Day Hikes in the Catskills?

[DSettahr]

What would be a good, moderate-intensity day hike in the Catskills for Father's day? I'm thinking maybe the Kaaterskill High Peak or Indian Head and Twin Mountains, but I'd also appreciate suggestions for a good hike that might not be well known. Thanks.

 

[Rivet]

My favorite is Wittenberg and Cornel from Woodland Valley.
Twin and Indian Head are also nice.

 

[Tom Rankin]

What would be a good, moderate-intensity day hike in the Catskills for Father's day? I'm thinking maybe the Kaaterskill High Peak or Indian Head and Twin Mountains, but I'd also appreciate suggestions for a good hike that might not be well known. Thanks.

I love Hunter. It's steep but only 4.4 miles round trip. And it has a climbable fire tower for great 360 views.

Giant Ledge and Panther are good too.

Another couple of fire towers are Tremper and Overlook. Each is not too long, but gives you some good 'up', so you have a great view.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

The two hikes you mentioned, Kaaterskill High Peak and Indian Head / Twin Mountains are excellent choices this time of year. The weeks surrounding the summer solstice are optimal for the southern views from Hurricane Ledge (Kaaterskill High Peak) and from the lower summit on Twin. At other times of the year the sun is lower in the southern sky meaning those views are more into the sun. Kaaterskill HP would probably be less crowded than Indian Head and Twin. If you do Kaaterskill HP from the Plattekill Clove trailhead you might want to consider the side trail to Huckleberry Point on the way out. The afternoon views of the Plattekill Clove and Hudson Valley are nice. The mountain laurel should also be in the bud stage at the point with possibly a few blossoms opened due to the warm weather last week.

Twin has views from both summits and there are three good views east of the Indian Head summit. I usually prefer doing Twin first and then going down the east side of Indian to take advantage of those views in the afternoon. You will not be disappointed with either hike.

If you are looking for a trail with less traffic Westkill might be a good choice, especially if you use the longer approach from the western end of the Devil's Path. It is about a 10 mile round trip. Just be sure to go as far as the Buck Ridge lookout which is 0.1 mile beyond/east of the summit sign. That is the only open viewpoint on the trail.