Kaaterskill High Peak from Rt 23a

OVERVIEW

Distance: 16.24 miles round trip from Rt 23a to the summit of KHP and back.

Time: 10-to-14 hours round trip

Elevation Gain: 3,075'’ feet from Rt 23a to the Summit of KHP

Best Time to Hike: Anytime (with exceptions - See Special Circumstances)

Difficulty: Moderate - Trail to summit of KHP is Difficult

Catskill Highest: #22

Peak Elevation: 3,655'

USGS Official Names: High Peak (ID: 952749)

USGS Summit-Elevation: 3,645'

USGS KHP-Summit-WGS84: 42.162033, -74.080138

USGS KHP-Summit-GPS: N 42 09.722, W 74 04.808

USGS KHP-Summit-UTM: 18N 575988 4668176

USGS KHP-Summit-Deg, Min, Sec: N42 09 43, W74 04 48

USGS Official Map: Kaaterskill Topographical Map (free)

DEC Trail Map: DEC Kaaterskill Wild Forest Map (free)

Digital Mapper: Topo Terrain Satellite

Access Methods: Foot & snowshoe.

Side Trips: Johnson's Point and Hawkeye Ledge

Maps

map of hike to poet's ledge, waterfalls, and Kaaterskill High Peak

DIRECTIONS TO TRAIL HEAD

Take New York State Thruway to Exit 21 (Catskill).

Take a left out of the NYS Thruway entrance road.

Go approximately 1/4 mile

Take a right onto Route 23 West

Go approximately 6.6 miles on Route 23.

Take a LEFT onto Rt 32 (McDonalds on corner).

Go approximately 7.7 miles on Route 32.

Take RIGHT onto Rt 23A.

Go approximately 2.6 miles on Rt 23A .

Take a Right into the DEC Palenville Parking Area

Some people have parked at the Fernwood Resturant (with permission - they eat there once they are done with the hike).

You cannot park at the trail head!

Do NOT park by the red building next to the bridge.

Do NOT park on Malden Ave or in someoneÂ’s driveway on Malden Ave.

Do NOT drive up the dirt entrance road to the trail head - this is PRIVATE property - AND there is NO place to park or turn around once you get to the trail head.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES ABOUT THIS HIKE

The first 1.40 miles of this hike runs over public roads and private land. You will walk on public roads for 0.61 miles, and 0.79 miles on private land (dirt roads). The private lands provide the public with a Â“right-of-wayÂ”. Most of the people in the area really donÂ’t want you to hike this trail, and present obstacles to make it as difficult as possible. You will also see numerous No Parking signs, No Trespassing signs, closed metal gates blocking the path, and guard rails to block you, overgrown paths, poison ivy, etc to discourage you. They go out of their way to make finding the trail head and accessing it as difficult as possible. But, if you follow our instructions, you have every legal right to hike this path. In spite of their actions, please respect the owners land, and do NOT leave the road, and be respectful to the owners. Sooner or later, the State will need to step in, and fix this situation. 30 years ago, Malden Ave was not blocked off at the Rt 23A end, and you could park on Malden Ave. When they closed sections of Malden Ave where people parked, this historic trail started to die. Now it is very rare that local people hike this trail. A very sad situation for such a great and historic hiking path.

