I was pleasantly surprised when i pulled up to this facility. It is located in a state park so the…read moreentrance fee was $10 but it was well worth it. The parking lot was huge and it was a short walk to the entrance of the facility. I noticed there was a cafe called " Acorns" which had food and snacks and then saw bathroom facilities and showers ! It was just what i was looking for to post up and hang for a while. I will say, the showers are not the best kept, so have low expectations but there was hot water so it was exactly what i was looking for. There was a beautiful tree covered walkway down to the beach, which made it feel magical and it opened up to the lake. It wasn't the largest beach but it was perfect. The beach was really clean and lifeguards on duty. I' m so happy this place was recommended to me by a local Park Ranger when i asked for places to swim in the area. I was visiting Cold Spring for the day.

Small, local beach, inexpensive. Gave it a 4 stars review…read morebecause it can use an extra hand in the clean up. Yes, people are responsible for their actions but nature (wind, animals) sometimes takes control of things which cause the garbage to be removed from the bin.

The falls are truly incredible…read more The trail down to the bottom of the falls, is a bit tricky. But so incredibly worth it. I would suggest not to believe the sign saying 189 steps.... it is definitely more! Take drinking water because you'll need that for sure. We went back in August and the heat was definitely there. The parking lot was pretty packed but throughout the trails people were pretty evenly spaced out. Not so much at the base of the falls themselves but there was still plenty of room to move around freely.

One of the tallest waterfall in NY, similar height to Taughannock Falls. Physical requirement is…read moredifferent tho, Kaaterskill Falls has about 500foot of elevation change and a lot of slippery stone steps at the end, if you come here when the weather is still cold. Parking: most people park at the Laurel-House Road parking area, because it is the closest. Or you can park at Mountain Top Historical Society, the old train station, which an extra mile. Starting from the old railroad station is nice, you can still see some old tracks on the ground. Walk to the overlook is fairly easy, once you get to the start point of Lower falls junction, it is where you need to be prepared. I recommend hiking shoe, especially in colder months where the ground is wet and iced. When you reach to the stone steps, they can get slippery. I am surprised no one fell in late March. Half of the steps were cover in ice and people were wearing regular sneakers. Once you reach the base of the two tier falls, the view is tremendous. If water levels are high, you can feel the energy of the water. There is a lot of spray from the falls when you get close. There is short trail to the middle tier pool. It was iced up during winter, spikes will definitely be useful. The end was amazing too. So close to the lead of the waterfall. You can keep going and follow Escarpment trail and follow the edge of the valley. There is monument for fireman Frank Layman who died during firefighting in 1900, at his monument, you can see route 23A bend around mountain. And if you keep going, there are a couple viewpoint to overlook the valley. Nice break points to enjoy the view and rest your legs.

It's a small manmade lake with beautiful views of the Catskills mountains. Perfect for a hot…read moresummer day. They rent canoes, and paddle boats. There's also a small playground. The food is nothing special... standard fast food and ice cream, etc. This place is fun for everyone and an inexpensive way to spend a day especially if you have kids. There were lots of people there but it didn't feel crowded. The beach was clean and the water was clear and refreshing. If you're adventurous and have the time, there is a lengthy hike that is connected to the complex that goes all the way to the top of the Belleayre Mountain.

Not even a Lake...more a pond...pretty sure man made. Beach a small strip of sand that obviously…read moreman made too...scenery stunning Catskill Mountains Pond water dark brown, green and gross I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMEND!

We found this to be a well-kept, well-managed park. It was my first time camping here and we had a…read morelarge, quiet site. Quiet hours were listed and enforced, which I loved. Our grandkids loved the beach and play ground and we all enjoyed the beauty of the area. Hot showers were available, at no extra cost, for campers and the rest room were clean. We used the fire pit each morning and evening and thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience in the large and beautiful state park.

First time visiting this park and was impressed that we were able to find a picnic table even at…read more1pm on a Sunday afternoon. Nice tree covered picnic areas with BBQ grills close by although we brought sandwiches wth us. We should have taken our time choosing a spot so we should have went towards the snack bar beach location instead. Saw several paddle boarder kayaks in the lake and a few people swimming.

