Spring out. Fill your lungs with fragrant mountain air and get your blood running for a season of outdoor exploring with these especially choice springtime hikes, chosen with an eye to finding peak splendor with a moderate amount of time and physical effort. They don’t take all day and won’t wear you all the way out. What they will do is take you through jaw-droppingly beautiful territory to stellar destinations. These are get-your-groove-back-on hikes, and we’ve found you one in each of our beloved mountain counties.
Get your blood running for a season of outdoor exploring with these especially choice springtime hikes.
ULSTER COUNTY: MOHONK PRESERVE LOST CITY ESCARPMENT LOOP
Lost City is a moderately challenging, 2.3-mile circuit that leads you into the very spine of the Gunks. The trail is well-marked and tended, but does get muddy in spots. The sheer fun is worth it. You’ll climb a talus field to arrive at a line of glacial cliffs with majestic ridge views. There’s a fair amount of rock scrambling, but nothing too intense or requiring any special expertise. Kids of all ages will glory in the adventurous terrain.
Getting there: Park at Mohonk Preserve’s Coxing Trailhead off Clove Road in Gardiner. Your $15 fee gives you access to the whole 7,000 acres all day long; after your rock scrambling, grab the picnic you cleverly grabbed off-mountain from the car and go wiggle your toes in the Coxing Kill at Split Rock.
Lost City is a moderately challenging, 2.3-mile circuit that leads you into the very spine of the Gunks.
SULLIVAN COUNTY:
NEVERSINK UNIQUE AREA
BLUE TRAIL EAST TO MULLET LOOP
Allow yourself a bit over two hours to hike this 4.4-mile loop that’s seasoned with gorgeous Catskills views and water features. You’ll cross bridges over Mullet Brook and Wolf Brook, and encounter loads of fishing and bird-watching opportunities along the justly famed Neversink, each prettier than the last. Mullet Brook Falls is well worth the hike, but there’s also a short side quest, slightly more challenging, that unlocks a whole second waterfall, Denton Falls, with its own set of glorious views.
Getting there: Free parking for the Blue Trail can be found on Katrina Road in Rock Hill. If you’re hungry and thirsty when you get back to the car, check out the Rock Hill pub grub scene at Dutch’s or Brew, the pizza at Pizza the Rock, or the Tex-Mex at El Sombrero.
The Shavertown Trail is an out-and-back 3.3 miles expertly crafted by the Catskill Mountain Club on NYCDEP property.
DELAWARE COUNTY: SHAVERTOWN TRAIL, ANDES
The Shavertown Trail is an out-and-back 3.3 miles expertly crafted by the Catskill Mountain Club on NYCDEP property and takes you up a moderate grade past a pond full of waterlilies to an easy stroll among enchanting views of the Pepacton Reservoir. Take the blue-blazed Tremperskill Overlook spur to spectacular Catskills views.
Getting there: The trailhead parking is by the bridge at the intersection of Delaware County Route 1 and Route 30 in the town of Andes; you’ll find the trailhead directly across the road. Be warned: the Mountain Club has crafted this as a taste of their side of the Cats that will have you coming back for more and ultimately scaling their famed High Peaks.
