Signature Catskill Hikes

[DayTrip]

As I was sitting in traffic this past weekend on the way home from the Adirondacks I was glancing out toward the Catskills and got to thinking I should probably head out that way too at some point and see what they're all about. Looked like some decent sized peaks in that area. So I had some general questions on the area.

1) Is there a definitive guide/maps for the Catskills comparable to the AMC Guide for the Whites?
2) What would be the "signature" hikes in the Catskills (i.e. the "must do" trails)? I love ridge walks (in or above the trees) and views at the top, ideally bald summits. Does anything fall into that category in the Catskills? I'm guessing there are a lot of attractive forests, fields/clearings with views and in the somewhat lower elevations from some videos I've seen online waterfalls and rock formations are a staple in the area.
3) What are the Pinkham Notch/Loj/Lincoln Woods equivalent trail heads, if any, for the Catskills? Need to plot out driving times from my house to get an idea if this is day hikeable or would require camping (I almost exclusively day hike right now with 3h 15m to 3h 45m rides to trailheads so driving isn't a huge issue for me, within reason).
4) What are the crowds like versus the Whites/Adirondacks?

If anyone can provide some general information and suggestions for the area it would be greatly appreciated. In another NY thread someone brought up the point that the snow clears out of the Catskills much earlier than the higher peaks so I got to thinking this might be a great alternative to slogging through hikes in mud season in the higher peaks or doing very easy local hikes near my house that don't really beef up the conditioning for the big boys. Thanks.

 

[HH1]

You might wish to try this site as well:
http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/...rtheast-united-states/general-catskill-hiking

 

[DayTrip]

You might wish to try this site as well:
http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/...rtheast-united-states/general-catskill-hiking

Thanks. I just joined that forum recently but I thought it was exclusively for the Adirondacks. I'll check it out.

 

[iAmKrzys]

Devil's Path is probably one of the most known hiking trails in Catskills: https://hiking.waymarkedtrails.org/#route?id=5461814

 

[Tom Rankin]

As I was sitting in traffic this past weekend on the way home from the Adirondacks I was glancing out toward the Catskills and got to thinking I should probably head out that way too at some point and see what they're all about. Looked like some decent sized peaks in that area. So I had some general questions on the area.

1) Is there a definitive guide/maps for the Catskills comparable to the AMC Guide for the Whites?
2) What would be the "signature" hikes in the Catskills (i.e. the "must do" trails)? I love ridge walks (in or above the trees) and views at the top, ideally bald summits. Does anything fall into that category in the Catskills? I'm guessing there are a lot of attractive forests, fields/clearings with views and in the somewhat lower elevations from some videos I've seen online waterfalls and rock formations are a staple in the area.
3) What are the Pinkham Notch/Loj/Lincoln Woods equivalent trail heads, if any, for the Catskills? Need to plot out driving times from my house to get an idea if this is day hikeable or would require camping (I almost exclusively day hike right now with 3h 15m to 3h 45m rides to trailheads so driving isn't a huge issue for me, within reason).
4) What are the crowds like versus the Whites/Adirondacks?

If anyone can provide some general information and suggestions for the area it would be greatly appreciated. In another NY thread someone brought up the point that the snow clears out of the Catskills much earlier than the higher peaks so I got to thinking this might be a great alternative to slogging through hikes in mud season in the higher peaks or doing very easy local hikes near my house that don't really beef up the conditioning for the big boys. Thanks.

1) I use and recommend the NY NJ TC Catskill Map set.
2) Burroughs Range hike - Slide Cornell Wittenburg
Devil's Path end to end, very challenging. Can be broken up into 2 hikes, one on either side of Rt. 214.
The '9'. 4 bushwhack peaks sandwiched by 5 trailed peaks, S/C/W/B/F/L/R/T/P (not necessarily in that order!) - Also very challenging, and can be broken up into several sub hikes.
Rusk/Hunter/Leavitt/West Kill
3) There is no huge trail head for lots of peaks.
4) Much less, but some places like Overlook get hundreds of visitors a day on weekends.

Bonus! The best views and Hunter, Slide, Wittenburg, Balsam Lake, Twin, Blackheads, Panther/Giant Ledge, and West Kill.

Ok, off to work, more later (with longer explanations) if you want!

 

[Mike P.]

What Tom said on maps, I believe both the ADK and AMC have a book out there also.

Devil's Path is a classic day hike, lots of up and down for a peneplain hike. (Technically, a plateau that has eroded at different rates)

I've tried the SW Hunter bushwhack & then looked at the others, too many viewless bushwhacks for a view junkie like me

Hikes I'd recommend:

Wittenberg, Cornell, Slide
Giant's Ledge and Panther
Blackhead and Blackdome
Windham Higheak
Devil's Path - along this, Indian Head and Twin make a loop
Balsam Lake & Graham (Graham is an easy enough BW utilizing old roads for most of it - Trailhead is a pain for you and me to reach)

Prediger Road and 23 are classic drives, the views on 23 are limited but it ascends the plateaus along the river gorge in a fashion I doubt they would build today.

Enjoy....