizations of names around here.

Milan, NY - a little south and west of Co-pay-key - eventually becomes "Milan(t)" after you live there long enough. I think it might need generations...

Newbies say Amenia "A-meen-i-a" but locals say Ameenya.

How about Halcott and Halcottsville out by Delaware County - I am trusting Flammeus that "Hawk-itt" is correct enough for the likes of me... but non-local hikers look very confused by this localism.

We all know about Kay-ro vs. Cairo, but what about Athens? I swear I was told its "Ay-thens" a few years back.

What is the right way to say Kanape? Re: the brook and trail up Ashokan High Point.

And forget about road names - it is a dead giveaway that you're not from around here if you use those newfangled route numbers. Roads are all about routes to old friends houses, past barns that burned down back in the sixties, after the new house (i.e. built in 1980) got built, etc etc. Flammeus is out in very rural areas in the western catskills, often looking for houses/people and getting the most wonderful stories/histories of the area when he asks for directions.

As far as ice climbing at Bash Bish - I've been there in deep winter, and the falls are amazing - like a gothic cathedral. I know nothing about ice climbing, so I have no idea whether or not it is legal or safe. It is a very accessible spot by car and foot, so it is quite heavily patrolled (especially holidays and summer weekends), and also well-used. The creek is lovely on both sides of the falls, but there aren't any other, more remote cascades in the immediate area.

The bike riding on the rail trail is really user friendly. I would recommend the section from the village of Millerton south for a few miles. Great views, and some nice rock cuts, brooks, a big farm with a pumpkin cannon just to the east of the rail trail (Daisi Hill Farm). Cannon and a catapult - should be shooting pumpkins like crazy that weekend!

Enjoy your visit!

 

[Quietman]

Thanks everyone for all the info. Looks like a good spot to spend some quality time with my father!

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Co-pay-key, huh? How long do you need to live in Columbia County before you're allowed to use that pronunciation? I never heard that one, but there are lots of localizations of names around here.

Copake is a shortened version of the Mahican name for the lake (known today as Copake Lake). The Mahican name of the lake was: Achkookpeek (Snake Pond), derived from: Achkook (snake) - peek (water place or pond). Somewhere the initial syllable Ach was dropped, and kookpeek became Copake. That would tend to favor a two syllable pronunciation.

The Mahicans were one of the Munsee division of the Lenai Lenape tribes (later known as the Delaware). Mahicans should not be confused with the Mohegan tribe of the Cooper novels, which he spelled Mohican (causing much of the confusion).

What is the right way to say Kanape? Re: the brook and trail up Ashokan High Point.

Ashokan and Kanape are both words from the Esopus tribe (also a Munsee Lenape tribe). Ashokan means place of many fishes. I do not know the meaning of Kanape, but I have always assumed it was pronounced very similar to Lenape which is three syllables. And that may also be the origin of the three syllable pronunciation of Copake. Whether that is an accurate pronunciation I cannot say. Perhaps the two pronunciations reflect variations in the languages of the Esopus and Mahican tribes.

We all know about Kay-ro vs. Cairo, but what about Athens? I swear I was told its "Ay-thens" a few years back.

This is another classic old timer vs. newbie difference. The old timers pronounced it Ay-thins. The newbies pronounce it the standard (short a) Athens, and the newbies are now more dominant. Ay-thins may soon be forgotten.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I took a quick look at my latest copy of the NY/NJ Trail Conference Map (2006 Second Edition). For some reason this map fails to show the trail to the Bash Bish waterfall from either the parking area on NY-344 in New York or from the Massachusetts parking area above the waterfalls. It is probably the most used trail in the southern Taconics and it was inadvertently left off the map. The trail was correctly shown on the 1988 and 1998 First Edition printings of the NY/NJ TC map. The trail is correctly shown on the online PDF map in my earlier post.

The trail is most assuredly still there. It is on the north side of the brook and parallels the road to the waterfalls. It does climb away from brook as it approaches the Bash Bish waterfall. After the junction with the trail from the Massachusetts parking area, there is a set of stone steps that descend down to the base of the waterfall. From there are unmarked paths down to another, perhaps 10' waterfall below the main falls. It is nothing spectacular, but it worth the time to explore as the main trail bypasses it and does not offer a view.

 

[byates1]

on a related note, does someone know where to get a good map of the taconic crest trail??

thanks

 

[Quietman]

I bought the Taconic Crest Trail Guide and maps by phone from

Stuyvesant Book House

The maps are 8 1/2 x 11 copies but have useful info. The guide and maps were $6.95