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Hiking
& Trekking
in the
Minnewaska State Park Preserve
eemingly
endless miles of trails, paths and carriageways are
available for you in Minnewaska State Park Preserve.
From quiet walks through groves of trees out onto
the precipice of the cliffs, hiking in Minnewaska
provides the full range of experiences possible in
the Shawangunks. Broad well maintained roadbeds make
hiking for even the most inexperienced and unprepared
walker an enjoyable trip. Narrow paths requiring rock
scrambling and good balance challenge even the most
experienced trekker.
But no matter where you
go or which path or trail you take, you will be rewarded
with incomparable views, breathtaking drops and the
beauty and mystery of nature on all sides.
Hiking in Minnewaska can
be approached from several directions. Prominent among
these is the main parking area located at Lake Minnewaska.
Alternatively, you can park at the Awosting parking
area just to the west of the Main Entrance, or at
the Peter's Kill parking area, a mile to the east
of the Main Entrance. All the trails in Minnewaska
interlock so you really can get there from here, wherever
here is.
We do not mean to present
a comprehensive guide to every trail in Minnewaska.
We want to give you a flavor for what is available
and encourage you to visit and experience it for yourself.
So we are only going to concentrate on the major destinations
that are accessible mainly from the parking lot located
at Lake Minnewaska. If you want more extensive information
on all the other trails, we suggest you contact Minnewaska
State Park Preserve directly, or pick up one of the
many guide books to the area. In addition, we recommend
you acquire a set of maps for the Shawangunks from
the NY/NJ Trails Conference, available at many locations
throughout New Paltz.
Because of the nature
of the lands of the northern Shawangunk Ridge, the
only way to approach the trails of Minnewaska is not
by going into Minnewaska by car. All of the trails
of the Shawangunks interlock and you can pass from
the Mohonk Mountain Resort to the Mohonk Preserve
to Minnewaska to Ice Cave Mountain Preserve unhindered.
In fact the Trapps Gateway Visitor Center for the
Mohonk Preserve with its major parking areas as well
as the Mohonk Trapps Entrance and Parking Area on
Route 44/55 all lead to trails that pass directly
from the Mohonk Preserve into Minnewaska. As you pass
from one property to another, you may encounter rangers
and have to pay additional fees for access to the
land, but it is well worth the small additional expense.
Rules
of the Trail
- Stay
on the trails and don't wander off. The trails
are very well marked and very visible. Minnewaska
State Park Preserve contains extremely sensitive
ecological areas and your tramping across them can
do irreparable damage.
- Leave
the Wildlife Alone. All wildlife in the park,
plants as well as animals, is protected and much
of it is endangered. Leave it alone, do not disturb
it.
- Watch
the Edges, carriageways, trails and overlooks
throughout Minnewaska are frequently adjacent to
steep descents and cliffs. Exercise extreme caution
in all areas and KEEP
AWAY FROM CLIFF EDGES!
- Watch
for Snakes. Minnewaska has a population of
snakes of many varieties including Rattlers. If
you encounter a snake, give it the right of way.
- Minnewaska
is a "Carry In - Carry Out" Park so whatever
you take with you as you start the trails you must
bring right back out with you.
- Glass
containers are not allowed anywhere in the
park.
- Fires
of any kind, ground or grill are not permitted
on the trails and carriageways, raised grills are
only permitted in designated picnic areas.
- Bicyclists
may travel on carriageways only and must
wear helmets at all times.
- Respect
Other Visitors as you encounter them along
Minnewaska's trails.
Minnewaska
Trails
Lake Minnewaska Circuit
- Difficulty Level -
Easy to Moderate
- Distance - 2 miles
approximately
- Trail Start - Lake
Minnewaska Parking Area
- Description - Finding
the start of this trail is very simple, just go
to the end of the parking lot and walk toward the
lake, you will come across a wide path. Follow this
path to the left and you will come to the road leading
to the Park Office. This is the start of the trail.
Turn right and follow the trail, always turning
right and following the red blazes. This trail takes
you completely around Lake Minnewaska and provides
access to a number of the major trails in the Park;
Millbrook Mountain Trail, Beacon Hill Trail, Hamilton
Point Carriageway, Castle Point Carriageway, Awosting
Lake Carriageway and Sunset Path. Follow the red
blazes to the end of the lake, keeping the lake
on your right and always selecting to go to the
right whenever you see a red blaze.
Lake Awosting - There
are basically two ways to reach Lake Awosting, depending
upon where you are starting from:
- Peter's Kill Carriageway
- Difficulty Level
- Moderately Easy to Moderate
- Distance - 9 miles
round trip approximately
- Trail Start - Awosting
Parking area
- Description - Reaching
Lake Awosting from this location takes you along
the Peter's Kill Carriageway, blazed in black.
This is a relatively straight and relatively easy
walk along a developed dirt road, that can be
a little rocky in spots. The road slowly takes
you uphill to Lake Awosting. There is one pretty
steep incline, known as Cardiac Hill. To reach
the beginning of Peter's Kill Carriageway, from
the Awosting parking area, go to the end of the
parking lot away from Routes 44/55, where you
will find a dirt road, the Peter's Kill Carriageway.
