Catskill Forest Preserve and Park

Hikers enjoy Slide Mountain in Ulster County.

Catskill Park is a mountainous region of public and private land in Ulster, Greene, Delaware and Sullivan counties. The Catskill Forest Preserve protects 60 percent of the land, or 300,000 acres, as public land.

The preserve has thousands of acres of forests and meadows, remnants of old farmsteads, five fire towers, lakes, rivers, springs, bears, rattlesnakes, rare plants and animals. There are also hundreds of miles of abandoned logging roads to enjoy.

Coyotes, bears, bobcats, minks and fishers are some of the park's more secretive residents. Old-growth hemlock and northern hardwood forests blanket steep mountains and valleys.

The forest is a popular destination for trout fishing, hiking, camping, cross-country skiing and mountain biking.

Public campgrounds include Mongaup Pond, the Beaverkill, Kenneth Wilson, Woodland Valley, Little Pond, Bear Spring Mountain, Devil's Tombstone and North/South Lake.

Many private campgrounds, bed-and-breakfasts and hotels are also available. Information is available at kiosks, local visitors centers or in travel guides available at county tourism offices.

Backcountry camping is possible on all forest preserve lands. Permits are required for groups of 10 or more and if you plan to stay at one site more than three nights.

More than 300 miles of hiking trails make much of the forest preserve accessible to hikers. The trails vary in length from a half-mile to a 94-mile section of the Long Path connecting New York City's George Washington Bridge with East Windham (Greene County) in the northern Catskills.

The Belleayre Mountain Ski Center within the park offers downhill skiing and snowboarding.

Most visitors drive through the park on Routes 28, 23 and 23A from Kingston and the New York State Thruway on the east, or Oneonta on the west. State Route 17 provides access from the south. Travel beyond these roads to discover the villages, remote mountains, beautiful views and steep river valleys that have made the Catskills a favorite tourist destination for more than a century.

A Catskill Interpretive Center is planned along Route 28 between Boiceville and Phoenicia.