MILEAGE CHART

Mile Point Altitude Notes
0.00 1,872Â’ DEC Parking Lot. N42 08.020 W74 04.962
0.00 1,872Â’ DEC Parking Lot. N42 08.020 W74 04.962
0.00 680Â’ Parking - From Route 23A turn onto Malden Ave - Walk past double guard rails (watch out for poison ivy on left side of road).
0.62 680Â’ Walk up wide dirt driveway about 250Â’ ( look for green Long Path trail marker on tree - hard to see from Malden Ave) - Turn right and walk up narrow dirt driveway past metal gate (If gate is closed, walk around gate).
1.01 Road branch - Go straight
1.27 Road branch - Go Right
1.33 1,255Â’ Road Branch - Go Right - leave dirt road and continue onto the foot path
1.40 Leave private land onto public land
2.13 1,955Â’ Level off for a while
2.31 2,067Â’ Giant steps
2.34 2,102Â’ Ledge #1 (views)
2.44 2,264Â’ Rock-in-the-Path
2.52 2,325Â’ Reach top of moderate ascent - Levels off after this for several miles. Total ascent of 1,661Â’.
2.57 2,317Â’ Start of Boreal Forest (Watch for black bears at this point)
2.63 2,341Â’ Trail Branch - go right to PoetÂ’s Ledge (0.44 miles) - Yellow trail markers
2.98 2,187Â’ Mossy Notch
3.07 2,145Â’ POETÂ’S LEDGE - Outstanding View! - Enjoy. Be careful of the opening between the rocks on the ledge. It is a 30Â’ fall.
3.74 2,183Â’ Viola Falls
4.29 2,212Â’ Wildcat Falls
4.84 2,186Â’ Buttermilk Falls
5.24 2,250Â’ Trail Junction to Twilight Park *
6.17 2,250Â’ Return back from Twilight Park Dam/water tower
6.52 2,622Â’ Top of moderate climb - Junction of old Twilight Park Trail
7.13 2,936Â’ Trail Junction to Kaaterskill High Peak (RED Marker)
7.25 3,030Â’ Trail Junction for Snowmobile Trail - Take Right
7.31 3,043' Trail Junction to Kaaterskill High Peak
7.87 3,655' Kaaterskill High Peak Summit
8.12 3,460' Trail to Hurricane Ledge
16.24 680Â’ Return to Parking Lot

Hike to Poet's Ledge

After parking at the DEC Palenville Parking Area, walk WEST (RIGHT after walking back to Rt 23a from the parking area) on Rt 23a until you come to the bridge.

The mileage for this hike starts where you see the red building. It is the closest place to the trail head.

Walk over bridge and take a right onto Malden Ave (In front of the red building).

Walk around the barrier. You will have to wade thru the brush at the beginning of this barrier. Then you can continue walking on the road until you reach the barrier on the other side of Malden Ave. Continue down Malden Ave. The distance to the dirt road that is the beginning of the trail is 0.62 miles.

From the other side of Malden Ave, this is the entrance to the Long Path/trails into the Kaaterskill High Peak region.Walk up this driveway.

Absolutely do NOT park here, or drive up this road. This road is private property, and you only have the rights to walk up the road to access the trail head. The trail head onto public land is 1.40 miles from the bridge. I can assure you that if you park here, your car will be towed.

If you look very carefully from Malden Ave, you might see the green Long Path trail marker on the tree. You have to look very carefully.

After walking 150 feet up this driveway, turn RIGHT onto a smaller driverway. You will see a DEC sign denoting that this is the way to the trail. 30 feet after turning right you will see a steel gate. You can walk around the gate and continue up the road.

There is another metal gate further up the road. Walk around that one too, if it is closed.

The picture on the right shows the sign denoting the direction to the trail. The first metal gate blocking the road is just past the sign denoting the trail.

At mile marker 1.01 (from where you parked your car), you will come to a 3-way intersection. GO STRAIGHT.

You will see trail markers, so follow them if you get confused.

There is another road on the right of the picture (which you cannot see in the photo).

At mile post 1.27, you will encounter the second trail branch. You want to GO RIGHT. Again follow the trail markers.

At Mile post 1.33 (elevation 1,250Â’) the road will branch again. This time the branch will move off the road on to a foot path. If you were to continue further, you will run into the property owners house. So try not to disturb them.

At Mile post 1.40, you will leave private land and will enter public land. At this point you can leave the path if you so choose.

The path will continue on a steady moderate uphill ascent.

At Mile post 2.31 (Elevation 2,067) you will encounter The Giant Steps at Heaven's Gate. These rocks are slippery to donÂ’t be deceived by their appearance.

At Mile post 2.34 (elevation 2,102) you will encounter the first ledge with a view. From this ledge you can clearly see Indian Head Ledge, Palenville Overlook Ledge, and Boulder Rock. You will also be able to see down into Palenville and the Hudson Valley.

At Mile post 2.44 (elevation 2,264) you will encounter Â“Rock-in-the-PathÂ”.

At Mile post 2.52 (elevation 2,325) you will come to the end of the long ascent. (At this point you have completed the 1,645Â’ vertical ascent. At this point, the trail will continue on a level path all the way to Twilight Park.

At Mile post 2.57 (elevation 2,317) you will enter the beautiful conifer forest that has old growth trees. Some are 3+ feet in diameter.

