It's hard to find the start but when you do there is a place to park. At least on the bloomville…read moreside. It's a weird curve you have to try and find. Not well marked and I guess you can just drive onto the trail if your equipped with AWD. The trail is really cool and looks like it's been driven over a lot. However we saw no cars or tractors. Also barely any people. We did 3 miles of the trail before heading back. I looked it up after and it looks like it goes on forever. The terrain is ever changing. Parts have running water on both sides which is really cool. Also the trees perfectly frame the trail. There are even parts through farmland where there is a row of trees on either side but it's in the middle of an open field. Also at one point an off leash dog came onto the trail. It scared us but seemed friendly. I think it came from a neighboring property. Just so you know I wouldn't consider this hiking. It's easy and flat except where it's muddy.

wonderful hiking area! not particularly challenging, it's more of a relaxing area to take the dogs…read morefor a romp

We visited the viewing platform at Kaaterskill Falls and it was absolutely worth it. It's just a…read moreshort, easy walk from the parking area, which made it super accessible. The path was peaceful and quiet, especially on a cold, out-of-season snowy day. The falls themselves are stunning. Between the rushing water, the crisp winter air, and the snow-falling it created such a calming, almost magical atmosphere. Definitely a must-see, even if you're just stopping by the platform for a quick visit like we did.

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.

Nice bench to sit on and view the falls, there are quite a few steps (for those with issues…read moreclimbing stairs). Then another path through the woods (that the park has been updating with new stone and water drainage system) - lots of rolling hills.

This is a cool, out of the way place to explore on a hot day. The trail to the falls is an easy…read morewalk through the woods and the views are terrific. The adjoining park and public pool area is an obscure place, perhaps because the town (Blenheim) has a history of being saddled with disasters (floods and natural gas explosions) during its several hundred year history -- and is quite remote from populated areas. The foot of the falls is loaded with beaver chewed creek wood and fossil bearing rock (great for prospecting with kids) -- and the nearby pools and picnic areas are cheap and clean -- quite sophisticated really. We always stop here to explore with our boys when we are in the area.

Really super popular hiking spot! Please don't hang off the edge of the viewpoint for a "cool"…read morepicture because heaven forbid you fall to your death the rangers will take their time for the recover since it's highly unlikely you'd survive the fall. I see way too many tourists comfortably sitting on the view point ledge until they slip and tragedy strikes. Enjoy the photo op responsibly, pretty please with sugar on top! As for the actual hike I agree with the few reviews posted up that this is a fairly easy hike because just about all the elevation happens in the first 3/4 mile up. Once you make it to the halfway point and turn left on the blue trail the rest is fairly flat up till Giant Ledge. If you go further on to Panther Mountain you do take a small dip down into the valley toward Panther and you go back up to the peak of Panther. Honestly, unless you have the desire to hike ALL 33 catskill peaks there is no reason to visit Panther in my opinion. Giant ledge has the better view. WATER, bring plenty of water in the summer because the water source with the big ass sign on the trail about a mile up almost never has water flowing because I have yet to even find the darn source the several times I've been up there so I'd consider that water source unreliable so pack water.

Absolutely stunning for a sunrise hike. My friends and I have done this for the past two years…read morearound mid October. Get to the trailhead at 5 AM and spend the next hour and a half climbing to the peak to see sunrise. Excellent bang for your buck Hike. I think it's only like a one and a half mile track, but it's the elevation that gives difficulty. Check out my photos and videos. I highly recommend this.

Excellent place to hike…read more 1) We did a two car -- end to end hike. 2) We did the Windham High Peak, then went to the Burnt Knob and Acra Point. 3) The views were unbelievable.

The Burnt Knob Loop leads to the summit of Windham High Peak with a gorgeous view, roughly ~7 miles…read moreof hike with beautiful scenery all around. The loop is a bit of a misnomer since the hiking trail itself connects two separate trail heads via two parking lots. One side of the trail shares a parking lot with the trail to Blackhead mountain summit and the two trails goes in separate directions at about 1 mile into the hike. The connection between the two hikes allows one to extend either trail further. We didn't go to the blackhead trail, since it was marked to be difficult to very difficult. The burnt knob loop was a moderate hike, we parked our car at the parking lot shared with blackhead trail and the roundtrip to and from the summit (~3.5 mile) took about 4.5 hours with breaks for lunch on top of the Peak. The trail itself was well designed and very enjoyable, offering numerous view points with spectacular views of mountains and the grassland below. The trail markers are very clearly defined from one to the other, and instead of having continuous steep elevation, it interchanges between longer periods of flat trails and short intervals of arduous elevated trails. It was almost like interval training! This really modulates the pace of the hike, after heart pounding climbs, there are enough time to recover with a period of easy going trails. There are many view points along this trail leading up to the summit, which offers very different and beautiful views. At the summit, the shadows of the clouds on the fields and the beautiful flat grasslands with side views of mountains are absolutely stunning, we spent a lot time lazying around here before heading back down. Highly recommended to all nature lovers looking for some great hike with beautiful views!

This is a gorgeous state park on the northeast edge of Otsego Lake. My wife, two teenage sons (15…read moreyrs, 13 yrs), and I came here with our miniature poodle for a quick visit during a 4-night stay in Sharon Springs, NY. We came here every day to enjoy the lovely view of the lake, take a leisurely stroll with the dog, and spend an afternoon fishing (for my 15 year old son). It's about a 15-20 minute drive from Cooperstown along the east shore. At the main entrance, you'll pay a $7 admission fee per vehiecle, or you can just show your NY State Parks Empire Pass card. This is a gem of a park that is well worth the price of admission. First, it feels open and spacious with nice hiking trails. Second, the view of Lake Otsego is lovely. You may see a few kayakers or windsurfers on the lake depending on weather conditions. If you have young children, this is a must-visit place as there are kid-friendly playgrounds. Third, the lake is shallow and calm by the beach, but the water temperature can feel a bit chilly. In the summer, they have lifeguards available starting at 11:00am. Finally, the park has a concession stand which sells basic snacks, hot dogs, and drinks. It's also worth it to take a short walk up the hill to see Hyde Hall and the view of the lake from there!

