Catskill Outdoor Recreation Bulletin

July 2021

This bulletin provides only the most recent notices. Check the Catskill Backcountry Information webpage for more detailed information on access, outdoor recreation infrastructure, and conditions.

Emergency Situations: If you get lost or injured; keep calm and stay put. If you have cell service, call 911 or the DEC Dispatch, 833-NYS-Rangers (1-833-697-7264).

Hike Smart by packing the proper gear. See our recommended packing list and safety tips.

Welcome to the Catskills

The Welcome to the Catskills webpage is the place to go if you are interested in learning more about the Catskills. It provides information about the Forest Preserve and conservation easement lands, outdoor recreation opportunities, and Leave No Trace. Be sure to check out the links to additional information and tips for recreating safely and minimizing your impacts on natural resources, recreational infrastructure, and other backcountry users in the Catskill Mountains.

Recreation Highlight: @NYSDECAlerts

Planning an outdoor adventure this weekend? Follow @NYSDECAlerts on Twitter for real-time updates to help you prepare. @NYSDECAlerts provides updates for DEC-managed lands throughout New York State, including the Catskill Mountain Region.

Discover what parking areas are full before you arrive so you can move straight to your back-up location and get on the trail sooner. Check for special advisories or links to alternate hikes. Love our NY Lands by hiking responsibly and planning ahead with the help of the most up-to-date information.

Catskills Visitor Center

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Catskills Visitor Center building is temporarily closed to the public. A walk-up window has been installed for visitor information and map sales. Staff is onsite to answer questions in person, via phone or email Monday -Tuesday & Thursday - Sunday from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Stop by on your way to the trails for the latest park news, local maps, information, and more!

Contact the Catskills Visitor Center for more information: 845.688.3369 or info@catskillcenter.org.

For local trail conditions, visit the Catskills Visitor Center Trail Conditions webpage. 

General Conditions: Trails will be Muddy & Wet

Stream Crossings: The Catskills have received multiple inches of rain, and there is more in the forecast. Trails will be muddy, and high, fast-moving waters make stream crossings on trails very dangerous. If water levels are too high, it is ok to turn around and visit another day. Be prepared for the conditions, and always remember safety first. Prepare for your adventure ahead of time and hike with boots, gaiters, and trekking poles to aid in travel through muddy conditions. For more information about hiking, visit DEC’s Hiking webpage.

Mountain Biking: With all the recent rain, trails can be muddier than expected. Please do your best to avoid riding in muddy and wet conditions as biking on wet trails can significantly contribute to erosion and trail widening. If you do encounter patches of mud, ride through the center of the trail to avoid damaging trail side plants and contributing to potential impacts to the trail. Help protect trails for all to use by practicing responsible mountain biking ethics. Be sure to check your local trail conditions before your ride. 

Hike Smart & Be Prepared

Before you hit the trail, check out DEC’s Hike Smart NY page to learn about safety, best practices, preparedness, and the Hiker Responsibility Code. Discover trails less traveled, and visit when trails may not be as busy.

Check the Weather: Check the National Weather Service for current conditions and forecasts for the locations where you plan to recreate. Check both daytime and nighttime temperatures. Expect conditions to be cooler and more exposed on mountain summits. 

Mountain Summits: Check the National Weather Service to prepare for summit weather conditions.

Stay Dry with a Raincoat: As you may know, rain has been in the forecast a lot lately. Always remember to pack your raincoat as rain can occur unexpectedly in the mountains, and it is much more comfortable to be dry while on the trail.

Catskill Region Daytime Highs ~ High 70s- Low 80s
Catskill Region Nighttime ~ Low 60s

Manage your time wisely: Be mindful of sunrise and sunset times, and plan accordingly. Start long hikes early to maximize sunlight hours.

Approximate Time of Sunrise: 5:35 a.m.
Approximate Time of Sunset: 8:33 p.m.

Avoid Poison Ivy: Be sure to keep a close eye out for poison ivy. Educate yourself on what this pesky plan looks like, and do your best to avoid coming in contact with it.

Be Tick Free: Protect Yourself

In tick-infested areas, your best protection is to avoid contact with soil, leaf litter and vegetation. However, if you hike, camp, hunt, work or otherwise spend time in the outdoors, you can still protect yourself:

• Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.
• Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots, and shirt into pants.
• Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors.
• Consider using insect repellent on your clothing.
• Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails. Walk in the center of trails. Avoid dense woods and bushy areas.
• Keep long hair tied back.
• Bathe or shower as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.
• Do a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day (also check children and pets), and remove ticks promptly.
• Follow your vet's suggestion for regular flea and tick prevention treatment.

Love Our NY Lands: All of us have a responsibility to protect State lands for future generations. Follow the Hiker Responsibility Code, practice Leave No Trace and consider visiting trails less traveled.

Recent Notices

Stewardship & Adopt-A-Trailhead Program 

The Catskill 3500 Club has been diligently volunteering at the Slide Mountain trailhead on weekends and holidays to provide a stewardship presence. Friendly faces are at the trailhead greeting hikers and giving advice on preparedness and Leave No Trace principles and ethics. The volunteers from the Catskill 3500 Club bring a trove of local knowledge of the Catskills to the Adopt-A-Trailhead program. For more information about the Adopt-A-Trailhead program please visit DEC's website.   