Just follow it to Lake Awosting, a little under
3 miles away. Once you reach the lake, bear right
and follow the black blazes around the lake, always
keeping the lake on your left and always forking
to the left following the black blazes.
- Side Trips - There
are several side trips that can be made from this
trail.
- About a mile and
a half from starting down Peter's Kill Carriageway,
Blueberry Run, blazed in blue, crosses the road.
To the right is Jenny Lane Path, to the left
Blueberry Run takes you to the Lake Awosting
Carriageway.
- Once you have reached
the far end of Lake Awosting and started back
up the other side you will reach the spot where
the Long Path joins for a very short distance.
As the Long Path departs again to the right,
blazed in blue, follow it and it will take you
out to Murray Hill, Spruce Glen and Margaret
Cliff. Continue to follow the Long Path and
you will go past Battlement Terrace, cross Lake
Awosting Carriageway, cross Huntington Ravine,
past Rainbow Falls and be brought back to Peter's
Kill Carriageway. At any point along the Long
Path, if you fork to the left you will be brought
back to the roadway around Lake Awosting.
- Stony Kill Falls
- Once you have reached Lake Awosting, less
than a quarter mile along the lake the Stony
Kill Carriageway & Smiley Carriageway will make
a turn to the right, an unmaintained path, just
past a wooden building on the right. Follow
the main trail until you cross Fly Creek the
bear right at the fork. From this point the
trail continues downhill and becomes very rocky,
not maintained at all. If you continue you will
come off the rocky portion and the trail will
level out into a pine forest. Continue on a
short distance and you will start to hear the
falls, one of the largest in the Shawangunks.
Just follow the path and you will be brought
to the top of the falls. It is possible to go
to the bottom of the falls, but the paths are
very difficult and extreme caution should be
used
. To find the
path to the bottom of the falls retrace your steps
and you MAY see a small path leading off downhill.
Be very cautious as this path is totally unmaintained
and is extremely steep and rocky in places. Unless
you are a seasoned hiker and your confidence level
is very high, do not attempt to reach the bottom
of the falls. The distance to Stony Kill Falls
from Lake Awosting is about a mile and a half.
- Awosting Lake Carriageway
- Difficulty Level
- Moderately Easy to Moderate
- Distance - 9 miles
round trip approximately
- Trial Start - Lake
Minnewaska Parking Area
- Description - Reaching
Lake Awosting from Lake Minnewaska takes you along
the Awosting Lake Carriageway, blazed in green.
From the Lake Minnewaska Parking Area, head to
the right toward the brown frame building. Pass
the building on the left going downhill toward
the lake. At the railings turn right and follow
the path along the top of the lake. When you reach
the Awosting Lake Carriage way you will fork to
the right and follow the green blazes, forking
to the left following the red blazes will take
you down the side of Lake Minnewaska. Just follow
the Awosting Lake Carriageway as it meanders along
fairly level with small rises until you reach
Lake Awosting, where the trail will fork to the
left and right blazed in both directions in black.
Fork to the right and follow the trail around
the lake.
- Side Trips - See
the description for the Peter's Kill Carriageway
above.
Millbrook Mountain Drive
- Difficulty Level -
Moderately Difficult
- Distance - 5 miles
round trip approximately
- Trail Start - East
end of Lake Minnewaska
- Description - To reach
the beginning of Millbrook Mountain Trail, follow
the directions for the Lake Minnewaska Circuit to
the eastern end of Lake Minnewaska. Continue on
around the bottom of the lake, keeping the lake
on your right and you will come to Millbrook Mountain
Drive forking to your left and blazed with yellow.
Take this fork and follow the yellow blazes as the
Millbrook Drive forks to the left at the junction
of the Gertrudes Nose Trail. The trails ends on
the crest of Millbrook Mountain from where you can
see the Smiley Memorial to your north, the Catskill
Mountains to your northwest, Gardiner to the south
and the Hudson Valley lying to the east. The cliffs
below the tower you can see are "The Trapps."
- Side Trips
- Millbrook Mountain
Trail - At the base of Lake Minnewaska there is
a red blazed trail, the Millbrook Mountain Trail,
a footpath leading to Millbrook Mountain. This
trail crosses the Coxing Kill and joins up with
the Coxing Trail (Mohonk Preserve) leading to
the ledge on Millbrook Mountain. The Millbrook
Mountain Trail takes you onto the Mohonk Preserve.
- Gertrudes Nose Trail
- Where the Millbrook Mountain Drive forks left,
follow the Gertrudes Nose Trail blazed in red.
This trail takes you out to on one of the most
spectacular and least used of the cliff top trails.
Be warned tho that it is a moderately strenuous
trail and rock scrambling is a part of it.