Great trail maintenance, accurate mapping, crystal clear water - I was impressed. We will return.read more

I made my Gunks debut yesterday and was pretty impressed despite the very meh weather situation…read more This is about 90 minutes from my HQ so probably right at the limit of a convenient day hike, and somehow I've never really been in this area before beyond travelling past it going up and down the NY Thruway. Definitely returning when the sun is actually out. I did the 8.7-mile Castle Point hike (my gut says it wasn't QUITE that long, but I don't want to argue with my book) from the Awosting parking lot down the Mossy Glen Trail (yellow blazes), making a left onto and up Blueberry Run (blue) to Castle Point itself, and then went basically straight down the cliff on the Scenic Trail (lavenderish and formerly light blue), down the Rainbow Falls Trail (orange) and finally making a right on the Lower Awosting Carriageway back to the parking lot. Wasn't crazy about the $10 fee to park - nature shouldn't cost anything - but it is what it is. It's really a shame the weather was crappy because I could tell that viewpoint at Castle Point is legit - it's sprawling and you can see for miles in almost every direction. That's a very cool spot and easily the highlight of the hike. There are some interesting viewpoints throughout the rest of the adventure, but I'd say they're primarily of rock formations and water features, which have their selling points but nothing beats a view at the top. I'm in decent hiking shape right now, and this was just not particularly challenging for me. The only part where I was even a little out of breath (and it was humid, so grain of salt in that regard) was on Blueberry Run, which was a pretty steady incline up, but really not hardcore at all from my perspective. The drop down from Castle Point on the Scenic Trail IS a little tricky and you really want to spend some time there figuring out where your foot is going to go next. Compared to other parks in the tristate area, this one definitely has more hazards, cliffs you could potentially fall down, etc. But same token, it has a ton of these completely flat carriageways as well. It rained while I was on the Rainbow Falls trail and I DID slip/fall on some of the rocks at one point, but that's on me since I willingly came over here knowing what the forecast was. Wasn't impressed by the Rainbow Falls themselves, and neither were the other hikers who were there at the time. Maybe it was just not an ideal situation for them, but it's been rainy the last few days so unclear when you should take advantage of the optics there. The trail blazes were EXCELLENT, easily some of the best I've ever encountered. Each official trail had an accompanying sign that not only gave you the name of the trail, but a map of the nearby area, the grade profile so you can see what types of inclines/declines you'll experience on that trail and tons of basic facts. Really well done stuff. The bathroom situation was pretty good as well, with ample restroom options in the parking lot albeit without plumbing. You get what you get, but I'll take a clean bathroom situation in a heartbeat, regardless. Okay wildlife sightings. The rain I'm sure kept some of the good quality shizzle away, but I got a cool shot of a black vulture and saw an edgy newt. Worth the trek and will return for further investigation shortly.

I love this place I beg to go and I love it more than the pool and beach…read more Nice big beautiful Place to go to and quite

This is a hidden gem located about 2 1/2 hours away from NYC. It's a beautiful water fall where you…read morecan swim and spend the day enjoying the nature Note that they recently implemented a system in which you need to get a pass to go in the weekends to prevent overcrowd. Please check the link below for details. The water, however, is very cold even during summer months so be prepared. GPS coordinates to get there: +41 54.902, -74 25.735 You can find further details in: https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/109922.html

Candlewood Lake is the largest lake in Connecticut. It spans 5,420 acres, 11 miles long, 2 miles…read morewide, 65 miles of shoreline, depth up to 90 feet, and has 12 islands. It also borders five towns: Danbury, New Milford, Brookfield, Sherman,and New Fairfield. This is a very popular place for all kinds of water sports, and bass and trout fishing. There are two state boat launches and many marinas for docking. The shoreline has so many magnificent homes, and don't be surprised if you see a seaplane landing or taking off on the lake. This lake usually gets very busy on the weekends in the summer.

Have not been on the lake for quite a while and decided to give it a shot. Ok, so it was a really…read morenice Sunday and I know it will be busy, and my expectations were that it would be busy. Launch at Lattin's Cove was solid jammed and the number of rude idiots just simply ASTOUNDING. No courtesy for other boaters/pwc's whatsoever. Couple of morons were camped out on the dock and screwed up everyone else's put in/take out routine. No surprise to see the NJ and NY registrations on their PWCs. While coming back in, 3 idiots on PWC's came screaming past us in the no wake zone to "beat" us to the ramp, then they sat there blocking one side of the launch. One fellow asked nicely if they could move over just a bit so he could launch his pwc and he got snapped at by one of the tattoo queens... "we're leaving in a couple of minutes". Definitely will not go back here on a weekend anytime soon. Very sad because it never used to be like this.