Peekamoose Blue Hole & Riparian Corridor

DEC has issued special regulations for the Blue Hole and Peekamoose Valley because of the huge increase in visitors. The purpose of these regulations is to increase public safety and reduce impacts to the environmental resources. The regulations:

• Require visitors to obtain a permit for a $10 fee through Reserve America, consistent with fees for other recreation-oriented Day Use areas in the Forest Preserve;
• Each permit will be linked to a vehicle, and the permit must be displayed on/in the vehicle;
• Limit parking to designated parking areas only. Parking along the shoulder of the road is prohibited by the Town and is a Tow Away Zone;
• Users are required to use portable restroom facilities for human waste disposal and the dumpster for all other waste;
• The following are prohibited at the Blue Hole (limited use will be allowed at the nearby designated camping area only):
  • Except for the nearby designated camping area, the Blue Hole is only open to the public from one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset.
  • Camping
  • All fires (including charcoal fires, wood fires, gas grills, propane stoves or other portable stoves)
  • Use of portable generators
  • Alcohol
  • Glass containers
  • Coolers larger than 12" in any dimension
  • Radios and other audio devices
• Parking is limited to designated parking areas only. Parking along the shoulder of the road is prohibited by the Town and is a Tow Away Zone.

*Doubletop and Graham mountains, located in the town of Hardenburg, Ulster County are no longer available for public use. This also includes the surrounding private lands. Local landowners have graciously allowed public access to these mountains and private lands for many years, however, they are no longer allowing access.   

If hiking from the Seager Trailhead on Dry Brook Road in the Big Indian Wilderness or the Drybrook Trailhead on Millbrook Road in the Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest, only the parking areas and marked trails that traverse private property are accessible to the public until you reach the larger expanse of State Forest Preserve Lands. Please respect private property and stay on the marked trails in these areas until you reach the larger expanse of Forest Preserve Land.  

Catskills Visitor Center

The accessible trails at the Esopus Creek Fishing Access across the street from the Catskills Visitor Center has experienced damage during the recent flooding events. The trails were scoured by the overflowing Esopus Creek which also deposited several inches of thick, sandy mud over several hundred feet of the trail. Due to the damage, the trails at this location no longer meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) standards of accessibility. 

Bluestone Wild Forest & Shandaken Wild Forest

Access improvements are expected at Onteora Lake in the Bluestone Wild Forest and at the Allaben access in the Shandaken Wild Forest during the early weeks of August. During this time, road upgrades will be made at both locations. Vehicular traffic will be limited to the upper parking area at Onteora Lake while roadwork there is occurring.

Sundown Wild Forest

Trail work will begin in the Sundown Wild Forest in late August. The Tahawus professional trail crew will be working on construction of the Long Path reroute, eliminating a nearly 10-mile road walk along the 357 mile long distance hiking trail. The trail will connect trails in the Vernnoy Kill State Forest through Vernooy Falls in the Sundown Wild Forest.   

Kaaterskill Wild Forest

The Molly Smith parking area on Route 23a in the Town of Hunter has been closed to improve visitor safety. Kaaterskill Falls can still be accessed from Laurel House Road, Schutt Road, or North South Lake Campground. You can find directions to these parking areas on DEC's website. 

Hunter-West Kill Wilderness

A bridge replacement project will begin in late July. DEC Operations staff will be replacing a foot bridge at the southern extent of the Diamond Notch Trail which was damaged during the winter storm events in December 2020.

Leave No Trace

The Leave No Trace principles provide a framework for safe and sustainable recreation. The principles provide guidelines that can be tailored to you. Before heading out to visit State lands, take the time to review and familiarize yourself with these principles ahead of time to help ensure you will be prepared, stay safe, and minimize damage to our shared lands and waterways.

It's easy to Leave No Trace.

1. Plan and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
4. Leave What You Find
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
6. Respect Wildlife
7. Be Considerate of Others

Learn more about how you can protect natural spaces when exploring outdoors by visiting the Leave No Trace website.

Love Our NY Lands-Catskills, Adirondacks, and All Across the State

There are tens of thousands of acres of State lands to visit and thousands of miles of trails across the state for hikers of all abilities, whether you want to hike the Adirondacks or take the family and friends out for a short excursion to a scenic view in the Catskill Park.
All New Yorkers and visitors should be able to access, enjoy, and feel welcome on state lands. These lands belong to all of us, our families, and our neighbors. While enjoying these shared spaces, be respectful of other visitors. Share trails, treat people with kindness, and leave things as you found them for others to enjoy.

All of us have a responsibility to protect State lands for future generations. Follow the Hiker Responsibility Code, practice Leave No Trace principles, and consider visiting trails less traveled.

Bass Season is Open

There are plenty of opportunities for fishing in the Catskills. Largemouth and Smallmouth bass season opened on June 20 and closes Nov. 30. In most waters, there is also a catch and release season starting on Dec. 1, and continuing until the start of the regular season, during which anglers can fish for bass using artificial lures. There are special fishing regulations for some waters. Be prepared and check the current fishing regulations guide before heading out to fish.