Gertrudes Nose Trail
- Difficulty Level -
Moderately Difficult to Difficult
- Distance - 4 miles
round trip approximately from Millbrook Mountain
Trail
- Trail Start - Millbrook
Mountain Drive
- Description - To reach
the beginning of this trail, follow the directions
for the Millbrook Mountain Drive. Once on Millbrook
Mountain Drive, watch for Gertrude's Nose Trail
forking to the right, blazed in red. This trail
is rocky and closely follows the cliff face, SO
EXTREME CAUTION IS NEEDED. In places, the trail
requires you to scramble across rock falls so you
will need to be able to use your hands as well as
your feet. Follow the trail as it emerges onto the
cliffs where it begins a descent down a narrow dirt
path. This path will lead you into a hemlock forest,
in which you will come to a large tree with red
blazes where you turn hard to the left. Just after
this turn you come out onto the cliffs of Gertrude's
Nose, the southern end of the trail. You can continue
up the trail to the north following the cliffs and
you will come up onto Millbrook Mountain. To return
you can either back track or follow the red blazes
which will lead you to Millbrook Mountain Trail.
Sunset Path
- Difficulty Level -
Moderately Easy to Moderate
- Distance - 2.5 Miles
approximately
- Trail Start - Awosting
Parking Area
- Description - Sunset
Path is a dirt road and is a short and steep trail
providing access from the Awosting Parking Area
to the main parking area adjacent to Lake Minnewaska.
Because of this access, it is a heavily used trail
and so you are likely to see less wildlife than
on other trails in the park. While on the trail
you will have some good views of the Catskill Mountains
to the north. To follow the trail, from the Awosting
parking area go to the left end of the parking lot
and follow the road. Proceed to the Main Entrance
of the park and follow the paved road to the right,
over the bridge to the second dirt road on the left,
marked "Scenic Sunset Carriageway to Lake Minnewaska."
The trails has orange blazes.
- Side Trips - The trail
leading to Awosting Falls is accessible from the
Sunset Path. Awosting Falls is one of the largest
in the Shawangunks. To reach the falls, follow the
first dirt road on the left after turning right
onto the paved road at the Main Entrance. Awosting
Falls is approximately 2/10 of a mile.
Castle
Point - Castle Point is the highest summit
in the park and can be reached from several directions.
We are going to take you out on the Castle Point Carriageway
and back on the Hamilton Point Carriageway. On both
carriageways extreme caution should be used as both
follow cliff ledges and the trails pass extremely
close to the edge. If you do not pay attention you
can fall off the sheer cliff.
- Difficulty Level -
Moderate to moderately difficult
- Distance - 9.5 miles
round trip approximately
- Trail Start - Shore
Drive
- Description - From
the Lake Minnewaska Parking Area, head toward the
frame building on the right, passing around it to
the left heading downhill toward the lake. At the
railing turn right and follow the red blazes around
the lake, keeping the lake visible on your left.
Turn right onto the Castle Point Carriageway, blazed
in blue. Follow this trail for about a half mile
and you will start climbing out onto the cliff face
providing you spectacular views of the Hudson Valley
to your east and the Rondout Valley to your west.
Behind you to the north are the Catskill Mountains.
When you reach the summit, stop and take a look
at the most impressive 360 degree view in the park.
Below you will see a set of cliffs that look like
fingers, these are Hamilton Point, (where you are
heading). In the distance you will see a radio tower
sitting atop Ice Caves Mountain. This side of the
tower you will see cliffs that are Murray Hill and
Margaret Cliff. Just behind them you can see Lake
Awosting.
When you are done taking
in the scenery, continue on the path sticking to
the main path as it winds down Castle Point curving
back around to the left, descending the point. You
will have joined the Long Path and follow it for
a very short distance until you find the Hamilton
Point Carriageway, blazed in yellow, forking to
the left directly under where you were at the summit
just past Battlement Terrace. Continue along Hamilton
Point Carriageway and you will quickly reach the
cliffs of Hamilton Point. Unlike other cliffs in
the park, these cliffs stick out from the mountain
like fingers. From here you can see the Hudson Valley
spreading out before you and the Hudson Highlands
in the distance to your right. Behind you and up
is Castle Point and behind you to your right is
Lake Awosting. As you look to your right you can
see the cliffs of Murray Hill and Margaret Cliff.
Ahead of you and a little to the left is Gertrude's
Nose, and beyond it to the left is Millbrook Mountain.
Continue on Hamilton Point Carriageway and it will
straighten out and head back toward Lake Minnewaska.
As you continue up Hamilton Point Carriageway keep
watching for a small trail that loops to your right
that may or may not be marked as "Echo Rock." If
you can find this small trail take it to Echo Rock.
If you stand and yell at the rock you will hear
your screams echo back at you from the cliffs across
the small valley. At the top of these cliffs Millbrook
Drive can be found. Go back to the main trail and
continue till you merge with another trail and head
to the right. Continue not turning from this trail
till you reach the red blazes, Lake Minnewaska.
Turn to either the left or right and go around the
lake back to the parking area.
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