At Mile post 2.63 (elevation 2,341) you will encounter a Trail branch. If you go right it will lead to PoetÂ’s Ledge. The trail is marked with Yellow Trail Markers. The detour to PoetÂ’s Ledge is 0.44 miles one way or 0.88 miles round trip. Most consider PoetÂ’s Ledge the best part of the hike. If this is the end of your hike, your round trip mileage will be 6.14 miles. The trail will be a 196Â’ drop in elevation from the trail junction down to PoetÂ’s Ledge.

About 2/3 of the way down to PoetÂ’s Ledge, you will encounter two ledges (pictures on the right and left). This ledge is NOT PoetÂ’'s Ledge.

Continue on the path until the path absolutely ends. Then you will be at PoetÂ’s Ledge.

After the two ledges, you will come to a beautiful mossy notch. Continue down and around the notch.

Shortly after exiting the notch, you will enter a beautiful conifer forest. At the end of the short forest is PoetÂ’s Ledge.

This is the view of PoetÂ’s Ledge. While the photo is beautiful, it really does not do justice to the view you will get. On a clear crisp day, the vistas are awe inspiring.

Safety Note: There is a benign looking crack in the ledge. If you look carefully, there is a 30Â’ drop into a cave.

The best time to arrive at PoetÂ’s Ledge is around noon time to 2 PM in the afternoon. Late in the afternoon is the worst time. The photo above was taken at 10 AM. It takes 2 hours and 15 minutes to get there.

The mileage from the Long Path to PoetÂ’s ledge is 0.44 miles, and the elevation at PoetÂ’s Ledge is 2,145Â’. There is a 197Â’ drop in elevation.

After you return back to the original trail, take a RIGHT and continue down the path.

Optional side-trip (minor bushwhacking) - After you get back on the trail, you will cross a small little stream (Hillyer). Maps from 50-60 years ago show a trail branch by the streamÂ’ that will lead up to Hawkeye Ledge. The trail to Hawkeye is now overgrown and not visible. If you follow the stream uphill, it will lead you to Hawkeye Ledge. Hawkeye Ledge is located on the corner of the eastern escarpment and Kaaterskill Amphitheater. There is a large flat ledge with some views into the Amphitheater. Most of the view is now overgrown. Some people do camp on the ledge. Great place to camp for the night.

At mile 3.74 you will encounter Viola Falls. Elevation 2,183.

Below Viola Falls is Middle Viola Falls. Then below Middle Viola Falls is the 90' Lower Viola Falls. Middle Viola Falls and Lower Viola Falls are fairly close to Poet's Ledge. Lower Viola Falls is very difficult to get to. Hikers have been trapped between Middle Viola Falls and the top of Lower Viola Falls. Need a rope to get back out.

To learn more about the waterfalls in the Kaaterskill Clove, please visit the Waterfall Section of this site.

At mile 4.29 you will encounter Wildcat Falls. Elevation 2,212. There are another 2 water falls downstream from this one.

To learn more about the waterfalls in the Kaaterskill Clove, please visit the Waterfall Section of this site.

At mile 4.84 you will encounter Buttermilk Falls. Elevation 2,186. Buttermilk Falls has 9 drops with a total of 549'. Buttermilk Ravine is very difficult and dangerous to hike in the summer months. This is a popular ice climbing Falls.

Just before you reach Buttermilk Falls, there is a small unofficial campsite on the downhill side of the Falls (right side of the trail).

To learn more about the waterfalls in the Kaaterskill Clove, please visit the Waterfall Section of this site.

About 750-1,000' past Buttermilk Falls is a non-DEC trail (on the RIGHT) that will take you to Johnson's Point. You will go downhill a little ways, and come to a flat ledge.

The trail will then start to turn south and upward. You will come to a trail junction. Straight will take you onto Private Land of Twilight Park. Left will take you to Kaaterskill High Peak. Go LEFT up the hill.

The picture on the LEFT is the sign at the bottom of the Crossover Path. Left will take you further down the Long Path. Take a RIGHT and head UPHILL. The crossover path was created when they put in the Snowmobile Loop Trail. The crossover path used to continued from the North Access Trail Junction down to the Long Path.

The picture on the LEFT is the crossover path from the Snowmobile Loop Trail to the Long Path. This crossover path is just east of the North Access Trail to Kaaterskill High Peak. Take a RIGHT here and follow the Snowmobile Trail.

Not only is the snowmobile trail muddy, but it has a lot of vegetation as you can see in the LEFT picture.

The trail junction for the North Access to Kaaterskill High Peak is marked with a small rock Cairn. Take a LEFT and head UPHILL.