Very friendly staff at front gate beautiful lake to swim in and camping available as well.read more

Serene little spot in the Catskills of upstate New York. Perfect place to enjoy nature on the…read moretrails or on their surprisingly large lake. My girlfriend and I spent a few hours here on a Sunday afternoon in May. If you rent a boat you can keep it out as long as you want, and you have access to the whole property for the entire day. We spent awhile in kayaks and had the whole lake to ourselves for the entire time. We then spent some time down at the swimming hole and had that to ourselves as well. Everyone who works there was incredibly friendly and helpful. Beautiful day overall and the perfect end to a perfect weekend getaway.

Oh what a magical experience. My boyfriend Tom and I kayaked the lake that the owner Jim so kindly…read moreadvised us of all the animal population. Birds, turtles, fish, beaver dams. It was so wonderful we came back a second day, and took use of the grounds by the swimming hole. You truly felt like you were on another planet. It was amazing and will revisit!

The Hunter "hiking" trail is a really nice trail to hike. All the photos of ski lifts and crap on…read morethis listing is misleading because there are no ski lifts that you can stand beneath and take photos of. You "might" be able to see the ski resort from the Hunter firepower but I've always hiked this in the winter or fall so I never was able to make out the ski resort. There is a ski resort nearby but it's not on this hiking trail. If you hike the loop and want to capture the three Catskill peaks on this trail you are looking at about a 12 mile hike total. This is an uphill hike (counter clockwise) probably until you hit Hunter mountain (fire tower) then it's fairly flat making your way downhill past Rusk but if you opt to include Rusk into your hike be prepared to go straight up because that sucker is straight up hill (no switchbacks). For an all day hike for the average hiker it's a really nice hike.

I created this Hunter Mountain hiking trail yelp to distinguish it from Hunter Mountain and all the…read moreskiing/other activities there. We wanted to check out some hiking while up in Hunter for a birthday and scoured the web to find a trail that might offer us some views, good exercise, and be dog friendly. It seemed this location might fit the bill based on the little info I found out there. First of all, to get here it's about a 30 minute drive from the town of Hunter. You'll basically be hiking up the rear side of the mountain, with many opportunities to customize the route as you'd like! The drive is beautiful along many back roads with fantastic views and a peek inside what it might be like to live a little bit off the grid. You'll follow Spruceton Road to nearly where it dead ends and there will be three parking lots. I'd recommend parking in the first one (largest) as it's the starting point for the majority of the trails. The other lots are smaller and offer you a starting point for some other trails. A disclaimer: this set of trails is commonly described as the "easiest" way of getting up to Hunter and that may be true, but in no way is the an easy hike! Plan to be walking uphill for 1.5-2 miles and for a steep incline...you'll feel the burn up and down! The trail is very well marked and easy to follow, mostly composed of gravel and grass. Very dog friendly and most fluffy friends we saw were off leash. The first two things you'll note on your hike come about 2 miles in, first is a spring (you can actually fill your water bottles here, so clean) and shortly thereafter, you'll catch a small sign for the lean to. A great place for a rest, lunch, view, or fire. We enjoyed our lunch here and took some pictures. There's also an outhouse here where you can take care of any business. From here, you can opt to head back down (4.8 mile total hike), proceed to colonels row (an extra mile each way out and back to the top of where the ski lifts land), or up to the summit and tower (an extra 1.3 mile each way). All are great options, just plans on your level of fitness and interest! Views from fire tower are fantastic on a clear day!

Love hiking here! If…read moreyou're in this part of the Catskills, I highly recommend this trail. It's easily accessible and an easier hike to do. The trail is well-groomed and very walkable. There aren't any scrambles or large boulders, which is good.. The view from the top is pretty epic, and the fire tower which has been closed every time I've hiked the mountain has great views too. I would highly recommend this hike.

This place is absolutely amazing! I've hiked all the Catskills mountains three times over through…read morethe years and I had never been to overlook because there was no reason to but I had heard so much about this location I just had to visit and satisfy my curiosity on why this place is so popular. First off the parking lot is medium sized and parking on the road (even off the road) is risky because certain spots you are not allowed to park so arrive early, get a legit parking spot and save yourself the wasted trip or the hassle of returning to your vehicle to a ticket or it completely gone (towed). The hike up and back for Overlook is approximately 5 miles so everyone is spot on mentioning the distance. It's fairly steep all the way up and while you don't have any views on the way up, you do encounter some old ruins which is a neat break along the way. Once you do make it to the top you are met with a small shed that has some very minor historical information inside and on peak weekends you'll find stewards that can assist with information about the area and hiking tips. The fire tower can't be missed to the left after the small shed and the view is to the right of the shed. I have to say, I've been atop many mountains and it's been a long while since I've had my breath taken away but when I saw the view at Overlook it was breath taking. What made the view so beautiful and different than other mountains I've hiked is that the view is expansive with no mountains obstructing so you can see as far as the eyes can see. It's truly a remarkable view being so high up and seeing so far out. This mountain is known for its rattlesnake population. Sadly I never got to see one because I always hike in the early morning hours and they normally come out at around high noon when the sun is the hottest.