The north access trail has three difficult sections. The picture on the left shows one of those sections. The section is not as difficult as it looks.

The picture on the RIGHT shows the 3rd difficult section. It is the hardest of the three sections. This section is very difficult when it is icy. Then walk across the top of the root base of the tree.

After the third ledge, the trail will level off. The picture on the left is the nice mossy trail above the third ledge.

The picture on the RIGHT shows another picture of the beautiful path near the top of the mountain.

This is the peak of Kaaterskill High Peak Mountain. There are no longer any views from the very top. But, you will have spectacular views from Hurricane Ledge. Hurricane Ledge is 1/4 mile past the peak (south).

There are two USGS markers about 30 feet from the peak. The trail to the left (from the north access) will take you to plane crash #2 and USGS marker #2. The trail to the right will take you to USGS marker #1, and Hurricane Ledge.

If you look around, you can see that there was a building at the summit. The building was a 2-story building that was built in the late 1800's. It was taken down around 1921 when New York State purchased the Kaaterskill Mountain Range. About an acre of land was cleared for the building.

While the Mohawk Indians used KHP for thousands of years, the first European to ascend KHP was Peter delaBigarre (and a companion) on July 26, 1793. Up to the 1870's KHP was believed to be the highest peak in the Catskills. Princeton geography professor Arnold Henry Guyot brought equipment up to the Catskills and started to measure the peaks. He determined that KHP was actually the 23rd highest. His finding upset the hotels in the Kaaterskill Clove who used this fact to attract visitors.

The picture on the LEFT is a picture of the trail to Hurricane Ledge.

The picture on the RIGHT shows the summit. The trail to the left (east) will take you to a plane crash The plane is 495 feet east of the peak. The GPS of the plane crash is reported to be at GPS position: N 42 9.734 W 74 4.829. On geocashing.com it is "Air Crash 3". The plane crash occured on May 26, 1983. It killed a Watertown man named Rex Miller. He flew his Piper-28-140 into the mountain at about 3,400 feet in bad weather while attempting to return home from Poughkeepsie. Again, he was flying NVR. The crankshaft to the plane laid next to one of the trails (about 100' from the peak) from 1983 to 2008. Then in the Fall of 2008 someone removed it, and dropped it at Hurricane Ledge. The following year the crankshaft was returned back to it's original spot.

There is also a faint trail that heads west of the peak. This trail will take you down a gentle slope on the North side of Round Top Mountain, and will come out near the Snowmobile trail near Cortina Ski Center. This trail was used for hundreds of years as the primary path to the top of Kaaterskill High Peak. It is actually the easist path to the top, but is rarely used. We believe that the trail fell out a favor when the DEC built the snowmobile trail. We also believe that the access to the western trail entrance got cut off at Clum Hill Road. Now that the DEP has put in parking on Clum Hill Road, this trail might become very popular again.

The picture on the LEFT is USGS marker #1. It is about 30 feet south of the peak on the path to Hurricane Ledge.

The picture on the RIGHT is USGS marker #2. It is about 30 feet east (and slightly south) of the peak. It is location on top of a dome shaped rock. When you approach the peak from the north access route, take a left. Then take a right. The marker is about 10-15 feet inside the trees.

The path to Hurricane Ledge has a number of side trails that will give you nice view. But, Hurricane Ledge will give you the best views.

This is Hurricane Ledge. It is 0.25 miles from the peak. There are several places on Hurricane Ledge that will provide you with spectacular views. The trail to the South Ascent is on the left side of this picture. This ledge was caused by a storm on or about November 28, 1950, which had winds in excess of 100 mph. Ironically, there was another Hurricane Ledge created on the north eastern side of the peak at the beginning of the 1900's. It may have been created by one of the storms on November 8-10, 1913 or October 22-25, 1923.

If you want to take the very steep and dangerous south access route back down to the Loop trail, you just need to move to the very left side of this ledge to find the trail.

This is another part of Hurricane Ledge. On this ledge is several places you can get spectacular view. This picture is of the Hudson Valley. You can see the Hudson River in the valley.

This is Hurricane Ledge. On this ledge is several places you can get spectacular view. This picture is of the Indian Head Mountain Range.

Reverse your course back to the KHP peak and go back down the North Access path

LINKS & REFERENCES

CatskillMountain.com Forum - Ask questions or tell us about your experience with this hike

Plane Crashes in the Catskill Mountains

S E C T I O N S

W E A T H E R

O T H E R